"Third Scan" Results Are In!

Today was a pretty significant day in Kolby’s treatment. Last week her blood count numbers were really low and for treatment she was either going to have chemotherapy as scheduled or a blood transfusion if her blood count numbers hadn’t risen significantly enough. Dana does an amazing job getting Kolby ready for each one of her treatments. Not only does she have to get a sleepy teenager up and ready…she also has to gather up all of Kolby’s meds and take them to each appointment. There is also a special numbing cream that must be applied to Kolby’s port at least an hour before her appointment. She nurses Kolby through her day with a heart as large as a city block.

After drawing blood to check her numbers we had an unexpected response from Kolby’s physician Dr. Rashid. Her blood count numbers were too low for a chemotherapy treatment, but they were rebounding to the point that her doctor felt like a blood transfusion would carry potential side effects that would not be worth the potential benefit she would receive from it. In short…no “any” treatment today!!! That’s a mixed bag of blessings. On the one had she gets a week reprieve…but on the other hand…it puts her behind on her treatment regime. Instead Dr. Rashid opted to give her a shot that puts her blood marrow “Cell Making Factory” into high gear. Her number should be raised enough by next Wednesday for her to get the missed chemo treatment.

We also got to review with the doctor, Kolby’s most recent body scans. Dr. Rashid indicated that she was really pleased with the results of the scans. They show continued improvement with fewer levels of hyper metabolic activity. The cancer is reducing in both size and intensity. Most of her lymph nodes have reduced down to normal range and the malignant cell activity has decreased significantly. Her bones still show spotty patches of disease, but they are significantly smaller in size. We were cautiously excited with the news. It means that Kolby’s treatment is working and that we are winning the battle against this terrible disease. Her doctor feels like we are in a better position with respect to her treatment and that we can stay on the roadmap protocol established at the beginning of her treatment.

So we were anxious to take this good news with us as we traveled to UCLA Medical Center to meet with the bone marrow transplant specialist team. We fully planned on staying at a cheap hotel and returning home right after our scheduled appointment, Friday morning. But our incredibly generous and loving parents wanted to hear firsthand what the doctors at UCLA had to say, and wanted to have us stay with them for the weekend in a little nicer of a hotel. It is amazing. They see Kolby every day, and yet they call every day to see how she is doing since the last time they just left. They wear their concern on their sleeves and in their faces. So what was originally going to be a two day trip…turned into a great weekend outing with the grandparents, Darrell and Diane Thornton.

The joy of the trip was soon overshadowed by the realization of the condition of Kolby’s health as we traveled. She felt tired and sore before we left Las Vegas. As we traveled she started feeling really nauseous. Sadly she violently threw-up three times while we were traveling to Los Angeles. She was really miserable and exhausted before we even arrived. It’s so sad to see her cry from the pain she feels and deals with every day. The minute we think she is doing great and about to have a great day…her body unexpectedly crashes and she gets deathly sick. We arrived safely at the hotel and put her to bed hoping for a better day with more good news from our appointment tomorrow.