Carrie's Update on Hannah, April 21, 2010

Hannah is no longer an impatient at Children's. We will continue her cancer treatment as outpatients for two and a half years. That is, unless she gets too sick or a fever, then they will readmit us. We have been to clinic,(Children's cancer treatment area) every day since we were released. Hannah's ANC numbers, (that is the amount of bacteria killing white blood cells that determine what immunity levels) are so very low that we have to continue to go to clinic often so that they can check her blood levels and to make sure she doesn't get a fever. We are doing crazy amounts of hand washing and germ killing! Clinic is sometimes very painful for Hannah and the chemo treatments are very hard on her body. She has been having leg and back pains that keep her awake most nights and lots of nausea. Her toes go numb now and then, which she calls, sprinkle toes.
She has had a port placed in the tissue just under the skin on her chest. This goes into a large vessel near her heart so that they had draw blood and give chemo or other medicine without having to use the small veins in her hands or arm. At first accessing the port,( putting in the neddle) was very painful and scary for Hannah, but she is getting better at it.
At our clinic visit yesterday Hannah got a much needed platelet transfusion and we also found out that her ANC numbers had gone from 40 to 140! A normal persons numbers would be in the thousands. She has to be above 200 to be out of the danger zone and above 500 to be out in public, like restaurants and grocery stores.
At today's clinic we found out that she has gained a little weight (yeah!) and kept her ANC numbers at 139.
I would really like to thank everyone who has called and emailed me such nice messages. I am not always able to get right back, or not at all depending on how crazy things are, or how emotional the day is, but they do mean so much. For some reason those nice emails always seem to come right when I need them most. This has been just earth shattering for me and I really appreciate all the prayers and support. I will try and get quick updates to this blog as often as I can.