Tuesday afternoon Karlee started to run a fever again. We called the oncall Oncologist again and were told to bring her up for some antibiotics. Dad drove home from Beavers and Mom and Karlee drove him back so they could take the car up to the hospital. As always they accessed her port and took blood for a CBC (Complete Blood Count) and cultures. Once they got those results back they gave her a dose of IV antibiotics to try to kill whatever keeps causing her fever to go up. Fortunately her counts were acceptable, but starting to get a little low, so they didn't have to keep her. Mom and Karlee were home just before 11 that night. Late nights make for a cranky Karlee going to bed that night and the next day.
Wednesday we called Jo (our primary care nurse) to see what the plan for today was. Normally when they give IV antibiotics they like to give back to back doses separated by 18 to 24 hours. Jo wanted us to come back at 6pm tonight to the unit (the clinic closes around 4pm). Mom went again in case her ANC had dropped below 500, in which case they would admit her. This time was much quicker and they were home around 8pm. Karlee's ANC has held steady at 900. This is a time to be concerned, but not to panic. Below 1,000 we need to be careful about close exposure to other kids who could have a cold or virus. If Karlee drops below 500 she would be considered neutropenic and would be admitted to the unit and placed in isolation.
Thursday was the Southland Kids Christmas Party at the Calgary Zoo. For people not in Calgary the Zoo does and event in November and December called Zoo Lights where they put 1.5 million lights and displays around the zoo. We bundled up and headed out to the zoo. First up was supper and a visit with Santa. Supper was hotdogs and veggies with cookies and hot chocolate. Sitting on Santa's knee is always a treat and getting a little gift is great too. Next we headed outside to the giant slide for the kids to have some fun. We walked around a little and then ended up at the hay, igloo building, the giant balls and snowman bowling. The kids loved these activities as they do every year. The only difference this year was Karlee couldn't play in the hay. It is too easy for her to damage her port by running around and jumping/falling. We walked around a little more and then found that they had built a new carousel since the last time we were there. Of course the kids had to ride on the various animals. After a little more walking around we headed home exhausted and ready for bed.
Friday morning brought more fevers. The first call to Jo actually didn't result in us having to head up as the fever was only in the 38.3 range and she wanted to check with the oncologist first. Of course while we were waiting for her to call us back her fever shot up to 39 degrees. We called Jo again as this is getting to the scary numbers. She wanted us to come in as soon as we can. This time it was Dad's turn to go and sit around and entertain Karlee. As always by the time we got to the hospital the fever was back down to the normal range. They again took some blood and we got to see Dr. Singh. It has been a while since Dad has seen him, since Mom does most of the clinic days and evenings and weekends are a lottery as to which doctor you get to see. This time they decided to send us home with oral antibiotics with instructions to check in the next morning at 9am.
Friday evening we took the kids swimming in Okotoks to get them out and let them burn off some steam. They both had a great time swimming and playing in the water. We have decided that swimming isn't that risky for Karlee since she really isn't in close contact with anyone and we let her decide what her limits are.Saturday morning Ryley had a hockey game half way across the city. They were playing the undefeated team in their division. The kids played a great game and held their own in the 3rd period when we normal start to fade. We did end up losing 9-0, but we looked pretty good and the kids all had a great time. Jennifer checked in with the oncall oncologist and they said to just continue monitoring her. Karlee's fever kind of went up and down and up some more for the rest of the day so we were on alert to head up to the hospital all day.
Sunday was another hockey practice at 6:30am. This one really seemed hard to get both Dad and Ryley up and ready for. We made it, but were very tired when we got home. Sunday was also the day we started to do the inside Christmas decorations. We got the tree up and partially decorated before we had to head to Grandma's. We dropped the kids of early so we could head out and do some Christmas shopping. Uncle Randy took them sledding and Grandma helped to entertain them while we were out. We returned and had some great chili and then headed home to sleep!
Tuesday morning Mom and Karlee headed to the Alberta Children's Hospital and the clinic for her first day of delayed intensification. This is supposed to be the toughest phase of treatment for her. We are expecting her to lose her hair pretty quickly during this phase. She had a lumbar puncture today to inject more chemotherapy into her spinal fluid. She then got 2 different chemo medicines through her port. They were out of the hospital by 2 in the afternoon. On the way home they stopped at the KCCFA offices to drop off 11 pair of slippers that the ladies there had ordered. She also picked up a voucher for Seussical the Musical on boxing day. The KCCFA is also going to be putting the kids up in a suite at the Hitmen game on Friday this week. We are going to get tickets to the game, but only the kids get to sit in the suite.Karlee was a little cranky tonight, but we are hoping that is due to just being tired after a long day. Tomorrow will be a very telling day to let us know how she is handling this round of chemotherapy. Time to go keep working on our Christmas letter and cards.
Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts, support and well wished.
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