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March 21, 2003 -- Interim Maintenance #1 (Day 28) Katie had her IM#1 day 28 blood draw on Wednesday (3/19) at the King of Prussia clinic. They did a CBC and toxicity screening. Her ANC was just over 1000, and the results haven't come in on toxicity screen for her liver and kidneys as of yet. Katie went to CHOP on Thursday (3/20) for her spinal tap, spinal Methatrexate chemo and Vincristine IV chemo. Today she started back on the intensive oral chemo that will last for one week. We are back to the struggle of getting lots of pills in her. This time we are trying gel capsules that we can fill with the cut-up tablets. They should be easier to swallow, but Katie still has trouble getting them down. She has been chewing them instead. She cries the whole time, but at least she's getting them in. She knows when she fills her "medicine progress chart" with stickers, she will get a special treat (paint, play dough, or some other small toy. The incentive of knowing she will get a treat is getting costly, but we have to go with what works for her. Katie has to go for an echocardiogram on Monday (3/24). One of the drugs on the next phase is hard on the heart, so her doctor wants to make sure that her heart can handle it and it will also serve as a baseline. Katie has been playing and having lots of fun this week. She is still walking with assistance and will attempt to stand without holding anything. She is very happy with herself when she can stand for a few seconds without help. We are working on going up and down a single step right now. Her leg muscles are still very weak and will take some time to build back up again. She had a very good session with her physical therapist on Tuesday. We still has a long way to go. I had my 20 week checkup with the OB today. Everything is fine. I'll be getting a Level II ultrasound on Tuesday (3/25) where they will measure the baby in great detail and check for any genetic problems. We are looking into saving the stem cells from the new baby in the event that Katie would need them at some point in her treatment. I asked my OB if she knew which cord blood retrieval and storage company is best. She said that there are many and they only vary in price. If anyone has any info they could share with us, we would greatly appreciate it. We are hoping to get outside and play again this weekend! Hope everyone has an enjoyable week. Happy Spring!! |
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