As a really great weekend winds down, I’m asking for your good thoughts & prayers for tomorrow’s clinic visit. We begin cycle 4 with Kate’s usual every-three-week port access, but she’ll also be getting something new. (I am NOT amused.)
I thought the only real way to know Kate’s risk of infection was through her ANC levels. I know those things back and freaking forward. I can quote them like my social security number and frequently have to. Lately, they’ve been darn good (she’s also been getting chemo bumps weekly through maintenance because they’re just slightly higher than as good as they want them. Make sense? No? Thankfully it does to me.)
There’s a little something else they test called her IGG levels. Hers must have always been good because I didn’t know about the test. This is yet another way to see if she’s at risk for that pesky cold, a weird infection or all the other CRAP our immunosupressed kids are prone to. Well, guess what. Lo and behold, last week her numbers were really low.
Because she’s got two play dates and three birthday parties in the next 6 weeks (WOO HOO for that!!) and she’s going to be around lots of other little ones, we’re giving her a bump in those IGG levels to give her a good, fighting chance to fend off anything that may come her way. Tomorrow, she’s getting IVIG. Intravenous immunoglobulin.
You can read more about it here.
Kate hasn’t had allergic reactions to blood or platelets, so I’m hopeful she’ll be free of reactions to this. I’m scared crapless every time they introduce something else that’s new and known to cause allergic reactions. (Every day for like 30 days in the beginning it was like “oh this could make her turn hot pink and her face will fall off, but if that happens, we’ll just stop the infusion and give her Benadryl.”) No wonder I had to borrow my sister’s Xanax during induction…but I digress.
I told Kate’s doctor and nurses how I thought I knew everything that could happen during maintenance and new stuff was not on my list of approved activity. Nurse S gave me a knowing “I know why you’re freaking out, but she’ll be ok” look and nod last Monday so…S…I’m counting on that.
Please say a little prayer for us. Okay four. 1) That she handles her cream & accessing well and doesn’t give me a black eye 2) that she handles her chemo well and doesn’t feel crummy days later like she did last week 3) that she handles her IVIG well and doesn’t have any reactions and 4) that this steroid pulse is a continued improvement. Girlfriend has a play date to get to on Wednesday and I do NOT want steroids to keep her from it. (Or a crummy tummy for that matter.)