Interim Maintenance I

Last Thursday (Jan 9th)...Kinslee started the next phase of treatment (Interim Maintenance I).  We were so happy that her ANC jumped from 320 to 1700 in one week and she was able to start her treatments again.  As nice as it was having a "break" starting this next phase of treatments means we are that much closer to getting to the end of this long journey! 
She was not happy that morning because the nurse tried drawing blood from her arm and hand but was not able to draw blood so she ended up accessing her port to draw labs for blood work.  We headed home until it was time for her appointment at 3:15 with Dr. Ray.  She did not like having her "noodle" in her port all day (we left her port accessed for the rest of the day)!  But in my opinion she handled it really well for a 2 year old!  After meeting with Dr. Ray I felt really good about this phase of treatments.  He said as long as she stays well that her counts should be high enough for chemo every 10 days for the next 56 days.  We also discussed setting up our appointment in Ft Worth for our next treatment because I feel it's not worth the risk stepping foot into the hospital for treatments here during sick season.  So we scheduled her next appointment in Ft Worth on Monday the 20th.  The plan is to go to the Cook clinic here tomorrow morning for a finger poke to check counts.  If her ANC is 750 or higher then she will be able to get chemo on Monday in Ft Worth. 
Kinslee seemed to feel good on Friday but on Saturday she was wiped out.  That night right before dinner, Clay noticed she felt hot.  She had a fever of 100.9!  We went into panic mode!  If she has a fever of 101 or higher we are instructed to call the doctor and more than likely head immediately to the hospital for antibiotics.  Luckily, after an hour and a half the fever completely went away on its own.  We are also not able to give her Tylenol because they don't want us to cover up any possible infections.  She woke up during the night with a low grade temp but woke up the next morning without a fever and has not had a fever since.  I think the chemo causes her to have a fever sometimes.  She has felt so good this week.  If she continues to handle the chemo well each time they will increase the dosage of both meds little by little. 
Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers for Kinslee!  There is no doubt in my mind she's got this and with God on our side she will kick it!!! 

Kins playing dress up with her jewelry :)

Update and Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas at home in our pjs watching Cason and Kinslee play with all their new toys!  I think it was the best one so far!  It was very nice and relaxing!  We hope you all had a very blessed day as well!  Here are a few pics from our Christmas eve and Christmas day :)

Kinslee got a Doc McStuffin doctors kit from Santa

(She said she was Dr. Ray...her HO doctor:)...

she was giving Olaf her new snowman a check up)

The day after Christmas it was back to the clinic for a blood check (finger poke).  The plan was to go home and wait for labs to come back and if her counts were high enough we would be meeting with her doctor from Cook via teleconference then sent over to the Children's hospital at Hendrick for chemo here in Abilene.  Unfortunately, her ANC was only 100 (needs to be 750) so Kinslee did not start chemo.  The doctor thinks the chemo has wiped out her bone marrow (which means it did it's job) and it's taking Kinslee's a while to recover.  He said some kids bounce back quicker than others.  So we are happy about the fact that the chemo is working but ready for her body to recover so she can begin the next phase of treatment!  Since her numbers are so low this means we are afraid to be around others!  Clay and I are scared to go out in public ourselves when her numbers are so low!  We don't want to take any chances of getting sick and bringing home germs.  We wish we could see our friends and family,  get out of the house and go to church but that's just not possible right now :(  We love and miss you all so much!!! 

Kinslee has felt so good this month!  She has played and played (before all she wanted was to sit in my lap all day)!  It has been such a blessing and great ending to our crazy year!  Please continue to pray that her counts go up so that tomorrow she can get the chemo she needs to begin this next phase!  Thank you for your continued support!!!  We love hearing that so many are praying for our baby girl!  It's so encouraging to know that so many of you love and care for us!!!  We could not have gotten through this year without all of you!  Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts!  Hope everyone has a blessed, happy, and healthy New Year!