After Cancer Diagnosis, Relapse Lurks in the Dark
Relapse is probably the second worse word behind cancer. It may actually be the worst, depending on the situation. Anytime your child is sick with a simple cold, the deep dark recesses start murmuring inside you. Throw in swollen tender lymph nodes on the neck and wow, nail biting time. Well it was time to bite the nails last night.
Adelaine has had a cough for a couple days, just like the other 3 kids in the house. Yesterday, the lymph nodes on her neck were swollen and hurt when she turns her head.
Now, swollen lymph nodes on your neck are most likely due to a cold or virus in your head. That is what she has had last week a cold yucky nose thing.
A second set of swollen lymph nodes in the armpit or the inner thigh pubic area are bad indicators. I have checked the armpits several times tonight while Angela has checked the other area.
She also has a low grade fever, common to the cold or a virus. http://webmd.com is a fantastic resource to either scare you or comfort you depending on how you read the article.
We were pretty sure it was nothing, but we prayed all night for the nodes to go away and to actually be nothing at all. Sleepless night to say the least.
Off to Dr Kargas after the boys went to school. He told us it could be bad or good and referred us to the lab to get a CBC done. I forgot to promise him that if he got a machine, we wold promised to have a test done at least once a month. We would be willing to setup a standing appointment.
After the long wait amongst the mostly skervy people waiting for employment drug tests for well over an hour we definitely would agree to at least monthly CBC’s in his office maybe even weekly if we never have to go to that clinic again.
They called us back after 45 minutes and someone complained because we were going ahead of them, so they sent us back out.
Another 20 minutes later the technician pulled out 2 full tubes and a full size needle. We objected and he said they have to do it that way so the blood wouldnt be clotted like a finger prick. I told him that we have had hundreds of finger pricks done and he insisted.
When Adelaine saw the needle, she freaked out. It took both Angela and I to hold her still. he put the giant needle in and missed her vein. He started trying to move it around and I was about to seriously knock him out. I think his spidey senses kicked in because he quickly pulled the needle out and walked away to get a finger prick kit.
Sis was completely hysterical already though and the finger prick didnt go well. She never has done that great with “sticky prikeys” anyway.
3 hours later Dr Kargas called and asked Angela if this was the hardest phone call she ever had to wait for. We have a great relationship with our Pediatrician. he is an awesome guy. We were one of his first patients and his first and only cancer diagnosis. He has had a brain tumor diagnosis patient, who happens to be Taylor Brightbill from our soccer league. When we were speaking to Taylor’s mother Patty at the Childrens Cancer Center we discovered we both had the same pediatrician.
Then Dr Kargas let Angela know that Adelaine’s blood counts all came back normal so everything looks good now. Whew!!!
She called me as the boys and I were on a 9 mile bike ride. We rode to the top of the Dick Misener Bridge and back. The top of the Dick Misener bridge is 90 feet high!
Dick Misener bridge http://webhatchlings.com
Anika is doing great. We actually went to Give Kids the World Saturday to celebrate her birthday.
Well time to go tell the boys a bedtime story. Saturday I started a series of stories about my adventures in life and all the fun and exciting things that I have done.
I think the ride down the bridge will be one of their fun and exciting things they tell their kids.
dug
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One comment
Edgar Hernandez on March 16, 2009 at 5:55 pm
My daughter last day of treatment was Wednesday March 11. Well for the past 2 years her blood counts have a been high, but on the last day of treatment her counts were low. I was scared and I couldn’t hold my tears. Well the doctor told me it could be a viral supression. Whatever that means. That same day she was having a bone marrow smear, bone marrow aspiraton, and lubar puncture. Her doctor told me that I can get the premilinaries for her bone marrow the same day, but i’d have to wait for 2 hours. Loooongets two hours of my life. I kept asking myself (why? why? why?. Her counts haven’t been low in over 2 years of treatment. Well my heart was racing and I could barely hold still. Her doctor came up to me all serious and I was like “OMG”. She said “bone marrow smear shows no Leukemia cells”. I wa sokay for the moment and I still was like why the freak are her blood counts low. Same day when we got home she got a fever. Went to the hospital extremely nervous. We spent 5 days there and they discovered a severe urine infection and that was the cause of her fever. She had a bad cough as well. I was still the “R” word in my mind. Doctors came in the morning and told me her bone marrow aspirant came back with no Leukemia cells, and her bone marrow came back with no leukemia cells, and her lumbar puncture came back with no leukemia cells. I was like okay so why are her counts low again???? they said its a virus. her counts actually got lower, but slowly started to increase a little. Her anc went from 50 to 150. So they sent us home. I am still nervous, but all 3 test came back negative. I keep thinking about the 85% chance of living event free, but I my nerves get the best of me.