Recently...

Since we have been admitted to Primary Children's much has happened.  I wanted to post every night while the details were fresh in my mind, but by midnight every night the task still was not done and I needed to get to bed.  So I will summarize the last couple of days happenings.
After Evalette's admission, she was immediately started on three medications, steroids and two others with crazy fun names.  The steroids were the first step of the chemotherapy plan.  Oh fun steroids...I know the game.  Jarom has had to have them before and they have horrible side effects; extreme crankiness, irritable, increased appetite, and make you feel really uncomfortable.  Not only does Evalette get steroids, but extremely high doses.  So we were warned and told to prepare for the fun to begin.  She also was given and is still taking meds to help her uric acid levels stay low and medicine for keeping her stomach acid levels down.  The steroids will melt the mass away that is suppressing her lungs.  Go steroids, although I still don't like you.  They also break these nasty cancer white blood cells up.  This is great and all, but when the cells break up, they leak out all kinds of things that shouldn't be  in the blood stream; uric acid, calcium, potassium, phosphate, and such.  The kidneys are really good at filtering all the extra debris out, but with the immature cells breaking up, it is just too much and then we have kidney failure.  So that is where the other meds come in.  They keep her levels where they should be.
The doctors have been so impressed.  They keep telling me that Evalette looks too good to be sick.  I agree.  James and I are pretty convinced that it is because we have made sure that she has always had the best nutrition and natural care from her birth.  She is doing extremely well.  What a blessing.  Her white blood counts have steadily come down everyday and all her other levels are stable and staying where they should be.  Her body is also starting to produce red blood cells again on its own, which is wonderful.  Her white blood cells crowded out the red so they stopped growing before.  Dave, her nurse today, was so wonderful.  He went through all of her labs with me and kept telling me how amazing she is doing.  She truly is our warrior princess.  We are praying her good results will continue.  The doctors are impressed with James' and I's knowledge of the medical terminology.  With him getting his PHD in Bioimphermatics and because I recently took 2 intense classes of Anatomy for my schooling, we have been able to keep up with what the doctors are talking about.  It has been a blessing.
The plan is that we will be here for 5 weeks.  May 3rd is our projected going home date!  We will have an intense round of chemotherapy to kill all of her white blood cells.  At the end of the 5 weeks, they will do a bone aspirate and see if all the cancer is gone.  They are optimistic that it will be and if so she will be in remission!!! Then we will have 2 years of chemotherapy.  Some impatient and some outpatient.  But we won't have to stay in the hospital for another really long stay, maybe a 2 weeks or so, but not 5!   All the chemo will make sure that the cancer really gone and not coming back.  Then after 5 years, she can get the stamp of CURED!  That is what we are praying for.  She will beat this!
Today we got a road map of the first five weeks.  It will be intense and the side effects of the medications scared me.  My sweet baby will go through a lot.  It breaks my heart.  But I know that in order to save her life, we have to continue forward although I hate to see her in pain.
Generally she has been happy.  She enjoys visitors.  Her doctors love her and her sweet temperament.  She loves to laugh and dance and grind her teeth as of late.  But today was a bit more tough.  I was a bit emotional.  She would smack herself in the head, again and again.  Then look at me with her big blue eyes, silently begging me to help her because she didn't understand what was going on and why she felt so yucky.  I cried.  I couldn't help it.  After a few tears fell, I had this sudden rush of strength and I knew that we could do this.  So we rocked and rocked and rocked.  Back and forth, back and forth.  I sang to her, sweet lullabies of my childhood, primary songs, and whispered soothing words of comfort.  We both calmed down.  Now she is finally sleeping peacefully, lips in a slight pout, her hair slightly damp from exhaustion, and fingers clasped tightly around her favorite blanket.  She is safe, she is well, and she is strong.  And so am I.  We feel your love, we feel your support, we feel your prayers.  Angels are surrounding us, giving us strength and bringing us peace.  We are blessed to have such an amazing support group.  Thank you all!