The Beginning of the Ending

I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog. Nothing really has changed. Erika was plowing through Consolidation 2 phase like a machine, dealing with the effects of chemo like a warrior, and has finished it. Now Erika has officially started her last phase of her treatment, the Maintenance phase.

The Maintenance phase dropped her steroids down to a 1/3 of what she normally would have taken, on the same schedule every three weeks, for a week and a half long. The reason for the decrease in dosage was because it took Erika a long time for her blood to recover. They also completely dropped Lovanox, the blood thinner which I had to inject twice a day. Thank goodness! Weekly she gets chemo of Methotrexate. They are still holding back Vincristine since she is still dealing with neuropathy. Although it does appear that it's getting better so I suspect she will be getting Vincristine in the next few weeks. This phase will last until she's been in remission for exactly two years. This makes her final day of the treatment sometime in February of 2015.

There have been talks about Erika getting her central line replaced with a port, which allows her to bathe and swim. This is exciting because she has been wanting to submerge herself in a hot-tub to maybe help relieve body pains...as well as getting a sense normality.

Regarding normality, after all of this non-sense, nothing can go back to normal. Going through something like this embeds a certain wisdom, a kind of knowledge that one can only obtain not by choice but thrown at through tears and pain. When a beam of light speckles at the far end of the tunnel, you learn to hope and not give up. Every step of the way through may be our last steps together, but we push through to the end, enjoy every moment, make the best of every situation with gratitude. Happy holidays everyone and thank you all for your love, care, and support.

Nausea Back In Force

It's been over six weeks since Erika had a day without the need to vomit. She was admitted last night so they can figure out a method to get a handle on this nausea. Her blood was low as well so she is getting another blood transfusion.

Trying to hold down hospital food while nauseated. Now that is tough.

Erika hopes to get this nausea managed before the Light the Night walk this weekend. She is extremely excited for it and does not want to miss the event. She is determined.

Consolidation 2 Cycle 6

Drugged up immediately after a bone marrow biopsy and preparing for a spinal tap in 20 minutes.

Erika was three weeks behind schedule to get a bone marrow biopsy done because her blood count would not bounce back up. Yesterday, she was scheduled to get one done regardless of how high her blood count was. Although, for the spinal tap her counts do need to be high enough. 

As usual, the biopsy was painful yesterday. Whenever there is a shift in pressure in the bone, pain is the signal the brain chooses for the change. They had to take an extra vial of bone marrow for the clinical trial, which equates to extra pain. On top of that, they needed to get a bone fragment specimen as well for bone structural examination. After the biopsy, her blood count results came in and it was high enough to proceed with the spinal tap.

Twenty minutes of recovery was all she had after the bone marrow biopsy was completed before she was taken down for the spinal tap. This procedure consist of extracting a small fluid from the spinal cord for examination, and then inject a small dose of chemo into the spine. This was painful for Erika as well, but not as painful as the one she received back when she was in the Central Nervous System phase. 

Immediately after the spinal tap she was sent back up to receive her next cycle of chemo therapy. This time around her treatment cycle did not include two other chemo for they were causing major side effects. As she recovers and show sign of improvement, then will doctors include the rest of the chemo medicine back into the treatment.

Today, Erika is recovering from all the beating yesterday and has been feeling very poopy. Yet, about an hour ago, we were given some good news. The hospital called and told us that the result from the bone marrow showed that Erika is still in remission. WOOO HOOO!!! Erika's battle with cancer is looking promising.

For those who aren't aware, Erika and I will be doing a walk on Saturday, October 12th to help raise funds to fight this cancer and stop it completely sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These funds not only helps with those with Leukemia, but all those with cancer in general since everything begins at the cellular level. Please help join her team in this walk by clicking here (please scroll down to the bottom and click the red JOIN button.) If you are not in Utah, no worries, you can still help by donating to the cause.

Thank you all for your support.

Holding Nothing Down

She wanted to get out, like a normal person, but ended up on the couch sleeping.

Since Thursday, Erika has been dealing with nausea. Over the weekend she has not been able to keep any food down...not even her recent favorite food, broth. She's getting pretty good at projecting vomit, straight into the food disposal though. I don't know what else to feed her. We'll see what the doctor has to say Tuesday on her next appointment.

PEG

Erika's blood count was still low to begin a spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy. So they will push those procedures back a third time to next week.

