December 5, 2005

Tonight we are having some technical trouble posting to the blog. We have been unable to access it from the hospital and my mom has also tried and not been able to access it from home. We hope when the site is back in working order people will remember to check in.

The big news of the day is that we are starting chemotherapy tonight. Currently Leah is receiving a lot of IV fluids for the four hours preceding her first chemo. treatment. They want to do this because one of the drugs she will be receiving affects kidney function and it will be important for her to empty her bladder every two hours. This is all monitored very closely. Dr. DePaola visited with us twice today. Again, we have been impressed by him the times we have dealt with him. He has stressed the road will be long and hard and it will be dramatic with many ups and downs. Leah's tumor has metastasized to her lungs, yet Dr. DePaola happily told us there were only two unremarkable spots. This is better than if they were remarkable. The hope is that chemotherapy will eliminate those entirely. The first drug she receives this evening around 9:00 is called Cisplatin. We can expect nausea within 2-6 hours, although they do administer anti-nausea drugs with the beginning of Cisplatin. If she still feels nauseous, they have other drugs to counteract this. All of this is very dependent on the individual.

Other highlights of our day include Leah building a gingerbread house with a volunteer and attending an art activity this evening. She is starting to like some of these activities that are offered and mentioned this evening that she wants to go back to them tomorrow. Of course we will see how she feels.

Tomorrow Chris and I meet with Jane to get a great deal of information and education about chemotherapy. We have heard she has remarkable knowledge and we will learn much over time.

Right now the plan is that we may go home on Thursday or Friday. We have heard that before, so I say that much of this is tentative and we must wait and see how Leah feels and if she has a fever. When we get home we will be lying low since her blood counts will be bottomed out and she will risk infection. While we would love visitors, and so would she, this may not be something we can do without risking her health for a few weeks.

While we will be very happy to go home, we are also very impressed with the care we are receiving here. Every person we have come in contact with has shown great care and compassion for our family.

As the time approaches for Leah to begin treatment I find myself getting a bit nervous. The fight is beginning. Since we first met Dr. Rahdi we have been telling Leah that she needs to say, "Bring it on!" when she sees him next. They are "bringing it on" and we pray for her tough, stubborn, strong willed personality to be an advantage to her now.