What a Day!

Wow!  What a day!  Kayleigh was scheduled for a lumbar puncture and chemotherapy today.  When we arrived to the hospital this morning, we were sent to have labs drawn.  This was a little confusing to us, because they normally draw labs right there in the clinic or Almost Home unit.  We followed our instructions and went downstairs to have labs drawn.  We then headed back upstairs to wait.  We've gotten pretty good at waiting patiently, I think.  Each step of the way depends on the results of the previous step, so these days take a bit of time.  We had hoped that Kayleigh's counts would all be good and she could receive today's scheduled treatment.  Well, her blood counts were okay, but her ANC level dropped from over 700 to 360.  It needed to be at least 750 today for her to receive her treatment.  Therefore, she's now delayed which I guess is to be expected since the name of this phase is "Delayed Intensification".  Kayleigh was able to get her antibiotic through her port.  She now has to go to have blood drawn next Tuesday and if they're okay, she's scheduled to haver her lumbar puncture and chemotherapy on Thursday.  I'm a little worried about what follows this, I'm not really sure Kayleigh heard the doctor mention it.  It sounds like she's going to leave the hospital accessed after her lp and a home-care nurse will come for 4 days in a row to give her chemo through her port at home.  Sounds intense, again "Delayed Intensification"!!!  We'll just have to wait and see!  She's been such a trooper through everything from the day she was diagnosed to this past Monday when her hair was falling out so rapidly that she made the decision to have it shaved.  Our little girl is so amazing!  She's positive, brave, strong, beautiful, and a whole lot more.  She's definitely made us stronger!