Today they took a blood sample for a genetic testing to see if her body produces a particular enzyme that metabolizes 6-mecapto purine, a chemo drug, slower than normal so they know how to better schedule her doses in the future.

Since Erika has not been experiencing pains in her hands and elbows, but just the legs, doctors feel it is most likely safe to continue on with PEG-aspiraginase today to completion. We both feel the increased chances of survival with this chemo far outweighs the possible risk.

The battle continues...

PEG No PEG

Erika's bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap was rescheduled to be done next week Tuesday. Yesterdays clinic visit, we were told Erika will continue on with PEG-Asparaginase beginning today. Dr. Ashe, the head of clinical trials at LDS, advised completing the last three doses of PEG since it will dramatically increase Erika's survival rate. Before the chemo treatment began today, we had to meet up with Dr. Miller, the pain doctor. During the consultation, Erika described how her pain was not manageable, even with the increased dose of her pain meds. Erika described how she now feels pain in the joints of her hands and elbows. Dr. Miller nearly doubled the dose of her pain meds to try out this time. 

Dr. Hoda came in to consult before the PEG treatment began and discussed how he disagrees with giving PEG since Erika's pains are increasing as well as they are appearing in places that is not known, besides the hips. He believes that the infarcts are solely the cause of PEG and not the steroids since they are not the typical avascular necrosis caused by steroids. PEG causes blood clots and these infarcts may have been the result of it. Therefore, PEG will not be administered today. Erika's blood thinning shot she gets every night will be quadrupled in strength to be given twice a day to help free any clots that still may exist in her body.

If she recovers from all of this and has the strength, they will revisit the possibility of continuing PEG to completion. 

"There and Back Again"

Still nauseated and in pain.

Today, Erika will be discharged with a higher dose of pain medication, which helps alleviate a lot of the pain. Erika has never been this nauseated during her treatment until now. Her appetite has decreased significantly the past couple of weeks, which freaks out her poor Mom. Sprite, saltines, and broth have been her new favorites lately.

Since being admitted late Sunday night, Erika had a UTI which caused a fever and may have been the reason for her nausea, got blood cultures done which came back negative, and an MRI done on both her legs. The result of the MRI showed she also had bone infarcts near the knee area in the tibia, fibula, and femur. This is the reason why Erika has been dealing with leg pains.

We were told bone infarcts are similar to vascular necrosis but the cause is different. Necrosis is due to no blood circulation. Doctors believe the chemo PEG-asparaginase, the clinical trial medication, caused a blood clot near the area of the knee and the hip which blocked blood circulation. A combination of the steroid Dexamethasone may have contributed as well. She still feels neuropathy in her finger tips and the bottom of her feet due to the chemo vincristine.

PEG-aspsaraginase, dexamethasone, and vincristine will be eliminated from her treatment. This is good news for she will not deal with as many side effects. Yet, the chances of curing her has dropped as well. This visit has been very emotional for us due to not being able to know what's to come and why things are happening the way they are.We have been able to meet some wonderful people here that have relapsed recently and one passed away. 

Erika's next bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap will be done next week Tuesday to see if she has any malignant cells. Hopefully she is still in remission. So far, any scheduled chemo treatment has been put on hold until they get the results of the bone marrow and spinal tap.

Labor Day Weekend

Erika's nausea has gotten worse and her pain is still the same. She was admitted Sunday. They are running another blood culture since she's getting the shivers.

Yesterday Visiting With the Pain Doc

Dr. Miller reading Erika's huge file at LDS hospital.

Dr. Miller consulted with Erika today regarding her pain and nausea. He prescribed a couple of new medications and thinks her pain is due to arthritis caused by her treatment. Afterwards she received a breathing treatment.

Outside LDS Hospital breathing in medications to prevent pneumonia. 

So far, the new pain relieving regimen is slightly better, but she is still feeling immense pains. Her nausea is far better controlled with the new medication.

Blood Work Last Night...

Thank goodness for Quadrex Jr. (her walker). Quadrex Sr. was her four wheeled I.V. pole.

There were no abnormalities last night in Erika's blood. If anything, it looked great. Yet, no one can explain the cause of her pain and nausea. In the past it was due to tapering off of steroids and chemo during each cycle, but she's been of steroids for 4 weeks now. On our next visit, maybe doctors will have an idea. I'm assuming they don't have an answer yet for they still need to consult with Boston where Dana-Farber is located for this clinical trial. Since this is a trial, studies can't be tampered with local resolutions, but only with directed methods from the Dana-Farber organization. They need video conferencing to speed things up.

