Clinic Visit 5/16

Today was Pipers monthly clinic appointment. Of course, I say monthly with a smile on my face because we are more often than not there each week, often two or three times a week. But thankfully, things are most definitely on the up and up. Piper is doing wonderfully. All of her counts and numbers are beautiful and show no signs of anything worrisome. Her CMV results will be back in about 48hrs and we will surely see her virus levels staying suppressed.

Pipers monthly clinic visit is always the same. Vitals, blood work, chemo: sometimes spinal and sometimes not, and then a 4 hour transfusion of IVIG. And today was the same. All went smoothly, so smoothly that Piper is restarting her original protocol.

The maintenance protocol for most leukemia patients is typically the same. Clinic visit every month with a port access for chemo and blood work. Every third month she has sedation with spinal chemo and the other months she has Vincrisitine in her port. After each clinic visit the patient has 10 doses of Dexamethasone given over 5 days and then the patient finishes up the month with oral 6mp each night and an oral dose of Methotrexate once a week. Then it all starts again.

Piper has been held off of steroids since January. She has been off of 6mp and Methotrexate since March and has only received her monthly chemo in the clinic. This has made me very nervous because I want her little body to receive all the chemo it can handle until this September when please Jesus, she is done forever.

Thankfully today, Dr B made the decision to restart all of her chemos and steroids. I am certain that by Wednesday I will be rethinking my excitement over it in the midst of some serious steroid attitude but until then I just continue to pray that each little dose is doing big damage to any little cell that has dared to hide out.

As for today, she was a joy. At almost two years old we are only just beginning to see what type of a little girl we are raising. She is sweet and silly and I am impressed daily with what she has already overcome.

Have I mentioned how very much I love this little one?