Heading Into the Home Stretch

Just a quick update. We went up to Guilford Monday through Thursday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we just got ARA-C. A powerful drug, but the administration of which has been so easy. It's a 30 minuute drip and we don't have to wait for her counts or bilirubin levels to be checked before they start it. Catherine's port was accessed all week so all they had to do was hook her up to the IV pole. Catherine did great and the doctors are so pleased by how she has handled everything - the 2 week break we had really helped her body recover and in turn is helping her body cope with this round of chemo. As expected her counts are aleady falling and we have been told to definitely expect a blood transfusion probably Tuesday or Wednesday.
We are scheduled for 4 more ARA-C rounds next week and 9 more days of 6-TG and then we get a break before starting Long Term Maintenance.

Happily, Catherine's energy level has remained high. Today was one of her best days - we stopped by her friend Caroline's house to deliver a few gifts and play in the backyard. Later that afternoon, we played hopscotch in the driveway (her version) and then played with some of the kids down the block from us. Catherine and Alex had a blast and are sleeping well tonight. Many of the kids at the end of our block don't really know Catherine or what she is going through so it was interesting to see how they reacted to her bald head. Some asked her why she had no hair and she simply said "I have a blood infection and the strong medicine made my hair fall out." That was it and the kids all kept playing. One little girl was a little nasty and kept calling her a baby, but Catherine, the strong kid that she is, just ignored her and kept on playing. Tonight made me realize that I really don't need to worry about the whole bald thing and how kids will treat her because she can really hold her own.