Late Night LDS Visit

Getting help with nausea and pains in the knees. She has been dealing with this since last week and it is not getting better.

No Blood Clot In the Legs

The result of the ultra sound today showed no blood clots according to the technician. Doctors will let us know what the next step is regarding the hip bone infarction and whether Erika will continue with the other three chemo medications after they consult with the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Yesterday's Consolidation 2 Cycle 5B Visit

Waiting for consultation with a doctor

Yesterday Erika had her 5th cycle of consolidation 2. Due to her increase of neuropathy on her hands, feet, and now ankles, doctors have decided to eliminate the chemo called Vincristine from her treatment. Since her past visits of cycle 3, she had been complaining about hip pains. Dexomethasone, a steroid, cause hip bone weakness. This steroid literally eats away the bone. Last week on Wednesday during her Cycle 5a treatment, she had a X-Ray done to see if there are any signs of hip bone abnormalities. The result show everything was fine structurally. Since last Wednesday her hips felt the same and the pain level appeared to have increased from her hips down to her feet. Yesterday they decided to do an MRI on her hips to check the blood flow. The results showed she had many bone infarctions on her left side of her hip. An infarction means the death (necrosis) of a tissue due to lack of oxygen. Doctors don't know whether it was the chemo PEG-Aspariginase (which is the clinical trial medicine) or high dosage of the steroid Dexamethasone, so they eliminated those two as well from her treatment. That is a total of three chemo medicine being held back. To both Erika and I, this is good news since this means she won't be as drugged up and will not have to feel the side effects of them all. Yet, this puts fear into us that since she will not be getting the complete treatment, the cancer cells may have a chance to come back, especially after knowing about another patient who went through the same clinical trial and she recently relapsed.

Erika's marrow from this February

This is a sample of an infarction.

Today Erika will be going in to get her legs and feet examined for any blood clots since this usually occurs when there are an infarction in the hips. Lets hope that her legs and feet check out fine and that the neuropathy and infarction will be reversible so she can continue on with the treatment.

Strolling down to MRI lab

As I mentioned on the last post, the first blood culture came out positive showing that her blue colored port (she has a red, blue, and white ports). Two days later the other two ports came out positive as well. When all three are infected this usually means that the catheter that follows after the three ports, going up her neck, is infected. Since Erika has been in the hospital she's been receiving antibiotics to fight G+ bacteria as well as antibiotics to prevent any other infections since she was neutropenic. The last blood culture done came back negative. Doctors wanted to wait two more days to confirm that the culture was negative, which it still was. During the stay she received to bags of blood since she was also anemic (thank you all for blood donations.) Her body pains, for the most part, were under control during the stay through pain medications. As long as she continues with this chemo treatment of the clinical trial she will be in this type of pain. This means more pains to come for the next year and a half. Today, she was given the okay to be discharged. She is scheduled for chemo either this Friday or next Monday depending on her blood counts. Thanks everyone for all your continued support.

Blood Culture from Yesterday Tested Positive

The clinic visit yesterday, Erika had a blood cultures done to make sure she has no infections. Today the hospital called and said that one of her ports on her central line tested positive for gram-positive bacteria. She will be admitted back in to the hospital today to be monitored so it doesn't get any worse. They believe the pain she has been experiencing is related to this finding.

Post Clinic Visit

After the clinic visit and blood work, Dr. Asch and P.A. Schar, concluded that Erika will stay on the same taper but will be prescribed a slower dissolving pain medication to be taken a day before expected pains occur, commonly felt 5-6 days after first day of each cycle, to keep the pain from elevating. For now, Erika will have to tough through the pain with prescribed medication. She was offered to be admitted for the pain but Erika rejected for she would rather be at home. She was given a wheelchair, shower chair, and a walker to help assist with her mobility. Regarding her hip pains, they will continue to monitor it when she is off chemo next week, to see if the pain still exist to determine if it is caused by the steroids.

I failed to mentioned that Erika was able to meet up with a past patient who was also in the clinical trial and was able to share many experiences with each other. This helped out greatly, to be able to talk to someone who has been through almost an identical protocol of treatment. This person completed her treatment about two years ago and within those two years she gave birth to a baby. This is great news for both of us. This person got her hair back, looked vibrant, very caring and kind. Erika meet up with her about one month ago. Yet, today, after the clinic visit, Dr. Asch was given permission by this person to tell both of us some very sad news...she relapsed. This person will be back on treatment of induction and when she is back in remission, she will be begin doing a bone marrow transplant from her brother who is a match. The news took a toll on both of us. Our thoughts will be with her.

