We left out at noon yesterday for Briley's scheduled chemo treatment. We just got back from Cooks the morning before, so it made this trip seem like a very long trip. We got to the clinic without incident and blood counts were down. The D.I. phase started living up to it's expectations. Her ANC (infection fighters) had dropped from 2100 down to 360. Counts below 500 are considered critical and will require her to be hospitalized with any fever above 100.5. She is very prone to sickness right now and we are keeping her isolated in the house. She can't even go outside and play.
Anyway, the chemo treatment is not count dependent, so she went ahead and got chemo. This will knock her down ever further. The doctor was a little surprised that her counts dropped so fast. Doc also was considering admitting Briley since her counts were so low and she recently had the fever. But she allowed us to go home since we didn't have any bags packed and with us on the condition that we watch Briley very close and take her temp quite often throughout the day.
She is not feeling her best today and I don't blame her. We would like to take her to the Relay for Life tonight, but can't with her counts. It's going to be a long month or more and we are doing what we can to keep her out of the hospital. The house is spotless! Please continue praying for Briley as she is now in the hardest battle against leukemia.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
ER Visit
Briley started running fever yesterday afternoon, and it reached 101.7. We left about 8:45 to head to Cooks, and she has an ear infection. Yesterday was also her 4th birthday, so that wasn't a good way to end it. They started antibiotics through her port, and she will be on an antibiotic at home also. Her counts still looked good, so we were able to come home. They did blood cultures, and hopefully they will be negative. We don't want her to have a 7 day minimum hospital stay. She will get more chemo tomorrow, and her counts should start dropping then. We were surprised that they hadn't dropped yet. She will have a 2 week break, then it's time to start her first round of 4 days of chemo. This is the worst chemo that is on her treatment plan if all goes according to plan. Please keep Briley in your prayers!! She has so many wonderful people praying for her, and God has so wonderfully answered them!! We are blessed!!
Friday, June 3, 2011
On the road and at the clinic again
Briley had yet another appointment with chemo yesterday. We got on the road about 30 minutes later than we wanted to thanks to me not wanting to get out of bed. That's what I get for working that night and having late night transfers.
oh-well, Bryson went with us this time. Briley loves having Bryson along for the ride and Bryson loves playing in the play room. Briley has been on steroids and it's starting to show. She had to have a frito pie breakfast at 5:30 that morning, so she got one! We finally left and got to Cooks around 8:20 that morning. The treatment went according to plan and her counts still looked really good. Her ANC count was high, but steroids will give a false high count. Her platelets and Hemoglobin are still looking good. However, we expect all the counts to start dropping at any point now.
We were extremely happy with the time frame that the clinic got us in & out. We were done at 11:00! The ride home was uneventful as both kids slept most of the way.
Briley was feeling good when we got home, so we took the kids out to a tank fishing. It wasn't long before she was ready to go to the house, but we manage to catch a few along with a big bull frog! The kids really enjoyed looking at the frog and Alicia asked, "is that where frog legs come from"? I'm afraid she will never eat another frog leg!
Briley is doing ok today. She is really tired and run down. She never takes naps during the day, but she has been sleeping a lot after the Doxorubicin treatment. At least the nausea and vomiting hasn't been an issue yet and the first steroid treatment has been completed.
Her next appointment is scheduled for the 9th. She will then have a two week break. If she meets counts, she will start the hardest part of this phase on the 23rd for 4 straight days of chemo. We'll be staying in the RMH during that time. We are dreading it, but are looking forward to getting it over with. Thank you for your support and prayers!
oh-well, Bryson went with us this time. Briley loves having Bryson along for the ride and Bryson loves playing in the play room. Briley has been on steroids and it's starting to show. She had to have a frito pie breakfast at 5:30 that morning, so she got one! We finally left and got to Cooks around 8:20 that morning. The treatment went according to plan and her counts still looked really good. Her ANC count was high, but steroids will give a false high count. Her platelets and Hemoglobin are still looking good. However, we expect all the counts to start dropping at any point now.
