New Bone Marrow Procedure Schedualed

I received a call form Vanderbilt Children's Hospital this Morning. Lyric's medical team has scheduled her bone marrow procedure for Feb 3. The results from this procedure should tell us for sure if the Leukemia is still present or maybe the marrow was kicking out what was left of the cancer cells after her last dose of chemo.



If the results come back that the course of treatment did not work, Lyric will have to go back for another new six month course of treatment. A bone marrow transplant would be more likely in this case. If the results come back with good news then she will begin her clinic visits over the next four years to monitor her blood counts and ensure she has not had a relapse. The first two years after chemo have the highest occurrence of a relapse.

Bone Marrow Results - Not Good

Lyric's Dr. called today and informed us of the bone marrow results. The news was not the greatest. It appears that the Leukemia is still present. The lab has spotted premature cells in her marrow. The team has decided that it would be best to schedule another bone marrow aspiration procedure to be on the safe side. Since Lyric's cancer is so unique they want to make sure the results are what they appear to be. They will let us know in the next couple of days when she will have the procedure again.

Clinic Visit & Bone Marrow Procedure

Today Lyric had her first clinic visit. Her blood counts were good enough to have her bone marrow procedure this afternoon. The medical team will take a good look at the results from today's procedure and determine if the whole course of treatment worked to destroy the Leukemia. We should hear something back in the next few days.

Going Home!

We got to go home this morning! It's bitter sweet. Lyric is schedualed to have her bone marrow procedure on Tuesday, which will be very important. This procedure will tell us how well this course of treatment worked. Lyric was very excited and happy to go home. It will still be a lot of work and a full time job taking care of Lyric at home. She will have six or seven medicines to take twice a day and a shot twice a day, plus flushing her central line every day and chaging her dressing.

Last Bath & Dressing Change

Lyric had her last bath and dressing change this morning at the hospital. This is a very exciting day. Lyric's counts are over 300, which means we get to go home. The nurses and Dr.'s will be showing us how to take care of Lyric at home.

Count's At 100 & First Negative Culture

Lyric's Dr. gave me a little good news this morning. They received the first negative stool culture for VRE. If Lyric's counts recover while she has the VRE, we will still go home. She will still be on isolation when we start clinic visits until they get three negatives in a row. Her counts have jumped to 100 as of this morning, so she is on track to go home soon. She is scheduled to have her bone marrow surgery on Tuesday. That will be an important day, with results telling us how well she reacted to this whole course of treatment.

Out of The Room For A Little While

Lyric was able to get out of the room a little late tonight while all the other kids were asleep. She had to where a protective gown and stay belted in her car, which didn't matter, she loved just getting out of the room.

EKG & Ulrasound

Lyric had to have a Ultrasound and EKG today. Both tests are to give the medical team an idea of how Lyric's heart has been effected by all the rounds of chemo. There is one kind of chemo in particular that she was on that has been known to effect the heart negatively. According to the technician, everything appears fine. If not the medical team will let us know.

Nutraphils Hemoglobin Counts Low

We just spoke with the medical team making their rounds and it looks like Lyric's Hemoglobin counts are a little low. She will probably be having a blood transfusion today. Her nutraphils counts have also went from 80 to 40 which is normal for them to jump up and down. We still have no word on the VRE culture taken Monday. I am sure we will be isolated to this room until her counts recover and we go home at the end of the round.

Counts Starting To Recover

Just a quick post. Lyric's counts came back this morning. It looks like her nutraphils have started to recover. They were at 10. The Dr. is looking for a number around 250 and a predictable increase since these counts bounce around a lot.

Of course we are still confined to this small room which has been a challenge and rough on her. She just cant understand why she is in this room 24/7.

Close To The End of The Course Of Chemo

Lyric is getting close to the end of this course of treatment. We are now in count recovery. Once her nutraphils reach a certain point we will get to take her home Even with the VRE. At that point Lyric will go home for about a week and come back to the cancer clinic to check her counts and have her spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration procedures. These procedures will tell us how well she has reacted to the whole course of treatment. As long as everything looks good we will then begin the clinc visits which last up to 4 or 5 years where they will monitor counts to ensure that the Leukemia is not present again. She will not be considered in remission for a few years. AML Leukemia has a high rate relapse within the first two years after chemo and her having such a unique form of AML (only one), her chances are higher. Having Lyric home will be a challenge and a lot of work. She will have to keep her central line in for several more months. We will have to take care of her central Hickman line ourselves, cleaning, flushing and changing dressings. She will have several medicines and a shot twice a day that we will be doing ourselves. Lyric will need special care at home for a while that will definitely be challenging.

Positive With VRE

We found out today that Lyric will be on isolation for the rest of this round. Her stool came back positive for VRE. This is a bacteria that is starting to grow. At this point it is not an infection but could easily become one. We are on isolation, confined to this small room for the protection of the other immune suppressed patients on this pod. It takes three consecutive negative cultures to consider it gone. The team won't treat the bacteria for fear of it adapting and becoming immune to to the antibiotics. So we have to just stay in the room for the rest of the round. Once her counts recover, we will still get to come home, even with the VRE. If she still has it when we start are regular clinic visits, we will have to be isolated to a special room in the clinic.