Erika does not have a match, like many others out there who don't as well, but can be saved. Please help out by registering to help save lives. http://bethematch.org/Join/Join_the_Registry.aspx

Consolidation 2 Cycle 4B Update

Today Erika is scheduled to have a clinic visit to follow up on her last chemo treatment, as usual. Yet, a new symptom Erika is feeling is pain in the hip. The chemo peg-aspariginase, which is the primary medication of the clinical trial, can cause degradation of the bone mass around the hip. They mentioned that she will probably get an MRI done to determine if that's the case. Aside from that, since late last night, Erika has been feeling extreme body pains from her lower back on down to her feet. She was in so much pain that she was unable to get any sleep. Again, this is most likely due to her being winged off of steroids. The past few times she was being tapered off, doctors were able to come up with a nice gradual decrease of steroids. It may be time for them to make another adjustment.

Consolidation 2 Cycle 4B

Today Erika will begin the second portion of Cycle 4 of Consolidation 2, since it was last split in two. Todays examination she failed a test. Her toes and the bottom of her feet are showing signs of possible nerve damage. When the PA bent her toes up, Erika couldnt tell. When her toes and the bottom of her feet were poked with a tooth pick Erika was unable to feel it. It is no wonder why when I try to tickle her at the bottom of her feet she doesnt respond.

One of the chemo she recieves, vincristine, which causes nerve damage, will be decreased in strength today. We do not know at this point if what she has is permanent.

Update On Intestinal Bug

Neither doctors or nurses have mentioned any test results about her second blood culture. They did say that Erika will be discharged today after she receives her scheduled dose of chemotherapy. So we can assume that her second culture is negative. Yayyy!!! Since Tuesday Erika has been feeling good and had shown no signs of a fever. The oils that were placed on her forehead this past Saturday must have finally kicked in when she received her anointing of the sick (and we thought those oils were expired since she got sick that day...they truly were time delayed...haha). She was low on red blood cells Wednesday so she had a blood transfusion. If it is possible, please help donate blood. Erika is very excited to leave the hospital today. 

For those who aren't friends with Erika on facebook, this is what she posted this Wednesday:

Erika Schragal Te

Wednesday

So Brendon Te and I have had a lot going on lately. Since I had been feeling better than usual we quickly planned and had our marriage blessed in the church and I had my anointment of the sick afterwards as well (which was AMAZING!) The oils from the priest may have been expired cuz I got sick that day and held it together as long as I could and ended up in the hospital.  (haha Bad joke I know). Check out my blog for more info erikate87.blogspot.com HOWEVER, on the upside I am feeling much better and am expected to go home Friday. Thank you for all the prayers, support, and love especially from my family who continues to sacrifice their daily lives to be with me and make my life extra special.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Intestinal Bug Causes Sickness

This past Saturday, Erika experienced feverish symptoms (vomiting, high temperature of 102.4+, body aches, etc.) and had to be admitted to the hospital. They ran blood cultures Sunday morning and the results came in early this Monday morning. Her blood has been infected with a G- (Gram-) bug. There is no specific name of this type, but it came from her intestinal line. The intestine has many different types of bugs to break down food, and at times, if these bug try to escape the intestine, white blood cells fight them off and keep them housed in the intestinal line. Erika's white counts have been at nothing for the past week due to her last dose of chemotherapy. So nothing could stop this infiltration of the bug from her intestine, causing her to get a blood infection. This is an example of how our "normal flora" will cause sickness when our immune system is compromised. The hospital has been giving her three different types of I.V. antibiotics to destroy these G- bugs. Her red blood count dropped dramatically this morning so she is now getting two to three bags of red blood. Please keep donating blood to red cross and thank you all for donating to help save lives. She will be in the hospital until Wednesday or Thursday.

Bottles with solution for culturing. A total of 12 containers used for culturing.

Getting blood from her central line.

Preparing blood for culturing.

Cycle 2 Begins

Erika got the okay to begin cycle 2 today. This will repeat every 3 weeks until she reaches 10 cycles. Each cycle consist of 6 different types of chemo orally and through IV.

