Aly's fight with ALL ( Leukemia): ...fever time again

Monday 21 November 2011

...fever time again

Well it happened - her fever hit 38.4, so I made the call to page Aly's oncologist. I knew exactly what she was going to say "....you need to take her to emerg." So I gathered a few things I knew we would need, like her DVD player, some movies and some snacks, then headed down to KGH. We were seen immediately by the triage nurse and Aly was very cooperative when the nurse took her temp and oxygen levels. Her temp came up as 37.4 but I didn't feel about bringing her down because at home I took her temp about 3 times and each time got a reading of over 38. There wasn't a nurse in emerg who was experienced, or comfortable in accessing ports, so they had to call down a nurse ( that we knew) from Peds and she was great with Aly. First she put a gripper in the Pablo ( the character from the Backyardigans) stuffed toy that Aly brought with her, then she was able to access Aly with little drama. We waited the usual 60 minutes for the results of the bloodwork and we were pleased to hear that she was not neutropenic and her white blood count was decent. Now we just had to wait for a urine sample before we could be discharged. So waiting for a child to pee is far worse than waiting for paint to dry, especially at 2am. It seems like she hasn't peed since about 7pm - how is that even possible when she is hooked up to fluids. So they then ordered some additional fluids to get things moving. We finally got our sample and once the nurse returned to remove her port, we were able to leave. I think we got home just after 4am - wow what a night. But it wasn't over for me. Aly wanted to eat when we get home and also watch some TV - - she seemed to be wide awake. Now I couldn't leave her up all alone, so I made her some snacks and watched some TV in bed with her. She tossed and turned for some time and eventually fell asleep - - just at the same time the puppy woke up - lucky me. Well I saw the sun begin to rise so I decided to make some coffee and watch the news - - I would have the rest of the day to nap :)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Treatment Plan Update

12-27-11: Interim Maintenance II begins

Treatment begins with a spinal, then treatment every 10 days for 8 weeks ( another spinal on week 7)

10-31-11: Chemo today - - vincristine, doxorubicin

10-28-11: Delayed intensification begins - - today Aly had another spinal tap in addition to 2 other types of chemo.
Interim AAly also had her flu shot.

10-03-11: Aly has been visitng the Cancer clinic every 10 days to have her bloodwork done and receive her chemo treatment. Tomorrow she will undergo another lumbar puncture- - she will be at the Cancer clinic first thing in the morning and will get her bloodwork done and then get sedated for her spinal tap. So far Aly has not had any negative side effects from her treatments, and her bloodwork has continued to be strong.

8-19-11: Aly had her final LP today for this round of treatment. All of her blood levels are great so we don't need to return to the cancer clinic for 10 days!! Aly continues to received an oral chemo nightly and will continue that for another 2 weeks.

8-10-11: Aly continues to receive her antibiotic for the blood infection and now takes a chemo pill nightly ( I dilute it in water and give it to her with an oral syringe). This will continue for 28 days. She has another spinal on Friday, then her final one for this round the following Friday. Then on to the next protocol.

8-2-11: Ultra-sound completed today on Aly's left arm. They uncovered a blood clot, so blood thinners begin tomorrow ( that means 2 needles/day). They also want to complete an MRI on her left arm ( similar to what was done with her right arm) - that will happen tomorrow at noon. Aly is in remission now, so next phase of treatment will likely begin tomorrow.

7-31-11: Both procedures were completed on Friday ( 29th) and all went well. MRI was also completed on her right arm and she received Chemo to her spinal fluids. The MRI did show an infection in the tissues that surround her muscle from her elbow to her shoulder. Results from her test will be available on Wednesday of next week. Currently the only treatment she is receiving is antibiotics for her infection.

7-28-11: Bone Marrow / Spinal Tap delayed one day due to blood infection. Unable to determine cause of infection / arm pain. This morning there was lots of swelling around her port and they were unable to draw blood - so there may be a chance they have to remove her port fully an replace it. It could be the cause of the infection.

7-21-11: Aly's chemo treatment went well today. The nurse later phoned me with her blood levels and said that everything looked ok - -her hemoglobin was down a bit, but not the point where they worry about transfusion - -let's hope it stays good for next week. They also mentioned that her white blood cells were decent as well, but that the steriods are likely inflating those numbers and once the steriod are gone we will have to monitor that closely. Low white blood count will cause her be become neutropenic ( ...basically have no immune system)

7-19-11 : Bloodwork went well today, no need for a tranfusion today - yay! Her diaper rash is quite bad, so we have to pull out the zinc for her. It's sad because she has never had a diaper rash as a baby. Next week is bone marrow test and spinal tap to she how she did......fingers crosssed and positive thoughts!!

7-14-11 : Chemo went well and blood levels were so good we might not have to go back until next Thursday - Yay!

Today we have to go to the cancer clinic for a short round of chemo. We should be in and out within an hour.