Phase 3 Begins

After two weeks of not making counts, (and not being able to start chemo) we were all feeling really ready to just get this show on the road. Meg was scheduled for a CBC (complete blood count) on Thursday to see where we were at. Week one her ANC (count that represents her immunity) was completely bottomed out at 200. The next week 300. So, I was really nervous that at that rate it'd be another month before we made it to the required magic number...750. Wednesday night I slept terrible. I kept dreaming that her ANC came in at 600 and I was begging our doctor to please just let us start. So, you can imagine my complete surprise when her ANC came back at a whopping 1200! It's like Heavenly Father was saying, "I'll see your 600 ANNNNND, I'll double it!" Once again, I'm reminded that Heavenly Father is in the details and He is mindful of me, Meg and our family.

So, because we made counts, at 5:30 this morning Meg and I were off to Salt Lake City. We arrived at 9:30. Checked in at clinic to have her port accessed and then headed to RTU (Rapid Treatment Unit) for her bone marrow aspirate and lumbar puncture chemo. We should receive the results of the aspirate middle of next week. This is the big test that will tell us if she still has residual disease. We are praying, praying, praying that it comes back 100% clear. (Reminder...if it doesn't, we're looking at bone marrow transplant. So, we'll accept your offers to pray, pray, pray too!)

After making a quick detour to the cafeteria for our traditional Friday chips and salsa (it's delicious and makes Friday's at Primary's just a titch more bearable!) we headed up to the unit to get checked in and settled for the next few days.

It's now 10:00 p.m. And Meg's hooked up to the most HUGANGOUS bag of chemo you've ever seen and trying really hard to keep her eyes open to finish, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the movie. She's worn out from our early start and a busy busy day! You'd think being in a hospital would be lots of sitting around and taking it easy. Not when you're in the hospital with Meg! We played for a few hours in the Forever Young playroom, made 2 duct tape wallets, 3 batches of silly putty and walked lots of halls of the hospital.

Meg's responding to the chemo really well so far. She's had an only "okay" appetite but that's fairly normal for Meg. I'm guessing and hoping that she's going to sail through this treatment like she has all the others. The hardest part will be the requirement that she go to the bathroom every two hours minimum, even through the night, the whole time we are here. I swear nurses love to wake their patients! Sheesh! So, we'll probably come home more exhausted than we left but that's okay. It'll be kind of like having a newborn again and we survived those years, we'll survive this too!

Thanks for your prayers.

G'night!