Long day at Hassenfeld

We had an appointment with Dr. Carroll at Hassenfeld yesterday.  

The short version: Stella is doing fine.  

The long version: The appointment was for 10:30.  We expected a routine blood test followed by a discussion with the doctor based on the results, then back home by 12:30 or so.  Nope.

First, they couldn't draw the blood sample out of the PICC line.  Once they managed to, it was already an hour later.  Then, we waited longer than we anticipated for the results.  At this point, it was already lunchtime, and Stella was ravenous (an ongoing side effect of the dexamethasone she's taking for another couple of weeks).  So I ran around the corner to Brother Jimmy's to pick up some mac & cheese (Stella's very specific and urgent request), thinking that she'd eat until the results came back and then we'd go.

Not so fast.  The blood tests came back and her counts were low--this is something we'll be getting used to; the cancer meds suppress blood counts--so she had to get a transfusion.  Not as scary as it sounds, especially since she went through it a couple of times while she was in the hospital.  All this is painless, by the way--she just sits in a big chair in a little private "pod" with a TV in front of her (she watched High School Musical 2 among some other things, drew some pictures, and played hangman with me) while everything is pumped in or out through the PICC.

But by mid-afternoon,  we were all going nuts with boredom, and Stella's appetite was nagging at her again (there are plenty of snacks there, but they're mostly chips and donuts and we're trying to limit junk food intake).  Adrianne had to leave at 4:45 to pick up Zoe.  Stella and I didn't get out of there till the transfusion was complete at 6:30.  Now we know to bring our own snacks and activities (including the awesome Nintendo DS that Paul & Nicole got her) next time.

So, that mini-ordeal is over.  Some good news:  First, the bone marrow sample results from last Thursday indicate that the "blasts" (cancer cells) have been reduced to 20% (they were 100% when she was admitted to the hospital).  To be honest, we wanted this to be zero by now, but Dr. Carroll says that it often takes a little longer for patients like Stella, who have a specific kind of trisomy in their cancer cells. (The flip side is that these same patients tend to have a more favorable overall outcome after treatment, so we'll take it.)  Also, she no longer needs to get IV antibiotics at home.  They have been replaced with oral meds she can take twice a day.  Now she (and the rest of us) can get uninterrupted sleep.