Round Four Chemo

I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update. Katelyn started chemo on Monday and is doing well. She is had high dose ara-c every 12 hours, starting Monday, and ended at 5:30 am this morning. She started mitoxantrone yesterday, and will receive it once a day for 4 days. Mitoxantrone is similar to the Daunorubacin that she had in the beginning. It can affect many aspects of the heart in both immediate and long term situations. She had an echo and an ekg prior to starting the mitoxantrone just to get a baseline. She will need both the echo and ekg before the next round as well. Because there are possible long term effects to the mitoxantrone, she will have an echo every year once we are finished to make sure her heart isn't affected. The mitoxantrone is a bright blue drug and it is common for kids urine to turn blue, tears, the whites of their eyes, etc. So far I haven't noticed anything strange, but it is kind of weird thinking my kid could be crying blue tears. She isn't eating nearly as much, but she's still drinking a lot. She is hooked up to fluids so we're not worried about dehydration. Her counts are still good, they don't usually drop until just after chemo is done. She'll be at zero right around the time I have the new baby. The doctor said that when her counts come back, if everything is smooth sailing, we may be able to take her home for a small stint before her fifth, and final round of chemo! We are so excited! I was really worried that she would be upset and angry about coming back to the hospital, but she has been incredible. She is totally okay, not asking to go on car rides, or to go home. She adjust so well to every situtation, I can't believe how amazing she is. I am so proud of her. I was really worried that she would hate being here, but she doesn't. She loves her nurses, and that makes this all so much better. Thankfully her ANC is up, so she is able to cruise around the halls and go to the play room. Once that all is taken away it might be a whole different story. In time, we will know.


We had such a wonderful time at home. She loved everything about it. She slept in her big girl bed at night, she loved car rides, and had an amazing appetite. It was a wonderful break from the hospital. We went to a small birthday party and a friend of ours took some adorable pictures of Katelyn, I will post a few so you all can see our little miracle child!


I had an ultrasound on Wednesday and the baby is already 8lbs! There's a nice size, healthy baby in my belly! We are very anxious and excited for the baby to be here. I feel like I'm going to pop and don't think I'll make it a week and a half! Who knows though. With Kate I thought I was going to pop for a few weeks before I did, so it may be the same way.

I think that's all for now. Thank you all for your continued support!

Love,
Krystal