Early this morning Karly had lab work done and then we saw Dr. Herzog. Karly's counts, both platelets and white blood cells, had dropped drastically since Monday. Dr. Herzog told us she would receive blood and platelets tomorrow, Friday. We went on to radiation and Karly got one more treatment behind her, only 2 more to go. The technician, Kara, told us Karly's radiation appointment would be in the afternoon tomorrow instead of the morning. So, before we left the hospital I decided we better stop by the clinic and see if radiation was going to interfere with her blood transfusion. Good thing we stopped by because they had decided she was getting a blood transfusion today and then returning in the morning for more labs to determine whether or not she would need platelets.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.-Anonymous
I remind myself of this often.

Karly's 13th chemo cycle could possibly be delayed do to her low blood counts. Karly lost 3-4 pounds over the last week but is still eating really well. She has been blessed and has NEVER had any trouble with mouth sores. We owe Dana a big thank you for that. She insisted we never miss the mouth wash and gave us so many other great tips.

When we were leaving the radiation area of the hospital today, the fire alarm was going off. Karly and I looking at each other, looked back the elevator, at each other again and took the stairs! We said, "My Bubba says not to take the elevator when the fire alarm is going off."

12 cycles of chemo down and only 2 more to go!

Karly finished up chemo cycle #12 on Sunday. We went in to the hospital to have everything taken off and her port disconnected Sunday afternoon. I cannot understand why the people in the other parts of the hospital freak out over pediatric patients. Karly is the same size as alot of adult patients but they still act so silly. What usually takes the nurses in the pedi clinic 2 minutes to do (seriously) took 2 nurses 15 minutes to do.

Karly had radiation treatment #26, she will be finished with radiation on Monday, November 2! She also had lab work done today. While we were in the clinic the nurse told me she was going to teach me to disconnect Karly's port this week. WHAT?!? Are they crazy? I have given her over 70 shots but I do not think that qualifies me for anything else.

Karen posted and said that her and Keaton made it to the Philippines. Please continue to pray for them as they are on a great adventure!

Karly is almost finished with chemo cycle #12. She is actually finished with the chemo part of it but she still has her back pack of fluids and will have that through tomorrow. She has also completed 25 radiation treatments. Doing the chemo treatments in the outpatient unit of the pedi clinic is so much easier on Karly. The nurses are wonderful and if we need anything, Dr. Herzog and her staff are right there.

On Wednesday, Lexie and Nanny flew home. Lexie had the best time flying home and from what I hear she was very excited to see her Pa. Since Uncle Vaughn has a little pull at the airport, Pa was able to be at the gate when they came off the plane; Lexie ran to him and gave him the biggest hug. Nanny said she spent an hour that night playing with the dog Coco. The next morning Lexie was up at 6 and ready to go to LeaAnn's house. Thursday evening she got to go watch her buddy Aiden play football. Her social calendar is very full for the next few weeks and I want to thank everyone for that, it helps so much knowing that she is staying busy.

Our friends Keaton and Karen are heading back to the Philippines this afternoon. The treatment Keaton received in the Philippines appears to have been working and until it is available here he is going back there to receive more of the treatments.

We can never say thank you enough for all the kind things people continue to do for us. We have the most amazing friends and family! Karly's face lit up when I told her that the high school was doing a fundraiser for her, it really means so much to her for her peers to being showing her support.

I am sorry for the delay in updating.

Thursday, Karly saw Dr. Herzog and everything looked good. Her counts were good enough that she was able to get her flu shot.

Nanny flew in Sunday and we spent the afternoon shopping at the Galleria. We have been staying at the hotel with Nanny, because their beds are really comfy! :)

Monday morning Karly headed back in for radiation treatment #21 and that afternoon started chemo cycle #12. Only 2 more cycles of chemo after this one!! We are so excited! This is a full week of chemo. Karly spends about 2 hours in the clinic every afternoon and then comes home with a backpack. She will have the backpack through Sunday.

Nanny and Lexie will be flying home tomorrow. Lexie was getting ready to go home which was a good thing because MDACC no longer allows children under 12 anywhere in the hospital because of H1N1 and the seasonal flu. We are going to miss Lexie so hopefully it won't be long before we are able to come home.

