Halfway through!

Kade is halfway through her treatment!! Round 3 went a lot better and quicker than the last two. We were in the hospital for 4 days and her nausea wasn't that bad up until recently. We were home for 5 days, then Saturday Kade started feeling feverish which is her trend when her counts go down. She was also not tolerating her feeds and throwing up a lot more. Sunday morning we had an appt for labs but I knew since she had a low grade fever all night we would probably be admitted depending in her ANC (white blood count). Sure enough she was at 0 and I could tell wasn't feeling good at all. We were admitted again yesterday for antibiotics. She also tested positive for rotavirus which is a GI virus so we are in Isolation and she has pretty bad diarrhea. The good news is that she had a blood transfusion and 2 platelet transfusions, and has also been give a lot of fluids and electrolytes as those were also very low.  She was very dehydrated from throwing up so the extra fluids and blood helped her get her color back and feel much better. She's still a little pukey but is overall feeling a bit better. She's also gained some weight back. If she can keep her fevers down below 100 and her blood cultures come back negative for infection, then it should be a short stay of only a few days.

I'm so proud if her for making it halfway through these treatments! It's been a rough and rocky road, but we're over the hump, or I should say mountain!! (Fingers crossed!)
We have 3 more rounds but from what I hear, shouldn't be as tough.

I know this has been a trial for our family but it's brought us closer. I also feel very fortunate and blessed that things are not worse and that this is a rare but treatable cancer with a good prognosis because we removed her whole tumor. I've met and heard about so many children that have it A LOT worse than Kade and it breaks my heart. Kade is expected to come out on top after this which is a HUGE blessing. There was a family here next door during our last cycle of chemo and there were about 20 people in this little boys room for two days. Their little one was dying and they were all there to say goodbye. I don't know the details but I know they were an awesome and very close knit family and it gave me so many mixed emotions. I was so sad. So grateful things are not worse for us but so heartbroken for this other family. I am counting my blessings and choosing gratitude.

This past week Maizyns classroom Mom gave me a gift of a "get well soon" banner that her class made with each of the kids writing a note for her as well as some gift cards. I also was pleasantly surprised to receive a bundle of anonymous cards in the mail from complete strangers, and to have my friend bring me some care packages from other people I don't even know. Not to mention the MANy gifts, kind words, help and love from our friends, family, and loved ones. Beyond touched. People are good. God is good.

All we ask for are continued love and prayers, yet we still continue to receive so much support by way of anonymous gifts, donations, anonymous cards in the  mail, meals, and many prayers and so much love. We are so grateful and always touched.

Normal life?

Sorry I haven't updated this in so long. It has been a very busy few weeks! We were in the hospital for a few days due to fevers and infection, but then came home last Thursday and have been home since. We finally had a normal week! ( minus various Dr. Appts ) There has been so much improvement in our little girl! She is crawling and playing and laughing. We haven't had fevers and have had minimal vomiting! She finally felt good and was her active little busy bee! It has been so great to have her back. It still comes with a lot of round the clock care with her meds and changing her caps and flushing her lines with heparin, also replacing her NG tube on average every other day because she either pukes it out or pulls it out herself... We've become pros. I'm actually considering nursing now. :) But even with all the work it entails, I am so happy to see her doing so well.

Kade also had an MRI done to scan her brain for any new tumors and her scan was clear! Yay! She also hasn't lost any of her hearing yet (which is a side affect of one of the chemotherapy) I'm so glad we are finally having good results and good news coming our way. Such a relief! It has been awesome to see her interact with her siblings like she used to. She loves giving hugs and kisses to everyone and is even starting to say some words again. I'm so proud of her. I can tell her brain thinks she can walk and do all the things she used to but when she tries to her body doesn't cooperate because it's not quite strong enough yet, it's frustrating to her. But I am so proud of her for trying and it's so encouraging that I know she'll be walking again soon. We head back in for Round 3 of Chemo tomorrow morning. This will be our last round of "baby boot camp" chemo (that's what he nurse practitioner called it). So she will be sick for about a week and her counts will go down again which may have us end up in the hospital again. However this is the last round of the super harsh chemo recipe. The next three rounds (4,5,and 6) are 4 weeks apart and we are only admitted for 2 days with only 2 types of chemo which shouldn't be as harsh on her little body. I'm looking at it as this is the last little climb and then we will be over the hill and starting to come down to the finish line. I am amazed how fast this has gone, but also how slow it's gone. I know that doesn't really make sense, but that's kind of the roller coaster we've been on. I know God has been walking this hard path with us and has helped us because as I look back I can't believe how I've been holding it together. It's been a hard two months! I'm so grateful for the friends, family and loved ones helping us along the way. I'm still so humbled by the love and generosity from not only loved ones, but also complete strangers. Thank you everyone. My little Kade is a fighter and I'm so proud of her! Wish us luck with this next round!