We got the best news possible today during our consultation with Madi's oncologist - her little body responded well to the treatment she received during the past month. Praise God!! Time to celebrate!
So, what does that mean?
Well.... Madi is considered to be in the Average Risk (AR) for ALL. This means -
*over the age of 1 yr and less than 10 yrs
*initial white blood cell count was less than 50,000/microliter
*none, or only a few leukemia cells were found in spinal fluid at diagnosis
*the leukemia cells do not have genetic patterns specific to Very High Risk ALL
*the leukemia has responded quickly to Induction chemotherapy.
Does that mean this all ends here?
Nope. The game plan for Phase 2 of her treatment will last for the next 28 weeks. This Phase is called post-Induction were the doctors try to get rid of any remaining leukemia cells to keep the leukemia from coming back. This phase is broken up into 4 portions: Consolidation (4wk), Interim Maintenance I (8wk), Delayed Intensification (8wk), and Interim Maintenance II (8wk).
We have a total of 26 months until this journey is complete and we have only just finished our first month. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!
How is Madi doing?
Madi is doing really well! She is starting to come back around to our fun, smiley little girl. She is very weak and needs help doing small things like going up and down stairs and getting up from sitting on the floor, but she is working hard to get back to doing everything on her own. Her appetite is still up from being on the steroids, but that could go back down at any time. She still needs to rest most of the day; however, most of it is spent just laying down and not actually sleeping like she was this previous month.
There have been a couple of side effects from the chemotherapy that have been a bother to her. The biggest ones have been oral sores and constipation/gas. We are dealing with them as best we can. It's nice that she is young and can still cuddle up on my lap without hurting me, since that seems to be the best remedy to date. Who doesn't want their mommy when they are sick?!
How are Mom and Dad doing?
We are holding up. I think I was more worried/anxious to find out the results today from the doctor than I was the first day we got the diagnosis. Initially there is nothing that one can do to change the diagnosis. However, after a month of going through treatment to find out she didn't respond well, meant the road ahead could have been much rougher for Madi. We thank God for answered prayers. Kevin and I are still able to stay pretty positive at this point and hope to keep it going.
So... the next 28 days consist of oral medication (6-mercaptopurine) every evening, LP's on days 1, 8 and 15, and a dose of Vincrystine on day 1. This will all start on Thursday.
We want to thank everyone for the many prayers, cards, presents, food, kind words, babysitting and just general support over the past month. There is no way Kevin and I would have been able to get through this without the love and care everyone has shown. It really means so much to us the love that has been shown to us but also the love that has been poured out on all our kids. We've been so blessed!
Love to you all!
**If you want to be alerted when I post updates on this blog, please remember to sign up for the email notifications. Just put your email address in the box above that says 'Follow by Email'. I don't always remember to post on Facebook or send out an email when I'm done posting. Also, feel free to share any and all posts with friends and family.**
 |
| Gretchen, Madi and Olivia |
Well.... Madi is considered to be in the Average Risk (AR) for ALL. This means -
*over the age of 1 yr and less than 10 yrs
*initial white blood cell count was less than 50,000/microliter
*none, or only a few leukemia cells were found in spinal fluid at diagnosis
*the leukemia cells do not have genetic patterns specific to Very High Risk ALL
*the leukemia has responded quickly to Induction chemotherapy.
Does that mean this all ends here?
Nope. The game plan for Phase 2 of her treatment will last for the next 28 weeks. This Phase is called post-Induction were the doctors try to get rid of any remaining leukemia cells to keep the leukemia from coming back. This phase is broken up into 4 portions: Consolidation (4wk), Interim Maintenance I (8wk), Delayed Intensification (8wk), and Interim Maintenance II (8wk).
We have a total of 26 months until this journey is complete and we have only just finished our first month. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!
How is Madi doing?
Madi is doing really well! She is starting to come back around to our fun, smiley little girl. She is very weak and needs help doing small things like going up and down stairs and getting up from sitting on the floor, but she is working hard to get back to doing everything on her own. Her appetite is still up from being on the steroids, but that could go back down at any time. She still needs to rest most of the day; however, most of it is spent just laying down and not actually sleeping like she was this previous month.
 |
| Her usual spot in the living room. |
How are Mom and Dad doing?
We are holding up. I think I was more worried/anxious to find out the results today from the doctor than I was the first day we got the diagnosis. Initially there is nothing that one can do to change the diagnosis. However, after a month of going through treatment to find out she didn't respond well, meant the road ahead could have been much rougher for Madi. We thank God for answered prayers. Kevin and I are still able to stay pretty positive at this point and hope to keep it going.
So... the next 28 days consist of oral medication (6-mercaptopurine) every evening, LP's on days 1, 8 and 15, and a dose of Vincrystine on day 1. This will all start on Thursday.
We want to thank everyone for the many prayers, cards, presents, food, kind words, babysitting and just general support over the past month. There is no way Kevin and I would have been able to get through this without the love and care everyone has shown. It really means so much to us the love that has been shown to us but also the love that has been poured out on all our kids. We've been so blessed!
Love to you all!
**If you want to be alerted when I post updates on this blog, please remember to sign up for the email notifications. Just put your email address in the box above that says 'Follow by Email'. I don't always remember to post on Facebook or send out an email when I'm done posting. Also, feel free to share any and all posts with friends and family.**
3 comments:
This is FANTASTIC NEWS!!! SO thankful for her results, and praising God for His hand in all of this. Continuing to pray for Madi, and all of you as well!!
Thank God, thank you, God, thank you, God! Oh, Jessica. What a rough month this has been on everyone, especially Madi. How abundantly has God answered your prayers! We will continue to pray for her recovery. Does this mean that the treatment from now on will be less severe/less side effects?
Wonderful news!
Post a Comment