We were extremely happy with the time frame that the clinic got us in & out. We were done at 11:00! The ride home was uneventful as both kids slept most of the way.
Briley was feeling good when we got home, so we took the kids out to a tank fishing. It wasn't long before she was ready to go to the house, but we manage to catch a few along with a big bull frog! The kids really enjoyed looking at the frog and Alicia asked, "is that where frog legs come from"? I'm afraid she will never eat another frog leg!
Briley is doing ok today. She is really tired and run down. She never takes naps during the day, but she has been sleeping a lot after the Doxorubicin treatment. At least the nausea and vomiting hasn't been an issue yet and the first steroid treatment has been completed.
Her next appointment is scheduled for the 9th. She will then have a two week break. If she meets counts, she will start the hardest part of this phase on the 23rd for 4 straight days of chemo. We'll be staying in the RMH during that time. We are dreading it, but are looking forward to getting it over with. Thank you for your support and prayers!
Monday, May 30, 2011
To Ft. Worth and Back Again
We are burning up the road between Seymour and Ft. Worth. At least that's what it feels like. Briley was scheduled for her day 4 chemo yesterday and this round had to be done on day 4. Before, if a scheduled treatment fell on a weekend, they would move it to the Friday before or Monday after. But this one had to be on day 4, so we spent Sunday in Ft. Worth at the hospital. Our big Sosolik reunion was on Sunday also, but we had to miss it.
She had a 9:00am appointment. We got there a tad bit late, but all went well. The chemo ran for a couple of hours and we had to stay for another hour of observation. We were then free to leave. Briley had gotten accustomed to the clinic and didn't care being in the hospital for treatment. She cried a good bit. The steroids are also kicking in and it's bringing back bad memories of the steroid treatment from before. The cravings are starting along with the fits. But all in all, the treatment went well and so did the trip back home. Briley slept most of the way.
Her next treatment is on Thursday and we are very grateful for the Elks Lodge in Wichita for providing us with gas vouchers. Thank you for your continued support and prayers!
She had a 9:00am appointment. We got there a tad bit late, but all went well. The chemo ran for a couple of hours and we had to stay for another hour of observation. We were then free to leave. Briley had gotten accustomed to the clinic and didn't care being in the hospital for treatment. She cried a good bit. The steroids are also kicking in and it's bringing back bad memories of the steroid treatment from before. The cravings are starting along with the fits. But all in all, the treatment went well and so did the trip back home. Briley slept most of the way.
Her next treatment is on Thursday and we are very grateful for the Elks Lodge in Wichita for providing us with gas vouchers. Thank you for your continued support and prayers!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Delayed Intensification has started
We left for Ft. Worth on Wednesday to stay the night since Briley's had to be at the clinic 7:00 Thursday morning. We left town around 5:00 Wed. afternoon and arrived at the Embassy Suites without any problem. Briley was very excited to be staying at a hotel! The place was very nice and we appreciate them giving us a great deal on the room. It was located in the middle of Sundance Square. We walked across the street to a mexican food place, ate, and back to the hotel. Alicia and Briley took a dip in the hot tub, but Briley was a little scared of the deeper water, so they didn't stay in long. I'm going to have to work with her on swimming!
We arrived at the clinic on time. Her port was accessed and blood drawn and tested. All of her counts looked great, so she officially started D.I. We went down to the Special Procedure Area (Spa) for the spinal tap. The tap went just fine, then we went upstairs for a echocardiagram, then back to clinic for a couple of rounds of chemo. She did very well with all of this and we are extremely proud of her for being such a big girl. The staff did a great job getting us in and out. We never had to wait long.
They said it will be a couple of weeks before her counts really start dropping to the point of isolation. That is wonderful news. She hasn't been feeling her best after the new chemo. We are just ready to get this phase over with. It will be a long and tiring process, but we'll get her there and better.
We go back for more chemo this Sunday (Day 4), then on Thursday (Day 8) and then again on Day 15. She has also started back on the dreaded steroids. After Day 15, she will have a little break before the second phase of DI starts. Until then, we'll keep pushing forward. Thank you for thinking and prayer for her.