She is thrilled to start cycle 2

Consolidation 2 Cycle 2

Cycle 2 is scheduled tomorrow all day at LDS Hospital. Erika's blood work showed great success regarding  regeneration of cells. Yet, there is something new that may delay Cycle 2 tomorrow, her triglyceride. Her blood shows high level of triglycerides even though she has been on a clean diet, better than she's ever consumed in the past. Doctors believe it is related to the specific chemo, Peg-Asparaginase, which is the primary chemo of this phase that may have affected her liver and pancreas function. We will find out later this afternoon whether she begins tomorrow or not.

Back Home

Erika was well enough to go back home last week. She is still swollen but she is no longer in severe pain. Cycle 2 of Consolidation 2 (there are 10 total cycles) begins this Friday if her counts are up. She will have more blood work done tomorrow. This will be done as an out-patient.

Update at LDS

Erika's counts dropped yesterday, Monday, and she was given two bags of blood. Her body responded well. She did get a minor rash on her hands and chest but no pains. Doctors have concluded that her pain is caused by her being off of steroids and not the blood transfusion from last week Thursday (coincidence). Her next phase they will wing her off a more gradually. Regarding the blood test on the donated blood, it came back negative with no signs of pathogens nor contamination. Currently Erika's swelling have gotten worse. They have prescribed her a pharmaceutical diuretic to flush out her fluids. Today they are also taking her off of the pain pump to see if she can manage her pain using oral medications. If she can manage it, she can go home...hopefully tomorrow. Her strength level is better. She can walk to the bathroom and do her daily walks in the hallway using a walker.

Back at LDS

Erika was admitted to LDS lastnight for her pain was getting out of control. They have her on a pain pump now so she can get pain medication on demand every ten minutes at the push of a button.

This morning her pain level dropped from a scale of 1-10 to a 7 when standing. Her swelling appears to be getting slightly better.

Erika's Weekend

The swelling is getting worse as well as her leg pains. Her legs needed to be compressed and elevated. She is only able to walk briefly. Erika has a clinic visit Sunday at LDS.

You can see in her legs and face that she is swollen

Consolidation 2 Update and Blood Transfussion

Since the start of Consolidation 2, Erika has been responding well to all the chemo, with the exception of her experiencing ringing in her ears, which keeps her up at night. I try to play soft music in the background but it doesn't appear to be working. Doctors believe it may be related to the chemo, vincristine, which may be affecting the nerves near her ears, but more observation is needed.

Update on CNS phase, after all the spinal taps, blood work, echo-gram (heart exam), all looks good. There were no signs of malignant cells and her heart is still beating strong.

Thank you to all who donates to help save lives.

Yesterday, Erika was in high spirit and energy. She had an appointment to get more blood work done to check her blood levels since the start of Consolidation 2. She was very low on red cells. She received two bags of blood. The first went in fine. The second bag she began to feel an ache in her lower back. A half hour later she was feeling pain at her lower back throughout her legs. They stopped the transfusion half way through. Erika was unable to walk and was feeling weak. At this moment her leg pains are still there and her lower back pains are managed through medication. The LDS hospital is doing a blood exam on the donated blood to check for any possible pathogens or such. Erika was winging off steroids  This may also be the cause of her pain. Overall, Erika tries real hard to be happy and joyful. She was paid a visit from a close friend last night which put her in a happy state. She's extremely excited for the whether and is anxious to be outdoors. She keeps talking about camping while she's is shivering in bed as I sweat beside her.

Consolidation 2

Erika was scheduled to have Consolidation 2 begin last week on the 10th, but her blood counts were still low to begin. Today she went into the hospital and her counts are up. She begins tomorrow at 9:15 a.m., starting out with spending the whole day and afternoon receiving chemo.

How has she been since the end of the CNS phase? Well, to put it lightly, poopy. Due to the numerous spinal taps, injected with a chemo called Methotrexate, and two other chemos called Vincristine and PEG-Asparaginase, they all cause a long list of side-effects. The most prodominent ones that Erika has been experiencing are neuropathy, swelling, headaches and nausea. Her hands would randomly cramp up, stiffen, curled in a position as if she is ready to cast a spell on me. As I duck from her cast, Doctors are watching it closely for it could be a sign of nerve end damage.

Her whole body is swollen. A nurse commented when she walked into the clinic that she looked like the Michelin man (we both thought it was very funny).

