Methotrexate!

Emma is going on her second day in the hospital with her second round of chemo called methotrexate (sp?). She has tolerated the medicine well so far and we think she will do just fine. Her cathedar was not working properly so they had to put another one in. So far it is working ok, but we still have to change her about every 2 hours. This chemo is very toxic for Emma and ourselves, so we must wear gloves when we change her. We also have to make sure we don't let it sit on her skin too long.

She should be able to flush the chemo out within 48 hours, but in some cases it takes longer. We are hoping to go home sometime monday, but nothing is set in stone. I am attempting to make this new lifestyle my "normal", but I am having a tough time. While at home I had a lot of plans to get everything organized and cleaned up. Since we are having to come back to the hospital so often, I wanted to have bags ready at all times. When I first tried to get some things done I put Emma in her jumpy seat right in front of Praise Baby. Before she was diagnosed she would sit for at least 30 minutes while I worked on other things. Now as soon as she sees me or even hears me she fusses until I pick her up. Being in the hospital has really affected her, and the fact that I was by her side 24/7 for 36 days. I did take a few breaks, but her and I have become very close. So, I left my house a mess and was not able to organize.

While I was praying and telling God how much I was stressing out, he told me to calm down. This is our "normal" now and I need to just go with the flow and deal with it. So, everyday I am attempting to just go with the flow. Jonny has been extremely understanding with me and hasn't put me in my place yet : )

The game plan for the next few weeks go something like this. If we get to home on monday we will more than likely come back to the clinic on thursday to see if her counts are okay to start chemo again. If it is a go, we will admit on friday and start the chemo. She will get the same chemo she is getting now, and we will discharge as soon as it has flushed through her system. Once we discharge from that we will come back for 5 days of chemo. Hopefully everything goes well and we will get to go home after the 5th day. This all depends on Emma's counts and no infections. After all of this we will start from the beginning. We will be in the hospital again for 3 weeks while she does chemo. We are hoping that she will not get an infection again so we can go home after the 3rd week. This is all tentative and depends on how well Emma reacts to everything.

She is having a good day today and is taking her morning nap right now. Please pray specifically for:

No side effects from the methotrexate(sores, nausea) and long term side effects

No infections

She flushes the chemo out so we can go home monday

A restful night sleep for Emma

A complete Healing