Preparing For HD Mtx

It is going to be ugly. Now that Hannah has finished DI 2, she will begin the new phase. Remember back in February when I was debating putting Hannah on the aggressive chemo that would give her a better prognosis but had all the nasty side effects? That's the one we are starting.

If she had made counts she would have started last Saturday. It is a five day stay as inpatients at the hospital until she clears the 5000 mg dose of Methotrexate. For once, I was actually very happy she didn't make counts!

From everything I have read, the kids who make it out of this with the least side effects have are the ones who process the drug quickly. There are some tricks, I found, to help Hannah do that. She needs to have good electrolyte levels, and her kidney and liver functions need to be up. At Friday's appointment, Hannah was a little dehydrated and her liver function was lower than normal. So, we gave her an hour of IV fluids right then and have been spending the week forcing Gatorade in her!

This dose of Methotrexate is also known to cause painful mouth sores. Having a super clean mouth can help lessen the amount so Hannah also got to go to the dentist this week. The only thing is that Hannah has to have good counts and an antibiotic an hour before going. There was a crazy whirl of doctors, pharmacists, and phone calls to make it happen! We did it, though, and Hannah was fantastic! She kept telling them she wanted SPARKLE teeth. Her dentist, started out with a normal tooth brush. Hannah told her that if she wanted to make her teeth sparkle she would need to use that, and pointed to the polisher!



Tomorrow we go in to check counts. If she is above 750 ANC, she will have a back poke, or spinal tap, with IT Methotrexate into her spinal column and then check into the hospital Saturday morning for the high dose stuff. I think we are as prepared as you can be. I am scared out of my mind and confident she will do well all at the same time.

I have been meaning to post these cute pictures of Hannah at the hospital when she had the virus. So, here you go, two weeks late!


Hanging in the ER, not so happy


Heading to our room


Playing


Oh man. So beautiful, makes my heart hurt.


Going home!!