Day 10

First of all, I want to mention that the results from Kristine's spinal fluid test came back today and it was negative.  Hallelujah!!  No cancer cells in her spine.  Thank goodness!!  However, Dr. Jacoub said she is nowhere near out of the woods yet. 

Me, Dave and my parents met with Dr. Jacoub today.  He briefed us on what Kristine's condition was at the time of admission, what her current course of treatment is and what will be happening in the days to come. 

Upon admission, Kristine was extremely ill, even though she didn't know it and only thought she was suffering from a very painful sore throat.  In fact, had that last doctor she saw on 2/25 not ordered a full blood work up, she probably would have passed away within several weeks.  A normal white blood cell count is around 11,500 and Kristine's was at 123,000!  This causes the blood's to thicken, it loses its viscosity.  Most individuals with a count that high would've been lethargic and suffering from shortness of breath and memory loss (dazed and confused).  Kristine didn't present with these symptoms. Dr. Jacoub said it probably has to do with the fact that she is so young and was in good health prior to acquiring the leukemia compared to most individuals who have AML who are typically elderly and not in as good of health.  So these two factors are playing in her favor.

They have been doing chromosomal testing on the cancer cells to determine the specific subtype of AML Kristine has which will help determine her course of treatment moving forward.  So far, the testing has resulted in a normal 23 chromosomes from mom and 23 from dad, XX (girl) with no extra chromosomes.  More sensitive testing is still being completed.

Kristine underwent 7 days of chemo which began March 1st.  Then they wait seven days and do a bone marrow biopsy.  We want the test results to reveal a cell count of less than 5%.  If so, they will then treat her to get her marrow to start making blood cells again.  Hopefully she will go into remission and no more cancer cells will develop.

Assuming all goes well and Kristine does go into remission, Dr. Jacoub will consult with his colleagues at Cedars and they will determine whether or not she is a candidate for at-home chemo maintenance or a bone marrow transplant. If she's a good candidate for a transplant, siblings make the best donors.  Luckily there are 3 of us AND Dave and Kristine had Logan's cord blood collected and stored.  It appeared as if Dr. Jacoub was pleasantly surprised by this news.  He explained that though there isn't necessarily enough cord blood to make up for a larger body mass of an adult vs a child, the stem cells in the cord blood play an important role in the production of new, healthy blood cells.

Now, if her marrow test comes back with a count higher than 5%, then she must undergo a new regimen of chemo for seven days and the process starts all over again. 

So we all need to focus all of our positive energy and prayers on a cell count of less than 5%!

Kristine had a pretty good day today.  She still has a touch of upset tummy and she is very tired.  She is resting now.  Hopefully I will be able to take her for that walk she wanted to take earlier.  We ended up having to wait because her blood pressure dropped (85/45).  She was also running a low grade fever earlier which has gone away -- thank goodness!  We cannot have Kristine get any infections!!  They gave her some fluids to help bring her pressure back up so that's good news too.  It's nice to see Kristine getting some much needed rest.