Are you ever amazed by the baffling complexity of medicine? It seems like it constantly contradicts itself…and gets away with it!
Peyton’s clinic visit was fairly routine. She refused EMLA cream on her port, so there was no numbing of the port area. I explained that without it the procedure would hurt, but she was determined and I agreed. Figuring that once would be enough for her to believe me that when I say something is going to hurt, I generally mean it. She did feel the pain when the needle went in and she looked at me like “Holy cow, that hurt!” We agreed that from now on we’d put the magic cream on her port.
The spots that she developed last week haven’t done anything exciting all week. They didn’t grow, change or multiply, so we considered them pretty boring. Dr. Ayala did say that it was possible that due to her suppressed immune system, it could be a simple case of herpes. HERPES! Instead of growing as cold sores or blisters in the mouth area, with her immune system it could just be herpes coming out in different forms. We agreed that since they didn’t appear to be doing anything we’d just watch and be aware of them. If they come back, change or grow, I’ll take Peyton to a dermatologist for further opinion.
The big zinger of the day was the red ring on top of her head. It had been there last week, but no one thought much of it. However, today they noticed that it was still there and it was diagnosed as a ringworm. Glory! A ringworm is fairly easy to treat with over the counter medication. I go to the in house pharmacy to see if they carry the Lamosil, which is an athlete’s foot treatment since this is a fungus. Kevin, the pharmacist, goes over the meds and I’m waiting to check out and I happen to read the back of the box. Hmmm, interesting.
“Kevin, do you know that the ringworm is on her head?”
“Ok.”
“Are you sure this is what we should treat her with?”
“Yes, or there’s a cheaper generic form.”
“No, I’m just looking at the warning that says ‘do not apply to scalp’.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Are you sure? Because last time I checked her scalp was ON her head.”
It’s nice to know that the pharmaceutical companies just like to freak us out for no good reason.
Other than that, her counts are staying steady, her ANC is still low at 300. We go in Thursday for a fingerstick to make sure she’s good before the weekend. This is the end of Delayed Intensification and we start Interim Maintenance as soon as she makes a count of 75000 platelets and 750 ANC. So, it’ll be a waiting game on that one. Probably sometime next week we’ll start IM. It’s a much easier phase, 41 days long and pretty uneventful except for spinals and leg shots. The medicines they give her don’t drag her down as badly as this last round, she handles the side effects much better.
To backtrack, on Friday night the kids went to Parent’s Night Out at the Children’s Cancer Center. It was great because with her counts being low, Peyton can’t do much these days and she was able to go and have a fantastic time. Nathaniel and Rachael enjoyed themselves as well, there were lots of high school students there to keep them occupied with games, crafts and food. Peter and I went to the International Mall and drooled over computers at the Apple store, laughed at the stores that sell $200 shoes for toddlers and ate at a nice little deli at Bayshore. We were going to shoot for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but when we walked in they told us to come back in an hour for a pager….I refuse to wait in line to wait in line….ok, seriously. It was a great little evening and we enjoyed our time alone.
Saturday, Nathaniel went to Busch Gardens with his Big Buddy Charlie. It was a magnificent success, he was able to go on all the roller coasters and came home on an adrenaline high.
These are pictures of Nathaniel and Rachael when they went on their zoo trip with their big buddy mentors Charlie and Marie. I love thinking that these are out future doctors, they're going to be great!
Rachael went with her Grandma Sharon to a museum and they went shopping at craft stores after, always a fun time for them. Peyton mellowed with Dad and Mom, but I felt lousy all day so mostly with Dad.
Sunday I still felt like crud, so Pete took the kids to lunch at Grandma’s and then Peyton stayed over at Grandma’s for the whole night. She was seriously jazzed about that, it’s pretty much her only way of getting out of our house and she’s always pampered at Grandma’s. Pete took the older two kids to the Stars on Ice show at the St. Pete Times Forum, they got to see amazing ice skating, but Sasha Cohen was the only person Pete was able to recognize.
We are so blessed to be given these chances to do these fun events, things we wouldn’t be able to do one our own. Thank you to the Children’s Cancer Center.
We’ve had no new team members sign up for Team Peyton and we’re still looking for at least 5 more, but my truest hope is to get 20 more. We are ranked #4 as a team, that's awesome!! The more people we can get involved, the more money we can raise for an amazing group. I hope that if any of you have the time in April, the 13-14th, to come out and be involved, please come! Sign up, collect donations and be a part of making all the research and cancer support possible through the American Cancer Society. Please send the word that we’re looking for support for our team to everyone you know, it’s a great reason to spam the heck out of everyone you know! We're going to plan some fundraising events for Team Peyton, and if anyone wants to help or has good ideas, please email me!
f.ro.G….fully relying on God
—-Anissa
