First Post-Treatment Fever

The day I have dreaded has finally arrived...Catherine's first fever post-treatment. I know it's that time of the year and just about every kid around town is sick, but it is still worrying me. We are now on Day 2 of the fever and I made my obligatory first call to Dr. Joe's office. Dr. Farzana was there today and she told us to go to the pediatrician, so off we went. Today we saw Dr. Shenoy who is relatively new to the practice and hasn't really experienced all that there is to experience with Catherine. It was kind of funny because after looking at the panic in my face, she left the room, came back about 5 minutes later and said she wanted to really read Catherine's history. Given that Catherine has asthma, she spent quite a bit of time listening to her lungs and the diagnosis is either an upper respiratory virus or the beginning of bronchitis (she is coughing a lot with phlegm coming up). In the event it is the latter, we have started on antibiotics. On the way to Griebs Catherine asked me what we were doing and when I told her she said, "but I am done with taking medicine". I had to explain to her that when you get sick, you sometimes take medicine, but not all medicine is chemo...that is how warped the thinking in my house is. So in a nutshell, she is probably fine: she is not lethargic, wants to go to school and is ready for the next playdate, but until her fever is gone...I will still worry and apparently it is normal because MJ (from Dr. Joe's office) called to let me just talk out my fears. I suppose the fear will never go away. And, while it's nice not to have to be admitted to the hospital as we have in the past, the other side of that is that when you are in the hospital, you are so aware of where her immunity stands and what exactly is going on with her bloodwork in terms of viral or bacterial infections. I guess I should be happy it didnt happen the week of Christmas!

7 Month Off Treatment Check-Up

Well, we have made it to the 7 month mark...very exciting. Catherine continues to do well. She is getting stronger each day: today she told me that she ran faster than 3 of her classmates at gym, usually she is the slowest; she has grown so much in the last few months that the nurse actually did a second check of her height today; and her teacher told me that her fine motor skills have improved tremendously since September. All good stuff to say the least yet it is always amazing how these trips to Guilford simply drain me. I am just tired to the bone right now. I know it is hard for people to understand having not been through what we have, but her being off treatment is so much harder than when she was on. The weekly trips to Guilford were nothing compared to these monthly trips. Of course, back then, if any of her counts were low, you could just blame it on the chemo. Now when a number is below normal you wonder, is she sick? is the cancer making its way back? You just don't know and sure enough those damn platelets of hers have fallen below normal again (137,000). I knew they would be low...she has a weird bruise on her foot from her shoes. Dr. Joe's only explanation is that she is just one of those kids whose platelets stay abnormally low. It's just frustrating for me as unusual bruising was the first sign of her cancer and she received more platelet transfusions than anything else during treatment. Leave it to me though to focus on that number versus the awesome ANC (3300) and hemoglobin (13.5). If those numbers weren't good I would really be freaking out.
I also took Catherine to the dermatologist recently and sure enough she needs a mole removed (either that or we get it checked every 6 months). I tell you, something really went wrong when she was in the womb (and you know deep down I blame the 9/11 terrorists who made me breathe in all that bad air when I was pregnant). Ironically, the dermatologist recommended the doctor at Yale who did both of Catherine's port-a-cath surgeries. I will call him soon and get that scheduled...who wants to go to the dermatologist every 6 months? Not me.
Other than that we have had a busy and fun month, as usual, with all the kids' activities and all the volunteer stuff I do. I can't believe we are already getting ready for Christmas. Catherine has a long list of gifts, which she adds to every time she sees something on television that she wants (she actually pauses the TV and gets her list). Alex... I'm just on my own with him. He doesn't know what he wants. At the kids' insistence, the Christmas decorations are out of the attic...not up, but out of the attic which is half the battle. We will work on decorating all week. With that I think I will close now as I really am very tired and can't really think straight, so until next month!