Chemo sessions Day 8 & 9 are done! Yea! Avery seems to have handled them well. The Dr's seem content and plan to send us home at some point tomorrow afternoon. Avery is in great spirits and even got the chance to finger paint today. (Mostly mom and the poor volunteer, but we managed a picture too.) The next few days they will be monitoring her ANC (absolute neutrophil count)and we will have to go to the hospital everyday for a daily dose of her GCSF to help her neutrophils reproduce. We'll of course continue other things like her therapy, clinic appts and labs as well. The GCSF requires an IV hook up and takes about an hour or so. When her ANC drops below 500, Avery will be required to wear a mask and avoid all crowds -- lot of time at home with Mom and Dad! The biggest concern at that point is that her body is not able to fight off infection once her levels drop that far and therefor we need to avoid the risk. If for any reason we think she has an infection we immediately head to the hospital. Fever is considered important at 99.4 degrees...so the moment she hits that we go -- they told us to pack a bag, kind of like when you are pregnant and be ready to go at any moment.
Jeremy and I are anxious to get back to the Target House. At the hospital only one of us can sleep in the room with her and the other has to sleep in the parent room. Neither of these options are "cozy" so we are looking forward to sleeping in a real bed back at the Target House. We are now considered germaphobes...we wash our hands 50 million times a day, wipe down all surfaces with Clorox wipes daily, and throw a lot of things away unused, but open.
Avery has been working with PT/OT at sitting up. It's going well and she is slowly regainging control of her head. She is able to hold it up for a fairly decent amount of time now, but lacks control in her trunk. This causes a lot of wobbliness and coordination issues for her but she is determined to crawl so she keeps at it.
I think that's about it for today...looking up for us!
Jenn & Jeremy
Welcome to the world of germaphobes! With Henry I am constantly washing my hands and of course "nagging" at Dan to wash his. Glad to hear she's doing well and that she has several activities to keep her busy. We miss you but know you will all be home before you know it! Kisses to Avery. Vicki Masker
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