Loving Taylor

Well, today will go down as a good and bad day. Taylor started off feeling well and had a little energy. She enjoyed visits from Aunt Kerri, Marty, Jamie, and Kim. Then the fun started.....Taylor received her last dose of IV chemo at noon today. This very large dose of chemotherapy infused over 3 hours. She did ok the first couple of hours but started to not feel well toward the end. She got very tired and her stomach was a little upset. She then had to receive a platelet transfusion. Her platelets weren't actually critically low but because she was to receive an injection (shot) of chemotherapy at 6:00, she had to be transfused because they were low enough that she was at high risk of bleeding from the injection. As always, she was pre-medicated with Tylenol, Benadryl, and Zantac to help prevent any reaction from the platelets. Well.....within the first 15 minutes of the reaction, she started getting a very red rash and hives on her face and in her ear. The transfusion was turned off and another large dose of Benadryl was given. The rash wasn't getting much better so they decided that she would not receive any more of the transfusion. Now.....they were unsure if she should receive the chemotherapy injection because there is also a risk of reaction to the injection. They also were not sure if she had received enough platelets???? So....to make a long story short, they consulted with the doctor in charge of AML patients and were instructed to give the injection. The benefits of the injection outweigh the risk of reaction (a reaction could also be handled with medication). So......the fun began. After receiving all of the Benadryl, Taylor was sound asleep. We had to wake her and explain that she would be getting a shot in her leg. She went crazy. She was screaming and begging me to "please not let them give her the shot!!!" I was crying and I think her RN was about ready to cry. But.....they got the injection done and we are now monitoring her for signs of reaction. So far...so good!!! We will watch her closely the rest of the night.

Now for the good news....hopefully this injection will be the last dose of chemotherapy that Taylor receives. This was the last dose for this round (which is hopefully her last round). So....we wait for her counts to hit zero and then come back up. We wait to see if she gets a fever/infection and then wait to see where we are at with her treatment. It is WAY too early to speculate as to how she is actually responding. I am just focused on the next very long weeks and keeping her out of ICU. My goal is to be home by January 15th......

After all that, I am off to watch her for any reaction. More tomorrow.....