Together for Taleah



It has been a busy 6 months. I am WAY behind on this blog. Taleah has had 2 treatments at PCMC along with her monthly CBCs and visit with Dr. Marsden. Her ANC has stayed between 700-1300. That is a great range so we haven't messed with her oral chemo dose. She isn't on a full dose which makes me kind of nervous, but there is nothing we can do about it. Taleah has stayed involved in pre-school, gymnastics, dance, cheer and tumbling. She LOVES all of it! Keeps us all busy. I know the germs aren't the best, but we have to weigh what is best for her and her recovery. The trips to PCMC have been pretty much the same. She gets major anxiety about the sedation portion of the visit. It includes being sedated and the lumbar puncture to test the spinal fluid and do intrathecal chemo. I think it is the actual feeling of the sedation and then the way she feels afterward. She feels pretty miserable and throws up a lot. The past few times they have had some difficulty with her LP. It's almost as if she is so tense that they can't find an open space in the spine for the needle. They have had to poke multiple times in order to get the right place and finish the procedure. It does make her back very sore. This last time was extremely nerve wracking because if they couldn't get it (which had happened once before), then it would completely mess with the rest of her treatment "schedule". I was on the verge of tears but luckily they were able to complete it with some difficulty. This trip in particular we were able to use angel flight and it was great!!! It saved some time and really cut the trip home a lot shorter. They happen to be doing a news story on Angel Flight so they interviewed Taleah and I for the story. The flight home was a little rough, only because Taleah was so sick. It was an amazing experience and I can't believe there are so many good people in the world!!

The plan is to go to PCMC in August to have her last treatment and have her port removed as well. Everything will be done in the OR. I am so excited to have the port out because it is less risk for infection. She will then continue oral chemo until October 31st. Then she will be officially done!!! We will then have a huge party!!! She will still have lots of follow up visits and CBC for a long time. I am proud of her progress so far. She has been one tough girl. There has been so much heartache in the cancer world lately and I try and stay positive. These kids are true fighters and such an inspiration.