www.caringbridge.org/christiannessmithI will update after we get her bloodcounts on Wednesday.
Happy 13th Anniversary to my wonderful husband !!!!
21 August 2009, 12:28am EST
We are home.....Our trip to Memphis was extended an extra day. When we got to clinic on Tuesday, we found out Kara's ANC did a nose-dive from 1190 to 700 overnight. She couldn't receive her chemo until her ANC came up higher. Well, it went from 700 to 2400 overnight! SO, Kara got her chemo yesterday evening..Dr. Furman cut her cyclophosamide dose in half.. The N. Practitioner said that Dr. Furman thinks this will take care of Kara's low count (Immune system) issue. (Let's pray this is the answer-we'll know this round how it goes, I guess!) Kara's appetite has been great. She asked for strawberry cheesecake almost every time we went to the cafeteria. She is gaining weight, too. She does have allergies/cold that has hit she and I while we were gone. Hope'in she's feeling better soon. Kara's first day of K-garten will be tomorrow. Lauren loved school on Tuesday. So glad for this, even though I'm fully aware that these are our "babies" that I'm sending off to school now......it has to come sometime, I guess!
Take care, & I will update later. Kara's next appt. isn't until Wed., 26th in Knoxville.
17 August 2009, 2:46pm EST
Mom took Kara to the Hosp. for me today since I was doing school with Erica....so far it's going okay as far as schooling goes! I think we're going on our 3rd week now. (I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable with it!)
Kara's counts are all pretty good. Her ANC hit close to 1200 today. I was so glad to see this! It looks like she's rebounded now from her last round of chemo. Since it's been close to 2 weeks since she's had chemo, Dr. Furman is checking the protocol to see what it says. He's thinking about lowering her dose of oral Cyclophosamide. I really hope this happens, and allows Kara to have better results as far as her white blood count goes. She starts school this week.....She was in tears a few minutes ago thinking about not getting to go to school tomorrow. She wanted me to cancel St. Jude so she could go to school. Bless her heart! Her appts. in Memphis are being put in the schedule for tomorrow. We should be home Wednesday. Lauren's first day of school is tomorrow. She is ready, too! I am so glad that they are excited about school. They have both met their teachers, and visited their classrooms. This has really helped! PLEASE KEEP PRAYING ABOUT KARA'S LOW COUNTS. Please pray that the chemo dose DOES get decreased, and that this is the answer so that she can keep a decent immune system!
Things are going good around the house. Tony's staying busy with work, etc.. This is his normal thing. We are getting in a school routine now. Last week we had Campmeeting at Church, which was good (as usual!) This week is busy, but it's going well....(Hoping it stays going good since it is only Monday! : -) Well, I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful week! Thanks for checking in and for all the prayers still!
Megan
10 August 2009, 7:03pm EST
So, we went to clinic today, and Kara and Lauren were given their own pillowcases to decorate with markers....(This was right up their alley.) There was volunteers who had dress up clothes for the kids to try on, and they brought tea and cookies for the kids. I don't think the girls did the extra stuff though. That was a neat surprise for us today. So, the results of Kara's labs show that her ANC is even lower than last Thursday. I think this is about the same thing that happened during round #1. We held chemo during the first round, and instead of her ANC rising, it dropped even more. It's to the point that if she runs a fever, she will automatically go in-patient in the Hospital.....The plan is to continue holding all chemo, and we will run back to Knoxville Wednesday to see what her ANC is. If it's high enough then, we should still be able to fly out Thursday a.m. bright and early. So, here we are again...playing it day by day. I guess the low ANC explains why she slept almost all through church service last night. She was so tired! After church was over, we came home, and I was able to take some pics of the kids outside in the yard and by the field that's across from our road. It was late evening, and the kids were in their church clothes, and for the most part being cooperative with me about the pics! I will have to post them to Shutterfly to share with you.
Oh, about the Duocal.....It came and I think it's going to work for Kara. She will even ask me at times if she can add it to her food. It has a hot-pink colored scoop but the powder looks like baby formula. She calls it pink sugar. She has only complained one time about it not tasting good. All the other times she said she really couldn't taste it. She has gained just a little bit of weight so far - But, it's a start- She is gaining!
I wanted to tell you what she did tonight. She grabbed Tony's lunch out of the fridge for him to take to work.....Well, she got a bag out of the fridge and handed it to Tony. The phone rings not long after Tony left for work......inside the bag was a bunch of potatoes! We started laughing......So, I guess Tony will get fast food for his lunch tonight!
Have a great night and I'll update later in the week when I know what we're doing about the trip to Memphis.
06 August 2009, 9:50pm EST
Today we found out Kara's had a small rise in her ANC - It's just barely above the "risky" level now. : -( The Oncologist in Knoxville's concern was that the way ANC's can fluctuate, he didn't know if and when we returned to St. Jude if it would still be high enough for chemo. I mentioned if she starts right back up on chemo at the beginning of next week, we'd be right back in the same boat that we're in now (with a low immune system). I'm just not happy about the low white blood cell counts that she's been having so much of the time. I had been thinking all along that it's probably just the way this particular treatment is affecting her white blood cells, but now I wonder if all of the treatment she's had is playing a role in it, too. I know a couple of Doctors have mentioned to me that she's had a lot of treatment - (tends to "wear" on your bone marrow, and make it tired). One of these Dr.'s also mentioned to me that Cyclophosamide also is one of the chemos that tend to wear on your bone marrow the longer you take it. Please keep praying that all of this works out and that she is protected from illnesses! I'd love to see her have a long-term break from treatment- (and a long-term break for us all !) Hopefully it's coming soon!
It's been decided that we will return to clinic in Knoxville on Monday and find out what her blood counts are. Then, if all is okay, Kara & I will fly out on Thursday 13th, and return on Friday, 14th. Kara's first day to show up at school had to be changed due to the change in her treatment. She will show up for testing for about an hour on the 12th.
Thanks for checking in on Kara and your prayers! We appreciate it!
God bless,
Megan
3 August 2009, 9:44pm EST
Kara has had a good week. I am so happy to say Kara has gained weight (almost a pound) in these 6 days that her Sorafenib has been on hold. I still went ahead and ordered Duocal to add carbs and calories to her food/drinks. She has been acting a lot better this week. The color in her face has looked better, at times, too. Her ANC is still pretty low - it's only risen to 467. St. Jude said to keep the Sorafenib medicine on hold, and also to hold the other oral chemo (Cyclophosamide) that she's been taking until Thursday. She goes back to Knoxville then, to have her counts re-checked to see if her ANC's risen high enough to travel to Memphis. If so, she & I will be flying out Monday -10th. Time will tell! She's scheduled for chemo in Memphis on Tues., 11th - with a late return flight home that evening.
The one thing that I'm noticing with this particular type of chemo regimen that she's on, is that her red blood cells are staying normal. Her platelets are dropping, but they aren't near transfusion levels-they are still decent levels. It's just been really dropping her white blood cells (immune system). Please pray with us about this situation that we're in with the chemotherapy she's on.
The blisters on her feet are a lot better. She's not complaining with pain, and the skin is peeling away- causing the blisters to go away. We have a couple different creams we use on them, and also an oral vitamin for this reason alone.
School begins for Brent on the 12th, and Kara & Lauren show up on the 14th for a short while for testing at the school. Where has this year gone to already?
Well, I better run. There's still a lot to do..... Enjoy the last little bit of time left before school officially begins!
