Monday, September 23rd
We had a semi-restful and uneventful night last night. Avery continues to remain fever free and is receiving IV antibiotics as a precaution. Her labs this morning showed a better level of blood counts(HgB, Hct, and platelets) than yesterday, so no transfusions were needed today. Her ANC still remains at zero, so we will definitely be here a bit longer.
For those of you interested, ANC( Absolute Neutrophil Count) is the total number of neutrophils in your white blood cell count. Neutrophils are the infection fighting cells. The lower the ANC drops, the higher the risk of infection. A normal white blood cell count is between 5,000 and 10,000 cells. She was admitted with febrile neutropenia which is essentially fever with a very low neutrophil count. It is among the most serious clinical complications in cancer patients who are undergoing chemo, but it is also a very common complication. Avery receives an injection everyday to help boost her neutrophil count. This helps her prepare for her next round of chemo, as well as, the stem cell collection that will take place to be used later on in the treatment.
Just like most days, we had our ups and downs. Avery played and rested while I was able to put in a full day of work(this does a world of good for me mentally). We enjoyed getting to spend some time and eat dinner with Shon tonight before he headed home to be with the big girls.
The end of the day always brings some struggles. Not only is she tired, but we also have a list of things to do to annoy her. This includes wiping her down with pre-surgical wipes to reduce the risk of infection, her daily Filgrastim injection, vitals which include an O2 sat(her nemesis) , and now an oral appetite stimulant to take.
Avery's appetite still remains poor. She is over 6 lbs down from diagnosis and 2lbs down from this time last year. We have started her on appetite stimulants, but it is likely that an NG tube will be in our near future. In order to get the proper nutrition she needs, she would need to drink 3 - 8oz cans of Pediasure in addition to meals and snacks or 6 - 8 oz cans of Pediasure with no food. Neither of those scenarios seems very likely right now.
Please continue to pray for:
- Her ANC to increase
- Rest
- Increased appetite
- Mucositis(mouth sores due to chemo) to heal
I think you are a remarkable set of parents, Avery is a brave little girl, the two girls at home are troopers, and my heart goes your way every day! It has to be really hard to be strong right now, but you are nailing it Mom and Dad! Love and many, many, constant prayers!
Thank you for taking time to update this blog. It helps me feel a little more connected to you. It’s also helpful to know what to pray for. 😇 Hang in there my friend. 😘