When we first sat down with our doctors and nurses and coordinators and the social worker all assigned to us at the first diagnosis, they talked in detail about what we were about to face. They talked a lot about the first phase of treatment and that there were four (or more) phases. To be completely honest, I kind of blanked out when they finished off the first phase. It was all I could do to focus on the next hurdle; the next goal. As we made it through that phase, it was very much like they prepared us for (except they said most kids experience at least one side-effect; they didn’t say we get to try them all).
Thank you for praying:
We made it through the first stage (Induction), and met all the bench marks. Angelica has stopped the steroid that was causing the diabetes, and has also stopped having diabetes, she finished induction with 0.0% leukemia cells in her marrow, and her blood counts have come up enough to start phase 2, and most importantly her numbers are up enough that she can tackle a few public outings.
2 Days of Summer:
With Gelica spending most of the first month in the hospital and starting phase 2 (Consolidation) on Monday, she effectively gets to enjoy summer for 2 days. We’ve gone to a movie that we were supposed to do for Alexandra’s birthday with her friends (which still hasn’t happened) and today we are going to a pool and having a BBQ. When Angelica was at her weakest, I told her that she would be feeling better and that there would still be some summer left to enjoy, and she replied that if she could go do Rick and Linda’s pool just once, then it would be ok. It’s now or never (probably).
Consolidation:
Where induction is aimed specifically at the marrow, consolidation is aimed at eliminating leukemia cells throughout the whole body. Leukemia cells can hide in the body at levels that are currently undetectable. So it is a treatment based on theory and years of statistics. There are no actual benchmarks to aim for, as there is nothing big enough to test for, but nonetheless, it is an intense therapy.
Consolidation consists of several drugs, most of which are various forms of chemotherapy. It will bring her marrow and her blood counts down again, which is why Angelica needs to have reasonably good counts to start with (they are not up to normal, but are just considered low as opposed to very low). The main side effects to look for are mouth sores; diabetes is not a side-effect of these drugs. The biggest issue we will face is the practicality of driving in and out of the hospital with this treatment. There are a lot of visits scheduled, most are in the middle of the day and there are four other kids (one of which is a new-born) and work and such that have to be worked in and around.
We have to go into the hospital for a full day, then three hour-long visits over four days for two weeks, then two weeks off, then two weeks on, then two weeks off… This phase is scheduled on a calendar over 57 days, bringing us to September 20th. Angelica will likely not get to school at all in September, and this is her first year of high-school, so she’s a bit disappointed about that. She will likely have blood counts that are low enough through this time to keep her and our family for the most part in isolation. This is not a fun road.
Please pray:
We need prayer for the treatments to go well, and for Gelica to not get any sores. We need to really pray again that she doesn’t get any infections during the course of treatment so she doesn’t have to stay in the hospital. Pray for peace and good communication in our home. Pray for schedules to coordinate and for there to be enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to get done.
Thanks, Jon.
PS: A special thanks to the Tulloch family. Even though I haven’t gotten to meet you yet, knowing that we are in some way connected to a family that has gone through this not that long ago, and successfully is a great encouragement.
🙂
praying
me too.
Oh my..prayers and hugs for you all…your poor girl. It makes me INSANE that any children and families have to worry through this…
If you ever need help with kids or babies or whatever….I am around…just so you know…
we’re praying too
thanks for being specific Jon
Hey Patti…we’re back in Canada – yeah!! and are still praying for you..and Geli..and the rest of the kids. Just sending you a hug today…
praying and believing for complete restoration!
love you guys!!
You know we love you and so do the people of our church.
We are all standing with you and praying for a complete recovery and a huge blessing to come from all of this.
I”m continuing to pray for all of you, I can only imagine how life must be like a cirque de soleil performance on somedays. I just wanted to let you know I’m behind you all and am praying God continues to bless you all.
Love ya !