Nausea and headaches has been a continuous battle throughout the entire treatment from all the medications and chemo. The radiation to the cranium has increased them both. I also have noticed Erika has gotten angry lately...very easily. I want to blame the radiation, for maybe the gamma rays tapped into a spot where it gently awoken the "Hulk," like it did for Bruce Banner with his gamma ray incident. In reality, I'm sure it's just her dealing with this whole stupid mess of a blood disease no one ask for. It sucks when it's nice and beautiful outside and she has to stay in from it.

The past few days, since I have been sick with the stomach bug (don't worry, she didn't get anything from me) Erika has been showing signs of improvement from all of the above symptoms. Although, her energy level is the same. She is still extremely weak and tired. Walking in the house is a chore. She sleeps most of the time. I try to push her to do physical therapy at home to build back strength, but there is only so much she can do before she's gassed. Now she begins her new phase of chemo tomorrow. Therefore the battle continues. 

Together With Nature

In Ogden Valley, North Fork. Getting a breath of fresh air.

Today Erika wanted to get out of the house to go for a nice scenic drive to prepare her for Consolidation II, which will begin Friday the 10th of May. Today is the best she has felt since the beginning of April. April was a rough month for her. She was admitted into the hospital for lower body pains and a fever for a week and two weeks of spinal taps and radiation for the CNS phase. Radiation is over, but spinals are not. She will be getting them every 18 weeks. At least she gets a long break in between.

At Her Parents Resting

After a full strenous week, Erika can finally take a break. Spinal taps were still painful but she got through it. Radiation so far have been manageable.  Erika has two more sessions of radiation next week Monday and Tuesday. A final spinal tap will also be done on Monday. Phase CNS, #3, will finally be over soon.

Enjoying the sunset

CNS Day 3 and Spinal Tap

Update: Radiation therapy went well. It was controlled mostly by taking high doses of pain medications. Her spinal taps still resulted in pain from the spasms. It's been a crappy day for her.



Heading down for day 3 of radiation and her 8th spinal tap. Her last radiation treatment caused an unbarable migraine. She was in tears for 2 hours. Her last spinal tap was also very painful causing spasm in her lower back. "It felt like someone is clinching my spine and twisting it" is what she said it felt like. Lets hope today is better.

CNS Begins

Radiation therapy is scheduled today, tomorrow, next week monday through friday, and the following monday. Spinals taps is scheduled today, twice next, and the following monday. Her fever broke. Her blood culture no longer shows infection. She is still dealing with a little pain but not as severe as a few days ago. She most likely will be released from the hospital tomorrow after her radiation therapy.

Radiation Consultation

Today Erika had a consultation with the radiologist regarding her radiation therapy treatment this Friday. Her treatment with be a total of 10 days, beginning this Friday, everyday except Sunday. To prepare for the treatment they made her a head mask to keep you mounted to the bed of the gamma ray machine. They also did another CT scan of her brain to plan for the treatment.

Erika's temperature has gone below 100 but at the night it goes back up to 101 to 102. Her neutrophil count is still 0, so no immunity. Her blood culture shows a small sign of an infection. She will be released from the hospital when her counts are back up and when she's clear from any infection. If her counts are not up by Friday, her radiation therapy will be pushed back to Monday. Erika is still in pain from the infection.

Trying to smile with pain

Pressing down the soft plastic mesh to form around her face

As the mask is cooling on her face, they're getting a scan of her brain

Being scanned

Erika's personalized mask for Halloween next year. This mask will keep her head in place exactly in the same spot every day she gets radiation therapy. The ceiling and walls have a laser that beams down onto the mask for accurate placement.

Fever

Waiting to get a CT scan

Erika was admitted into LDS hospital for the first time for something other than her planned phases of chemo therapy. Earlier in the week she had experienced pains in the lower portion of her body. She was given medications to alleviate the pain, which didn't help. The pain kept getting worse. What was more concerning was the fever she was running between 100 to 102 degrees consistently since Friday. With her neutrophil count at zero still, this is a serious matter, for she may have an infection. She got a CT scan of her lower body to figure out the source of her pain and is having a blood culture done to check for infections. She will be at the hospital for at least two days, until they can get her fever to break.

Central Nervous System Phase

Monday April 15th, Erika will be meeting with a radiologist to get measurements of her head in order craft a helmet, needed for the radiation therapy. The CNS phase consist of 2 spinal taps a week along with the radiation therapy to the brain. If her blood counts look good next week on Thursday, CNS phase will begin the following day, Friday April 19th.

Happy Pho After

Right after transfusion