Karly's recent back pain appears to be related to rapid bone marrow production. She has experienced this before, but it was when her white blood cell count was ridiculously high. Karly received a unit of blood yesterday afternoon. As I said before, with her doing radiation her hemoglobin level has to stay higher than what it normally does so she needed some blood yesterday. We will see Dr. Herzog in the morning and make plans for chemo cycle #12 to start on Monday.

MDACC is implementing new restrictions on visitors under 12 years old starting Monday, Oct. 19. No child under 12 will be allowed in any area of the hospital because of the outbreak of the seasonal flu and H1N1. It is a good thing Lexie was already planning on going home to stay with Nanny and Pa. She is missing her friends at LeaAnn's and at church and is ready to go home and play. She can only do so many front rolls in this tiny apartment. :)

Yesterday, before the nurse de-accessed Karly's port after she received blood, Lexie was the one that flushed the port with Heparin. Yep, she is our little nurse in training. She watches EVERYTHING they do to Karly and she asked the nurse if she could do it. Both Karly and the nurse agreed, so Lexie did her first port flush yesterday at the age of 5!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It has been raining here too much! I am not crazy about all this rain. I actually carry an umbrella in my purse which is the craziest thing.

Karly had her 16th radiation treatment today which means she is half way finished with radiation. :) The radiation is starting to take its toll on Karly. She is having nausea everyday and is very tired. The past 2 days she has also been having some unexplained back pain. Today she went in for blood work and we talked to the nurse about her back pain. She was given some pain medicine to help with the pain. The pain she is experiencing is not the same pain that lead us to find her mass, it is a different pain, in a different location. Her hemoglobin levels were low so she will be receiving blood tomorrow afternoon. The doctor has order another round of lab work to be done tomorrow to compare to today's to see if maybe she is about to "bottom out" and that is why she is experiencing the back pain.

If Karly's counts recover after the blood transfusion tomorrow and hold steady she will have chemo cycle #12 on Monday, October 19.

Lexie and I got our flu shots today and we both survived! If any of you have heard the story of Lexie and her flu shot last year, you KNOW that we really accomplished something big today. I was so proud of Lexie, she sat right up in my lap and did not even shed a single tear. She does understand how important it is to keep her Sissy well.

This weekend Karly is going to try and go with Keaton to a Reptile Expo. yucky! Let's just say I will NOT be going with them! No way, no how!

We are thankful to report that Barbara Norton, a friend of Mom's who posts on here regularly to Karly, made it through her surgery today just fine. Her surgeon is Dr. Catherine Ronaghan, who did both of Mom's surgeries, it is a small world!

We again ask for you to pray for Robert Alvarado. He is still in very serious condition and needs God's healing touch. There has been a medical fund set up for him at Commercial State Bank in Seminole. Also, this Friday, Oct. 9 before the football game there will be a benefit dinner at the Wigwam Stadium parking lot.

Chemo cycle #11 is over! Yippee!

Karly's blood levels were finally back where they needed to be on Monday and she was able to do chemo cycle #11. Everything went smoothly, she received both chemo drugs at the clinic plus the mesna and then came home with a backpack of fluids. She had radiation both Monday and Tuesday and is doing great with it. Twelve radiation treatments down and only 19 more to go.

Saturday we all had a great day at a Pumpkin Painting Party at the home of one of the nursing assistants at the pedi clinic. We took to Miss Carmen right off and she is great with all the kids. She was kind enough to invite us to a party she was having. The girls both had a great time. Lexie ran around with the kids, rolled in the grass and climbed trees like a wild woman. Two of Karly's nurses and their children were also there. One of the nurses has been out since September 9th so it was great to get to see her, she is recovering from breast cancer surgery. Cancer knows NO boundaries, she takes care of children all day that are suffering from cancer and she was also hit by the same monster. She is doing great, and looked as beautiful as ever.

The rest of the week Karly will have radiation every day and blood work on Thursday. Thank you again for all your love and prayers! Please continue to pray for Robert, Monica and their children.

Karly did not get to begin chemo today as planned. Her platelet level was still too low. It was not low enough to have a transfusion but too low to start chemo. Now that she is doing radiation her levels have to be higher than they had to be before.

Keaton and Karen made it safely back to Houston. We were delighted to get to see them yesterday and today. Keaton was having scans today and possibly tomorrow. PLEASE continue to pray for him.

Karly will have her 10th radiation treatment tomorrow and we will try for chemo cycle #11 again on Monday.