February 06, 2014
February 01, 2014
January 30, 2014
Photo Update!
Here are some photos of Audrey from the last few weeks.
She continues to have a strong & easy-going spirit despite everything.
Just a week away from what will hopefully be her last cycle of chemotherapy!
Just a week away from what will hopefully be her last cycle of chemotherapy!
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| Ready for an early morning appointment! |
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| Selfie? |
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| HIYAH! |
January 11, 2014
Since we have been seriously behind on the updates, I will try to cover what we may have missed the last several weeks. Our last post was just after Audrey's 5th cycle. This one didn't make her too sick and fortunately she felt better after about 5 days. We were really holding our breath that her levels would be strong enough to actually do a couple of things for Christmas, and thank the Lord, they were up and all the family was healthy! Audrey had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas. We were so excited that the timing of her chemo actually allowed us all to enjoy a more "normal" Christmas with family. With her 6th cycle starting the day after Christmas and mommy going back to work the day after that, we were hoping the days would go by nice and slow.
Audrey's 6th cycle was a one-day but included the nasty med that makes her the sickest. They gave her an additional nausea med this time, but I can't say I really noticed any difference. It took her about 11 days until she didn't need her nausea meds to keep food down. We hate when she gets this med and we will have to deal with it once more on cycle 8. Audrey has continued to avoid any complications with treatment. We are returning today to check her platelet count to make sure she doesn't need any given. Her energy really hasn't been affected and even when she doesn't feel good she is a pretty happy girl. We are trying so hard not to get sick so that we don't pass anything on to her. This has been pretty scary as I have returned to work and it seems that many people around me are sick. I consider everyday that goes by without Audrey catching something a success!
The 7th cycle is scheduled for next week. Audrey will also get an echocardiogram to continue monitoring her heart. (Another potential side effect of using that icky med!) Her 7th cycle will be 3 days again but the first day is much shorter than normal. It is definitely getting harder to entertain her for 8 hours sitting in the hospital so a 4-5 hour day should be a little more smooth. Galen has been taking Audrey to her appointments as he is now on leave to take care of her while I am at work. They are both loving their daddy-daughter time for sure. This past Wednesday he inquired about what the end of treatment would look like. Audrey should get her 7th cycle this next week with three weeks to recover before the 8th. The 8th cycle is another one-day but again with the icky med and then they will give her another three weeks before re-scans. If the scans look good and she has bounced back, they will remove her line. Then we will begin follow-ups with rescans every 3 months. Lord willing by the end of February we will be done visiting the hospital so frequently. We are so excited for Audrey to be healthy again. Since we had to cancel our beach trip in August as it was the day after her diagnosis, we are especially looking forward to getting Audrey to the coast again. We can't wait until she can have playdates again and actually spend some time with someone her own size! We could probably go on and on about all we are looking forward to after treatment.
We will try to post again much sooner next time. Your continued thoughts and prayers for Audrey's smooth recovery are greatly appreciated! Hopefully we can return home today without needing a transfusion. Audrey is reeeeally looking forward to seeing the Hawks win today!
Shannon & Galen
Getting excited for Christmas
Christmas Morning
The 7th cycle is scheduled for next week. Audrey will also get an echocardiogram to continue monitoring her heart. (Another potential side effect of using that icky med!) Her 7th cycle will be 3 days again but the first day is much shorter than normal. It is definitely getting harder to entertain her for 8 hours sitting in the hospital so a 4-5 hour day should be a little more smooth. Galen has been taking Audrey to her appointments as he is now on leave to take care of her while I am at work. They are both loving their daddy-daughter time for sure. This past Wednesday he inquired about what the end of treatment would look like. Audrey should get her 7th cycle this next week with three weeks to recover before the 8th. The 8th cycle is another one-day but again with the icky med and then they will give her another three weeks before re-scans. If the scans look good and she has bounced back, they will remove her line. Then we will begin follow-ups with rescans every 3 months. Lord willing by the end of February we will be done visiting the hospital so frequently. We are so excited for Audrey to be healthy again. Since we had to cancel our beach trip in August as it was the day after her diagnosis, we are especially looking forward to getting Audrey to the coast again. We can't wait until she can have playdates again and actually spend some time with someone her own size! We could probably go on and on about all we are looking forward to after treatment.
We will try to post again much sooner next time. Your continued thoughts and prayers for Audrey's smooth recovery are greatly appreciated! Hopefully we can return home today without needing a transfusion. Audrey is reeeeally looking forward to seeing the Hawks win today!
Shannon & Galen
December 09, 2013
Audrey is done with cycle 5! Each day is one step closer to being done with chemotherapy. Cycle 5 was 3 days long and with our visit Wednesday to check labs and visit the doc, we were at Children's almost everyday last week. Thursday was the long day where we sat in the infusion area while Audrey received the 2 chemo drugs. She really did such a good job considering it was so long. We checked in at 8:30 and didn't leave until 4:30. The infusion rooms leave a LOT to be desired. They aren't private, quiet, or spacious. The nurses do their best with what they have, and fortunately we were lucky enough to have Kristen again, who is a fantastic nurse. The two meds Audrey got don't make her nearly as sick as the med she got last cycle. She still gets her nausea med twice a day but she has been eating pretty well and has only been a little bit cranky. I have included a picture of Audrey riding on the "lily pad" as we were trying to entertain her the last two hours of our day Thursday. One of the nutritionists stopped by to check in towards the end of our day. Audrey's growth has been strong and steady, thank God. She provided us with a couple more tools to keep Audrey's weight gain up. It is definitely a challenge when you consider how few days she actually feels good. Then add the typical toddler behavior towards food and their tendency to get distracted. We have our work cut out for us for sure.
Friday and Saturday were quick days as she only received one med and it is given over an hour. Sunday we returned to get the injection again which helps her bounce back quicker. It definitely worked last time as Audrey's levels were ready for us to start the cycle on time instead of having to delay again. This week we have clinic Wednesday and then Thursday we will be touching base with her cardiologist and repeating her echo. Her 6th cycle is scheduled for the day after Christmas. Though the timing isn't ideal, the sooner we get them done the sooner we can be done and get her darn line out! I will be going back to work after her 6th cycle and Galen will be starting his leave. The fact that we have been able to be with her through this and haven't had to worry about $$ is huge. We have been able to focus the majority of our attention on Audrey and getting her healthy again. Truly, we can never tell you how much this has meant to us. So many families are faced with longer treatments and are forced to return to work while their child is still incredibly sick. We do not take for granted the gifts we have been given.
Hopefully we won't have much for news after this weeks appointment. Pray for a beautiful echo for Audrey.
Love,
Shannon & Galen
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Friday and Saturday were quick days as she only received one med and it is given over an hour. Sunday we returned to get the injection again which helps her bounce back quicker. It definitely worked last time as Audrey's levels were ready for us to start the cycle on time instead of having to delay again. This week we have clinic Wednesday and then Thursday we will be touching base with her cardiologist and repeating her echo. Her 6th cycle is scheduled for the day after Christmas. Though the timing isn't ideal, the sooner we get them done the sooner we can be done and get her darn line out! I will be going back to work after her 6th cycle and Galen will be starting his leave. The fact that we have been able to be with her through this and haven't had to worry about $$ is huge. We have been able to focus the majority of our attention on Audrey and getting her healthy again. Truly, we can never tell you how much this has meant to us. So many families are faced with longer treatments and are forced to return to work while their child is still incredibly sick. We do not take for granted the gifts we have been given.
Hopefully we won't have much for news after this weeks appointment. Pray for a beautiful echo for Audrey.
Love,
Shannon & Galen
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