Yesterday we were in the clinic till about 8 am to 520 pm . So we got home at like 1045 pm. We were in the clinic so long because my parents are in a study group. There are two groups one has extra medicine and one doesn't. I got picked for the group with extra medicine. The extra medicine can damage my kidney. So they gave me 4 hours of fluids! That is why we got home so late. But my hemoglobin went up but thats probably because I had a transfusion and I hadn't eaten yet either. They said my blood counts would be going down a lot in the next few weeks.
Love,
Julia
We did decide to let Julia participate in the clinical trial and as she stated, she did get picked to be on the study arm , which basically means that they will treat her as if she was not a rapid responder. This is all in hopes that the relapse rate will be reduced for rapid responders with the more aggressive treatment (hopefully as much as 6%). The doctors say that the main side effect will be that her blood counts will bottom out a couple of weeks from now. The risk of infection, etc. will be greatly increased so we will have to be on our toes for a while. This phase, consolidation, will last for 8 weeks and after that she will have somewhat of a slowdown before going into the delayed intensification phase in which the medications will pick up again. Julia's spirits remain high as she was singing and laughing nearly all the way (yes, 4 1/2 hours) back from Atlanta on Monday. We thank all of you again for all your prayers and hope to continue with the good reports as this new phase of treatment begins.
Love,
Jeff & Sharon
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Dear Julia - You are such a great blogger! I have enjoyed reading what you've written. I know it must be hard for you to deal with your leukemia but you sure are doing a great job understanding what the medicine is doing for you and then, telling everybody. I am really impressed - maybe you will grow up to be a doctor or nurse and help people when they are sick. You sure have done a good job explaining everything to those of us who read your blog. My family (that is my husband, Mr. Don, and my daughters, Hannah and Claire) are praying for you, your mom and your dad. We really think your dad is a GREAT guy! He does our taxes and tells us really funny jokes, too! We know that God has all of your treatments and your medicine well in control and that He loves you and your parents very much. Sometimes it might feel like nothing is going right and you might feel bad. Just remember that Jesus will be right with you all the time -- just ask Him to stay with you and He will help you feel better. That is how I am praying for you; that Jesus will stay right with you and when you feel bad, He will make you feel better and when you feel good, that He will SMILE His biggest smile. I hope you feel better everyday!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mrs. Julie Sivyer (from church)