Friday, May 18, 2007

2nd chemo week ends....

Renee completed her second week of chemo, and did not experience any real problems. The treatments were much faster, with only a small bag of anti-nausea, and then a small bag of chemo needed. (Renee might not think they are that small)
Renee had a heplock inserted into her arm, and kept it there all week so it could be used each day. Since it is wrapped in a bright colored wrap, the baby tries to grab it when he gets a chance.

All the children have adjusted well to this "new lifestyle."(We know that prayer has much to do with this! Thank you!) Charity (8 yrs old) understands the most, but wants to know the least details! She is very squeamish when it comes to blood and needles. However, Faith (6 yrs old) likes to investigate, as she wants to be a Dr. someday. She has wrapped Renee's arm in the coband to cover the heplock. Hope (2 yrs old) is most sympathetic, as she questions: "mommy does it hurt...did you cry and cry?" , "mommy, you get shot?" Josiah has bonded with grammy, which has helped with all of Renee's appointments.

Renee will be going in for her procrit shots each Tuesday ongoing for now, and she will be scheduled to have a bone marrow sample taken in the next month. This sample will tell us how she is progressing, and hopefully will be clean of cancer.
Please pray for God's healing.

Monday, May 14, 2007

2nd chemo week begins......

Renee had another blood sample taken, and the new white blood cell count was up to 1.6 (1600). The Lord is good, and this allowed Renee to start her second week of chemo.

Renee is eating mostly raw fruits and vegetables, to help her body become stronger. Her mother is staying with our family, and juices a lot of carrots, broccoli, apples, and other assorted foods for Renee to drink.

Monday, May 7, 2007

2nd chemo week delayed....

Renee was scheduled to start her second week of chemo, and we met with Dr. O to see how her blood levels looked. Renee's new white blood cell count was up to .6 (600), but they needed to be around 1.2 in order for her to be given chemo. We would delay this week, and check next Monday.

Renee's Igm (protein) level was down to 1602, praise the Lord. This is the indicator of the cancer, and the effectiveness of the treatment. When the chemo began, the level was 4055, with normal levels being between 40 to 230. If the treatment was not working, we would expect to see the IgM going higher.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Rituxan treatments end....

Renee took her last rituxan treatment, completing 4 weeks of one shot per week.
Her blood was also checked, and her levels had dropped. She was given a drug called procrit, which helps to increase the red blood cell count.
Her new white blood cell count was .2 (200), and this was dangerously low in regards to catching any sickness. Her IgM level was also being checked.