Fever.... To Clinic... Then Home

Hangin' out in clinic...


Last night, Mollie seemed exhausted and mother's intuition told me she was coming down with something. We checked her temperature several times and no fever, but she went to bed without eating much dinner at all. She was coughing all night long and woke this morning complaining of aches and pains and vomiting. By the time we got to clinic, her temp was 102!

But, her ANC was 2500, so she didn't have to be admitted to the hospital. She received rocephin (an antibiotic) and fluids in clinic and they sent her home on an oral antibiotic.

So, Mollie is glad because she gets a pass on the flu shot until next month. They can't give it to her right after she's had a fever because it might mask a reaction, but they also have to time it so that it is exactly between steroid pulses, because the steroids suppress the immune response and reduce the effectiveness. I got my flu shot today, though.

Lots of rest and fluids for today. Probably, she will stay home from school tomorrow as well. She is definitely feeling better after the IV antibiotic, and is being her usual goofy self! Hopefully she will be back to 100% by Thursday so she can go to her Daisy Girl Scout meeting. Plus, we have fun plans for the weekend. Ah, yes, the spontaneity that cancer brings into our lives.

I'm so proud of how Mollie just rolls with everything. Things that would have been a HUGE deal to her 18 months ago- like having a giant needle stuck into her chest, being hooked up to an IV, having to wear a mask, sitting in a boring clinic room for hours- are just water under the bridge for her these days. She had a very smooth chemo-port access and needle removal. I remember when just taking the bandage and tape off caused her to go to hysterics. Now, she brings one of her special worry stones with her so she won't worry when she undergoes different procedures. It really works!

In & Out of Clinic

Thursday night, Mollie was craving "steroid food" and wanted to go to Subway for a turkey and cheese sandwich. So, off we went, and the food seemed to hit the spot. But, a few hours after we got home, Mollie started complaining of acid reflux (or so I thought). I gave her some Zantac and put her to bed.

She came downstairs around midnight, not feeling well. I tried to soothe her and get her to go back to sleep, but she just couldn't get comfortable. Then around 1 am, she started throwing up. Afterwards, she said she felt much better. We cleaned her up and got her back to sleep. When she woke up in the morning, she had cramping and diarrhea (but no fever). She also said it felt like her heart was racing.

I thought it was probably food poisoning (Lucy and I didn't have turkey sandwiches, and we were fine), so to be safe we headed to clinic. All of her vitals (temp, HR, BP, etc) looked completely normal and since she had a good ANC just two days prior, they didn't need to draw blood. Dr. McD advised us to just keep track of her temperature and make sure she was drinking lots of fluid.

We spent most of the day resting (perfect weather for it: rain) and she woke up this morning feeling much better! Lucy was adorable and helped me take care of Mollie; she gave her lots of kisses and hugs and offered her snacks and Gatorade.

Tomorrow is the last day of steroids for this round, and I have to say she is handling them very well. I think preparation is key (pretty much true for everything). We have lots of steroid food (chips, applesauce, cheese, Hawaiian rolls, etc). and some new videos on hand for rest periods.

Struggling with Steroids

This weekend has been challenging, to say the least. The steroids have really hit Mollie hard, and she's having some leg and jaw pain from the vincristine as well. The steroids seem to manifest themselves in Mollie as an inability to make decisions, especially about what to wear and what to eat. She gets so frustrated and we end up going around in circles and Matt and I end up getting angry. It is impossible to tell where the steroid effects end and the five-year-old exerting control begins. Tomorrow is the last day for the month and we can't wait! Three weeks and one day until the next round.

Despite the difficulties, we have managed to sneak in a little fun. Friday night, we went to a Brews, BBQs, and Blues event at a local outdoor amphitheater. Lucy had the time of her life and Mollie tolerated it. Then, Saturday, Mollie and I went to the Team in Training info session, followed by a trip to the park so the girls could play in the newly opened water park. Today, after a very tough morning, Mollie played on the trampoline at Isabella's house and we went to the Greenjackets game (Mollie ate some Dippin' Dots and then slept the whole game).

Matt and I both think it's important to encourage Mollie to get up and do things, even when she is on steroids. We don't want to push her too hard, but we don't want her to lay around the house watching TV for 5 days a month either. It is hard to find the right balance and to know how hard we can push.