This is not the post I was expecting to write today.

No chemo!

So, to do chemo, they require your counts be at certain levels... Her hemoglobin and platelets, while lowered a little, were passable. Her ANC however (which is a part of your white blood cells) was way too low. I mentioned last week that this was the thing that was super low and had me a bit worried, well it hadn't bounced  back enough yet. Normally, ANC is 1500 and above. The 23rd it was just above 1000, so still totally normal. Then on the 30th, it was down at 210. (this is where I freaked out a little.) Now, it's improved to 340, which while better, is not ideal. Nor is it high enough to have chemo (750 or higher)

So, after getting up stupid early (the cold weather had me paranoid about ice on the roads and possible intense traffic) So we left at 6:20 for a 8:00am appointment. Then after a good bit of waiting around  (during which we had time to take super cute pictures):

we got vitals (she's 17lbs 7.6oz and 27 inches so still growing like a weed!) Next up we both had a very long and informative discussion with her oncologist, and we got her port accessed. I'll get to the meeting in a second, but if you read the posts from the first port access - you'll now it was *horrible*! Total. Meltdown. So we were all really dreading it! Today it went *amazing*!!! Literally zero crying at all. She started off calm, and she was tired, but hadn't napped yet - she was just processing a nice big bottle and was in that happy food coma state. We laid her back and instead of looking at nothing fun and screaming, we had her watch this cool seahorse toy thing Grandpa Scott got her ( see below) and she was a totally happy camper! A little squirmy, but she never sits still (no comments from the peanut gallery!) How blessed are we??? They hooked her up to the fluids to get her ready while they processed the blood work too.

So then we got to talk with the doctor a long while. One cool thing is that this round of chemo is actually only one day! There's a second day of a supplemental treatment, but it's a shot, not through the port! So that means she doesn't have to come home with the needle still in at all this round! (yay!) The downside of this round, so that there's 3, yes THREE chemo drugs all in one day. So basically, next week we'll just move in to the hospital for a day. We start with getting bloodwork and a physical to make sure she's healthy enough for chemo, then it's two hours of hydrating fluids. Next up is an hour of cyclo, then an hour of doxo, then an hour of carbo, and then more fluids. So basically we'll be moving in to the hospital next Wednesday. They also expect her to be more nauseous after this next round... but the Zofran should keep it in line. 

Then the bloodwork came back saying "not today"... so we were all a bit disappointed, but I guess it means the chemo is working, right? And we were also partially relieved - the procrastinator in you really is excited you won't be having to worry over a sick baby tonight. So they unhooked her from the saline... which she had for a good 45 min to an hour... so she'll pee fiercely tonight!!!

The really cool thing that the doctor said, was that while she was doing an exam, the mass was harder to find! Now, it was already really hard to find, and this time the baby was squirmy - but she seemed to think (while trying to not make us too hopeful) that it could mean the tumor is shrinking!!!!!

There's a shot next week *could* be the last week of treatment!!!!! Prayers for that PLEASE! (And of course that her numbers will be high enough next week so she can get what she needs to kick cancer's butt!) Seriously, how blessed are we????