Wednesday, March 10th
Avery has felt decent for the most part this past week. She has been able to enjoy some fun with her sisters including bike riding, going for walks(in the stroller), and playing tennis. Despite the fun she has had, her nausea and vomiting episodes have really increased since last Wednesday resulting in some not so fun times too.
We went to clinic this morning in hopes of starting chemo again. Her platelets had risen to 76 which is borderline to begin chemo, but her ANC had dropped by 40% to 790 this week. Given those numbers, they decided to give her the Avastin, hold the Irinotecan, and continue to hold the Temozolomide. She also received her monthly Pentam to protect her from pneumonia. We will not go back for 2 weeks to allow her time to recover. We are hoping to be able to get back on schedule soon.
The increased nausea has us worried. I explained to our oncologist that our job as parents is to always be prepared for and anticipate the worst case scenario. This is how we live our lives... every 3 months at a time. He reassured me that based on his experience with this disease, it was unlikely to see progression this soon after radiation. But the real truth is, only God knows the outcome. That is the fear and stress families of children with cancer have to take on every day.
They are attributing the nausea/vomiting to lingering effects from the radiation. Radiation at such a high dose can cause brain swelling for months. There are no other signs of a shunt malfunction or disease progression right now thankfully. We are starting Avery back on a low dose of steroids each day and will slowly wean down once the nausea is under control. This will also allow us to taper the Zofran she has been getting(3 times a day) which we also believe is the culprit of her constipation.
For now, we will keep living our day to day lives and enjoy our time away from the hospital!
Please continue to pray for:
- No more nausea and vomiting
- Count recovery
- Protection from illnesses and germs
- Good scans on April 5th
That sweet baby and you all in the family have been through so much; I pray for all you asked for and that she feels herself soon! Being sick is no fun, and then on top of her treatments to feel so bad makes it 1000 times worse for her. Hang in there; prayers are going up every day, and I do believe in miracles and in prayer!💗🎗️🍡🍦🍧🎈
Praying!!!
Our prayers are always with your family. Everyday is a precious gift to be treasured—the world would be a better place if everyone realized just how precious that gift is.
Praying nightly for our sweet girl to get on track and to have good days. Praying for Mom too and the whole family. Love you and keep up the good fight .
Keep up your strong Will and fight like you always have sweet girl. Continued prayers for all that you have ask for above. Keep on Smiling Avery! Your smiles brighten my days. God has got it all under control. Love you and your family🙏🙏🙏❤️