Monday's Nerve Racking Clinic Visit!

Whew! That is all I can say about this morning's clinic visit. Cora had her chemo and she is home and fine. That's the short version, if you want the drama keep reading... She hasn't had much of an appetite and still has a bad cold. We haven't been able to get her to eat or drink much (drastic change from a few weeks ago!). So she ate a little dinner last night and then because her procedure was at 9:00 she couldn't eat or drink anything this morning. She woke up grouchy, got dressed, and begged for OJ. We (Rob is off and luckily went with us) got in the car to go and Cora immeaditely fell asleep, she would wake up then drift back off, and was pretty unresponsive when I tried to talk to her. When we arrived at the clinic this only got worse. Usually she is a little nervous and cries and talks a lot, today she laid on my lap and drifted in and out of sleep. She wouldn't answer questions from the nurses and didn't even complain when they stuck the needle in to access her port. Something just wasn't quite right. We saw Dr. Johnston and he did listened to her and gave the all clear to go ahead with the anesthesia. (Her chemo was injected into her spine today, so she had to be sedated.) He did order some extra blood to be checked for infection and to have her blood sugar checked. They did the procedure and also began giving her some sugar fluid through her port just to be sure she was hydrated. After the procedure she usually wakes right up, but today she slept and slept and slept. Dr. Johnston came back in and said that her blood sugar was low (44) and that he wanted to keep the fluids on and also give her a cortisone shot to boost her adrenal gland (it sometimes needs a jumpstart after being on 30 days of steroids). She slept on. It was time for her to wake up and we shook and kissed and poked and bribed, but she slept on. About 15 minutes later she began to stir. Finally, she slowly woke up and drank some orange juice. She still sounded congested, so Dr. J ordered a breathing treatment which really helped. After that she asked for chicken nuggets and we knew she was fine! In short I think she was a tad bit dehydrated with a cold and really really low blood sugar. So once again great doctors and lots of prayers perked her up. Mama was a nervous wreck, but I have already decided that after 2.5 years of treatments I will have grey hair and 100 times the amount of stress lines for someone my age! We are so thankful that we didn't have to be admitted to the hospital and that she is feeling fine!
She has lost 3 pounds. Her clothes all fit very well again, but her face, neck, and back are still puffy. When I inquired about that today the doctor told me that is probably not swelling any longer, but fat. He said that steroids redistribute the fat in the body and it accumulates in some spots. He said it may take her growing some to lose that. It will go away as she grows. Of course that is definitely secondary to her getting well, but I sorta thought she would quickly go back to looking like her normal self. I guess that is not acutally the case. But she is still precious and we are so proud of what a trooper she is! Her hair is hanging in there. This round of chemo doesn't cause as much hair loss as the next round does, so she may hang onto it a month or so, but things will gradually intensify in Feb., March, and April. But she has LOTS of really cute hats ready and waiting! Thanks again for all of your support and prayers! We met some little girls today at Toys R Us who attend the DeRenne Campus of SCPS. They recognized Cora and said they have been praying for her. That was very cool. She is sorta like a local celebrity!!! Look out, Paula Deen!