2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Monday Kaylee begins her Delayed Intensification Phase. This phase will last 8 weeks and will include several new chemotherapy drugs. She will also have a couple of week long bursts of steroid treatments, but she should not have the severe side effects that she had when she took the steroids before.
Tomorrow morning at 9AM, Kaylee goes to the outpatient clinic for IV Vincristine, IV Doxorubicin, and Intrathecal Methotrexate (given via spinal tap). Monday evening she will begin her first burst of Dexamethasone (the steriod) with her second burst two weeks later. Our hope is that the Doxorubicin does not give her the severe nausea that she had with the IV Methotrexate. We are hoping for an easy transition into this intense phase, but we really don't know what to expect; how her body will react. At the end of the week, she will be receiving a PEG Asparaginase shot. This was the chemotherapy that they believe caused her to have the clot before. Previously, her doctors had mentioned possibly beginning the Lovenox shots again as a preventative, but we don't know yet if that is what they will advise us to do. I will try to find that out tomorrow. Maybe they will just take the 'wait and see' approach since those shots were very painful for her. She will continue to routinely go in for treatments on Mondays and should have a week off during the week of the 18th of February.
On the 25th, her meds will change again. She will again get Intrathecal Methotrexate, and two new IV chemos: Cytarabine and Cyclophosphamide. She will also begin taking the oral chemo Thioguanine that she will continue to the end of this phase. During the week of the 25th and the week of March 4th, she is supposed to get the IV Cytarabine 4 days in a row beginning on Mondays.
My due date is March 8th. This coming Friday I will be having an ultrasound to check on Jeremiah's size (due to my gestational diabetes). If he is on the large side, they may decide to set an induction date. But my maintenance of my sugar levels has been really good, so I am not expecting an issue, unless he is just a big boy.
Kaylee's doctors have told us to expect her to need to stay at the hospital at some point during this phase of treatment due to an illness of some sort. I am hoping that Kaylee defies the odds and does not need to do this. With the approach of Jeremiah's delivery in conjuction with this intense phase of treatment for her...the timing is not ideal. But I am confident that whatever happens, God will see us through it. As long as we depend on Him, things will work out for our good. If we are faced with the most difficult situation, it will only make us stronger. With the Lord on our side it will not break us as long as we make a conscious effort to lean on Him.
On the outside it may look like this would be the worst time of our lives (mixed with the joy of new family member), but in actuality, it is a time of great spiritual growth for our family. My hope and prayer is that through this trial we develop the strength and ability to grow spiritually even in our times of prosperity. It is easier to lean on the Lord in times of trouble...when you are brought to your knees realizing you can't make it through a difficult situation on your own. It is quite another thing to continue to give God complete control and to continue to be a witness for His unending faithfulness and grace when life is easy. When you are not faced with trials and difficulties it is very easy to lose focus and to let the world get in the way of continuing to grow in the Lord and share what you learn with others.
So, the next several months will be full for us to say the least. I thank all of you for your offers to help in many ways. Asking for help is an area that I personally struggle with. Perhaps that is one of the lessons I am learning through this. What can I say...I am a DIY girl :O) I know though that there are times coming in the very near future where I won't be able to do it myself (though I still may try). Thank you in advance for stepping in and taking over for me...making me change that part of my personality!
I will post updates on how Kaylee is doing during her clinic visit tomorrow on Facebook. Thank you again for your support and prayers.