We arrived at the clinic on time. Her port was accessed and blood drawn and tested. All of her counts looked great, so she officially started D.I. We went down to the Special Procedure Area (Spa) for the spinal tap. The tap went just fine, then we went upstairs for a echocardiagram, then back to clinic for a couple of rounds of chemo. She did very well with all of this and we are extremely proud of her for being such a big girl. The staff did a great job getting us in and out. We never had to wait long.
They said it will be a couple of weeks before her counts really start dropping to the point of isolation. That is wonderful news. She hasn't been feeling her best after the new chemo. We are just ready to get this phase over with. It will be a long and tiring process, but we'll get her there and better.
We go back for more chemo this Sunday (Day 4), then on Thursday (Day 8) and then again on Day 15. She has also started back on the dreaded steroids. After Day 15, she will have a little break before the second phase of DI starts. Until then, we'll keep pushing forward. Thank you for thinking and prayer for her.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Last Treatment for this Phase!
Briley had a 3:00 appointment yesterday at Cooks, so we left a little early and made a quick trip to Bass Pro! I had a rod I needed to exchange and the kids had fun watching the fish swim around. Of course, they couldn't leave out of there without a "prize", so Briley got a little princess tackle box and Bryson got a Mickey Mouse rod and reel. They are their daddy's kids!
We got to Cooks on time and everything went very smooth. This was Bryson's first time at the clinic and he was actually really good! There are lots of toys to play with! Briley's counts came back good and the chemo went according to schedule.
We talked with the nurses and doctor about the next phase, Delayed Intensification. I've mentioned it many times before, and it is going to be a rough couple of months. I sarcastically asked the doc is she could skip this phase, but I don't think the doc found it very funny. Oh-well, I tried. She starts it on May 26th. Her counts will get very low and the doctor said it would be a 50/50 chance of her being hospitalized again during this treatment. A couple of the chemo's have some very nasty side effects and Zofran will be her best friend. She will pretty much be isolated in the house for those two months and she will loose her hair during this time.
The good news is, once she gets through this, then it will be all down hill. She has also been so strong that hopefully it won't affect her as much as it could. We also asked the doctor about the side effect of one of the chemos that causes heart damage and she told us that the leukemia patients dosage of that particular chemo was low and that they don't see heart damage with their leukemia patients. We were extremely happy to hear that!
That's all for now, please continue to pray for her during this trying time and maybe one or two prayers for me & Alicia as we are very stressed about the upcoming phase. I know that it needs to be done, but she is doing so good right now that it will be hard to see her knocked back down for that long. Thank you very much!
We got to Cooks on time and everything went very smooth. This was Bryson's first time at the clinic and he was actually really good! There are lots of toys to play with! Briley's counts came back good and the chemo went according to schedule.
We talked with the nurses and doctor about the next phase, Delayed Intensification. I've mentioned it many times before, and it is going to be a rough couple of months. I sarcastically asked the doc is she could skip this phase, but I don't think the doc found it very funny. Oh-well, I tried. She starts it on May 26th. Her counts will get very low and the doctor said it would be a 50/50 chance of her being hospitalized again during this treatment. A couple of the chemo's have some very nasty side effects and Zofran will be her best friend. She will pretty much be isolated in the house for those two months and she will loose her hair during this time.
The good news is, once she gets through this, then it will be all down hill. She has also been so strong that hopefully it won't affect her as much as it could. We also asked the doctor about the side effect of one of the chemos that causes heart damage and she told us that the leukemia patients dosage of that particular chemo was low and that they don't see heart damage with their leukemia patients. We were extremely happy to hear that!
That's all for now, please continue to pray for her during this trying time and maybe one or two prayers for me & Alicia as we are very stressed about the upcoming phase. I know that it needs to be done, but she is doing so good right now that it will be hard to see her knocked back down for that long. Thank you very much!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Long Day but All is Well!
