Finally ...

This post is #148 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.

December 17, 2008

It was chemo day at last!  Almost two months after this new chemo was recommended to start, it was finally underway.  We weren't given the go-ahead because Hannah's platelet issues were resolved; no, we were starting in spite of the fact that they were not resolved.  Her doctor just didn't feel we could wait any longer, even though Hannah was at high risk of uncontrolled bleeding.  In an attempt to minimize this possibility as much as possible, she would undergo a platelet transfusion at Children's Hospital every other day.  We fully understood the risk, but at this point we really had no other choice.  As Christmas approached, we were simply grateful to be moving forward with a plan for treatment and the possibility of a cure.

My email from ten years ago today ...

Well, Hannah has finally had her first official dose of chemotherapy. The infusion was uneventful, and she is feeling fine. We are waiting now for a platelet infusion, and then we will be going home. Our oncologist discussed the possible side effects of Avastin with us, one of which is bleeding. He is somewhat concerned about this potential side effect, due to the fact that her platelet counts have been so low (platelets are the clotting mechanism in blood). So...we will be coming in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for platelet infusions until her counts rise above 100,000 and stay there for awhile. She will have a chemo infusion once every two weeks for a couple of months, and at that time she will have another scan to determine its effectiveness.

We are so thankful to finally be moving ahead with Hannah's treatment plan. She has had less nausea over the past several days, so she is feeling pretty good right now. We are looking forward to Christmas next week, and the opportunity to spend time with family. 

God truly is good, all the time!
Brad and Jill