The Magic Number

This post is #133 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

November 12, 2008

Anyone who has known me for more than five minutes knows that I am a "control enthusiast."  I like my plans to be made in advance, my schedule to fall neatly into place, and my calendar to be without eraser marks.

A cancer diagnosis is a great reminder that none of us are really in control of anything   From one moment to the next, things can change rapidly.  The day after Hannah set up my Facebook page, and just three days after being released from the hospital, we found ourselves on the way back. 

My email from ten years ago today ...

After a really good day yesterday, Hannah woke up this morning with sharper throat pain and a fever which eventually rose to 101 degrees. "101" is the magic number that automatically sends us to the ER at Children's, and after seven hours in the ER, we were admitted and are back in the same little hospital room where we began a little over a week ago. Hannah is tired, but is feeling better tonight than she did this morning, and her fever has not risen back up that high since we've been here.

Her platelets are low again (14,000) so she will be getting platelets tonight, and her ANC (immunity level) is at 78. It was 98 when we left here on Sunday, and I think that decline is the main reason they decided to keep her. They've taken some new blood cultures, so we will see if that shows up anything. I think we'll be here at least 48 hours, waiting for those results. So....we are settling in for the next few days. We did bring a packed bag with us today, knowing this was a possibility, and thanks to our last stay, I knew exactly what to pack this time! Brad has gone back home and will bring Bethany back up tomorrow night for a visit.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement. We are thankful to be in such good hands here at Children's Hospital.

God is good, all the time!

Jill and Brad