Good News!

Rick just dragged me out of Joshua's room. I was sleeping peacefully, curled up in a lump with my sleeping boy, who smelled so sweet after a bath with his sister. (Joshua did so well today. He was reading and spelling words we made on the walls of the tub with soft foam letters. He was having fun with the bubbles and cheering Katie along. He is such a resilient kid...) I wasn't eager to leave his sleepy little self, but I wanted to give you the further good news:

Katie's cell counts are all good--all of them--so she will begin the second phase of consolidation treatment tomorrow morning at Fletcher Allen. Her Absolute Neutrophil Count (or ANC) is absolutely normal. This is surprising given how low it was just last week. Katie's body continues to power her along through a daunting regimen. She is a miracle, as is the science that allows her to heal and to grow. You would never know that Katie has cancer. She took a long nap for Grandma today, and it really charged her batteries. She ran and played. She shrieked and shouted. She peed on the potty. She was raring to go when she woke up, and it was a pleasure to run about after he (although we couldn't really keep up). Rick is in bed with Katie at the moment. He is probably sleeping, but I can still hear Katie...

Katie will have cytoxan (cyclophosphamide). cytarabine (Ara-C) and 6mp (mercaptopurine) tomorrow. These are the drugs that really depress her cell counts, so we can almost count on more frequent visits to Burlington two weeks from now as her cell counts bottom out again and we need blood products. We plan, therefore, to make the most of our journey into the Queen City tomorrow. Isolation is one aspect of this treatment that Katie just does not like. She needs people. She cried, Tuesday night, when we could not wait INSIDE the restaurant for the pizza we had ordered. Take out just doesn't cut it when there are live bodies just through the door that she would very much like to go visit. She is overdue for an adventure of some kind. We have to prove that the hospital is not the only attraction in Burlington. I don't know what we'll do, but we'll find some fun somewhere!

Here's a funny thought for you: Katie will need subcutaneous injections of cytarabine for three consecutive days beginning Friday, and the doctors have suggested that it might be less traumatic for Katie to receive these at home in the safety of her own space. This would mean fewer trips to Newport Pediatrics. While we are happy to visit the pediatrician in Newport, we don't want Katie to associate her office with SHOTS. When we asked Katie about these shots, she expressed a clear preference: "Mommy do it." Yikes. The current plan is that I will learn how to give Katie shots while Rick holds her. I will practice on my own leg while Katie watches so she can see how this works. I'm not completely convinced that this will reduce Katie's anxiety, but I'm willing to give it a shot. (Ha, ha, ha...)

On that ridiculous note, I'm going back to bed. Good night, all.