Presley: didn't make counts

Presley have been fighting a cold, so it doesn't surprise me that she didn't make counts again. I was secretly hoping for this! Last week we were scheduled to start the next phase, Interim Maintenance (3rd phase of treatment) but her ANC (Absolute Neutro

phil Count) was only at 300 and today it's at 700. It's on the way up but it needed to be at 750 to start treatment. Neutrophis are a type of white blood cells that fight against infection. I usually refer to it as her ANC. A normal ANC is 1,500-10,000. An ANC less than 500 is called neutropenia and significantly increases the risk of infection. We could have pushed for us to go ahead but I don't want Presley to have to fight too many things at once. We will be starting a new type of chemo. It always make me anxious when we start a new drug, not knowing the side effects, or how Presley will respond. What's another week when you do treatment for 2.5 years??? We get to pretend for another week that we have no idea what chemo is! Thankful for Doctor Mark Fluchel, he has been a great doctor and spends so much time explaining and talking to me. Thankful for Kristen, she's a great nurse for Presley. Our appointment today was not until 12:30, Presley kept saying "I'm ready, lets go to clinic", things in Presley's little world are starting to feel a little better. We know set backs are real and so we celebrate the small steps forward.

We got to see Reiss (Presley and Reiss share the same cousins) at clinic again. It's so fun to know your "buddy" is going to be there. We have enjoyed the past 2 weeks getting to see Reiss and Amber. Today we actually got to play and not be isolated. Reiss and Presley were rocking the Striders! Next week Reiss will be at clinic again, he usually goes on Mondays. If the stars align, and both Presley and Reiss have an ANC of more than 750 they will both start IM on the same day.

Presley and I got to eat lunch at the cafeteria. They have the best food! My sweet friend Elena came to visit. Darn, I forgot to get a picture. She's been a sweet friend for many years. She has lifted me up so many times when I have needed her. She's one of my angels.