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September 15, 2004 -- Maintenance #5 (Day 56-57) Katie had her LP late yesterday and an MRI this morning. The results of the the CAT scan showed nothing of concern. The MRI of Katie's brain showed effects of the chemo she has been getting, but nothing more. The spinal fluid was tested and showed some white blood cells (which normally wouldn't be there). There was no bacterial infection and no leukemia cells (thank God). It did, however, show that she has a virus called "enterovirus meningitis". This particular virus has symptoms of mild to severe headaches with high spiking fevers. The virus is expected to last 14 days or so. There is no treatment for it so we need to let it run its course. The oncologists feel confident that there will be no complications from it. Katie was released from the hospital tonight. She spiked a fever of 103.2 by the time we reached my parents house to pick up Kyle. I spoke to the oncology fellow on-call and she conferred with the attending oncologist that was taking care of Katie at the hospital. They felt that the spiking fever was a result of the enterovirus and we could watch Katie through the night. We should look for signs of being disoriented, chills, shaking or convulsions, in which we would need to bring her back to the ER. It certainly gave us a scare and had the oncology staff very concerned with her symptoms (headaches, fevers, vomiting and nausea). We are so relieved that it was nothing serious. We just hope that the virus passes quickly and Katie's discomfort diminishes quickly. We have to follow up with Katie's new oncologist on Friday. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your thoughts and prayers. Here is Katie's ANC and chemo/meds since last update: September 14, 2004: ANC 7482. Hold Zofran -- can cause migraines. September 15, 2004: ANC 1200+. Recieved IV vincristine before being discharged. Continue with all other meds/chemo at 100%. 50mg (1 tablet) 6MP Monday through Saturday evenings and 75mg (1.5 tablets) Sunday night, 15mg (6 tablets) MTX weekly on Wednesday evenings, 1/2 tab Bactrim 2 times per day for 2 days (Friday through Saturday), 1 Viactiv daily, 1/2 capful Miralax as needed for constipation/hard stools. Follow-up with Dr. Julie Stern in 2 days. Need prescription for other anti-nausea med. Keep detailed journal of Katie's food intake and activities for the next couple of weeks to determine if there are migraines being triggered in addition to the enterovirus meningitis. |
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