We left out of town around 5:30 this morning for a 8:15 appointment. We ran a little late due to the wonderful rain falling basically the entire way and heavy traffic past Springtown into Ft. Worth. Briley had another spinal tap scheduled and chemo treatment in the clinic after that. I don't know what happened today, but everything moved so slow...........
She is put to sleep during every spinal tap, so of course, they don't want her to eat anything after 10:00 the night before and no drinks after 6:00 the morning of. Everything was done as they asked. She went to clinic first to have her port access then blood drawn to get counts. Her counts looked great! Then off to the special procedure area. We waited and waited some more. Then finally they called us back. We waited. Then we overheard Briley was the last procedure for the day and then for some reason we were moving upstairs to the main surgery area. The paper work is different between the two areas, so we waited some more while they got the paper work straighten out. Finally, at 1:00, she went back for her procedure.
Now, trying to tell and keep a 3 year old from eating or drinking for that long is a challenge. I felt bad for her because they were handing out donuts at the clinic so she got one to have on hand for after the procedure. That donut became very tempting to her and she wanted to hold it for the last couple of hours and said, "I promise I won't eat it!" Although she tried to sneak a sprinkle or two!
Other than my little rant about waiting, things went according to plan with no lasting side effects as of yet. The doctor is still very impressed with her progress and said she is one of the strongest kids she has seen at this point in treatment. I think alot of that has to do with the many prayers that are said for her daily! There is not a doubt in my mind that God hears these prayers and He is watching over her.
After the procedure, we went back to the clinic and I think they were feeling sorry for us for waiting so long. They had her lunch there and the chemo was ready to go! 20 minutes later, we were done! We left Ft. Worth around 4:00. The trip home was uneventful. Briley and Alicia slept most of the way. I finally tired out and actually let Alicia drive right before we got into Olney. She is always telling me that she will drive while I slept. Well, I can't sleep when I'm that nervous!
We made it back to Seymour, and then drove to Munday to pick up Bryson. I don't know what we would do without the kid's grandparents! It's wonderful having them here to help out when need be.
Briley has one more chemo treatment in 10 days, then she will have a 2 week break before starting the next phase. Please continue to pray for her as we can see that all of the prayers are working for her. Thanks!
She is put to sleep during every spinal tap, so of course, they don't want her to eat anything after 10:00 the night before and no drinks after 6:00 the morning of. Everything was done as they asked. She went to clinic first to have her port access then blood drawn to get counts. Her counts looked great! Then off to the special procedure area. We waited and waited some more. Then finally they called us back. We waited. Then we overheard Briley was the last procedure for the day and then for some reason we were moving upstairs to the main surgery area. The paper work is different between the two areas, so we waited some more while they got the paper work straighten out. Finally, at 1:00, she went back for her procedure.
Now, trying to tell and keep a 3 year old from eating or drinking for that long is a challenge. I felt bad for her because they were handing out donuts at the clinic so she got one to have on hand for after the procedure. That donut became very tempting to her and she wanted to hold it for the last couple of hours and said, "I promise I won't eat it!" Although she tried to sneak a sprinkle or two!
Other than my little rant about waiting, things went according to plan with no lasting side effects as of yet. The doctor is still very impressed with her progress and said she is one of the strongest kids she has seen at this point in treatment. I think alot of that has to do with the many prayers that are said for her daily! There is not a doubt in my mind that God hears these prayers and He is watching over her.
After the procedure, we went back to the clinic and I think they were feeling sorry for us for waiting so long. They had her lunch there and the chemo was ready to go! 20 minutes later, we were done! We left Ft. Worth around 4:00. The trip home was uneventful. Briley and Alicia slept most of the way. I finally tired out and actually let Alicia drive right before we got into Olney. She is always telling me that she will drive while I slept. Well, I can't sleep when I'm that nervous!
We made it back to Seymour, and then drove to Munday to pick up Bryson. I don't know what we would do without the kid's grandparents! It's wonderful having them here to help out when need be.
Briley has one more chemo treatment in 10 days, then she will have a 2 week break before starting the next phase. Please continue to pray for her as we can see that all of the prayers are working for her. Thanks!
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