Chemo Monday (Week 14)

Our last night in DC, Carter started feeling sick. He has a fever and is very lethargic.

Coming on this trip was a calculated risk for us. But a risk that we and our doctors decided was necessary and worthwhile. We have enjoyed our time away immensely. It has been a blessing to see so many of our friends and family- some we haven't seen in a long time. It was good for all of us. It was great to see so many of the people out there following our story and praying for us on a daily basis. Some we have met before, others we saw for the first time. It is humbling to know that so many people are interceding on our behalf. I pray God blesses each and every one of you and your families. Thank you for holding us up!

But now we are suffering the consequences of breaking out of our bubble. I took Carter to the ER when we got home Sunday night. They took him right back and took full precautions. After a full work up they told us he had a virus, possibly flu. They sent us home with Tamiflu and instructions on quarantine for our household. "No contact between the kids. Everyone wearing masks and gloves. Complete cleaning and disinfecting when moving from one child to the next. etc." After they read me the list, they smiled and said it would be really difficult, near impossible, to do with preschoolers. No kidding!
So we're back where we started this whole process. Just abiding. God is in control of this, too. No amount of control or worry is going to change it, so we have to just accept it. I have to say it is almost surreal. I came home to mountains of luggage, one sick child, and one extremely vulnerable child. When it was just our family and we were all healthy I felt safe in our house. Now that has been invaded, too. We had a few moments of 'what now?!" then we just moved on. We have to just do our best for each of the kids and trust that God has all of us in His grasp.

Carter rarely if ever tells us if he doesn't feel well. But it is very easy to tell because the child that never stops moving is stopped in his tracks. He actually fell asleep Sunday afternoon. His only symptoms so far are lethargy and fever. We pray he doesn't get worse.
We have been keeping him confined to one chair in the living room and his bedroom. Billy and I will likely wash the skin off our hands and arms sometime in the near future :) and Lysol is our new best friend.

So that's where we were going into chemo today.

It feels like such a long time since we came to the hospital. Julia was happy to see everyone again and them her. She was painting in no time and driving the firetruck all over the clinic.
We were glad to have Ms. Karen back as our nurse today, though Ms. Diane stopped in to catch up. Julia had her physical with Dr. McLean before treatment. He was happy with her progress and the positive effects of the blood transfusion. She has had mostly good days. The past week she has had a lot of jaw pain and achiness, but overall has done well. Her labs today looked good. Her white blood count has come up from 1.9 to 3.7 just since the end of June! And her red blood count levels are all holding strong. Praise God!

Today she received vincristine, dactinomycin, and zofran. This week is her first of four high doses of vincristine. Because of her age jump and the higher dose she is actually receiving double the dose strength she started with. Dr. McLean spent a lot of time talking to me about this. They expect her pain to increase steadily. He said not to be surprised if it prevents her from eating and limits her ability to walk in the next weeks. The dactinomycin will also likely make her nauseous.

She cried today for the first time during treatment. When Ms. Karen started her port access, she lost it. I hate having to force her to do this. She said having the access pushed in really hurts. This is the first time she has ever talked about how all this feels. My heart aches for her having to go through this process. Julia, you are my hero.

Please pray for strength for Julia and minimal side effects. Please pray for Carter's quick healing and protection for all of us from illness. Also for strength, encouragement, and faith for all of us during the next weeks recovering at home. Thank you for your continued love and prayers during this long journey...