Half way through Delayed Intensification

Olivia had her blood counts today. Her ANC was still below normal, although it was borderline acceptable to get chemo. She is now scheduled to come back on Monday next week for another blood count and if she's ready, she will start the second half of the Delayed Intensification phase on Tuesday.

This is when the tough part comes in. Once chemo resumes, she will be getting intense chemo for 2 weeks. 4 days on, 3 days off then another 4 days consecutive chemo. All are supposed to be outpatient only. It will start off with a spinal tap then the rest will be chemo through her port. In addition to that, she will also be getting oral daily chemo at home.

Olivia has not fully recovered yet from the past 3 weeks of chemo. There has been on and off days. Today she wasn't so energetic at all. She refused to stand on her own or walk, complaining that she has a hard time. I had to massage her stomach and legs until she fell asleep. Over the weekend, she also lost majority of her hair. It's something that was expected to happen, but was just difficult to watch chunks of hair fall off.

I ask for your prayers that Olivia stay strong for the next few weeks of intense chemo. This week marks the beginning of her 6th month of treatment. As much as I am dreading this phase, what comes after is what we are looking forward to. A few more months of intense chemo and she will be on maintenance soon, which means less frequent chemo for the next 2 years. She has proven to us the past 5 months that she is truly a fighter. Sometimes though, even fighters need to recharge and recuperate. I know in my heart that she will get through this. Go go go Olivia!!! We're with you all the way!

Still not feeling well

It's been 4 days since her last chemo and Olivia is still not feeling so well. She still cries about stomach pains that it "really, really hurts". She hasn't really been eating well this week too. She keeps going to the pantry trying to look for food but her taste buds are probably messing her up. She doesn't feel like eating anything other than plain pasta. When I get home from work, she usually runs towards the door, excited to greet us. The past few days, she just doesn't have the energy.

This morning I massaged her stomach which I think made her feel a bit better. Hoping and praying for better days ahead...

Rough day

The past few weeks were pretty good for Olivia. She had a lot of energy and her blood counts have been normal. A very important lesson I learned from this journey is to make the most of what we have at the moment. Today was chemo day and it was a really rough one for Olivia. I am happy that she had a couple weeks that she was healthy enough to enjoy going out and spend time with the rest of our family living local. We took advantage of the days when she and the entire family was well. We have a big family, so for everyone to be well at the same time is pretty rare these days, especially with a lot of kids.

Over the weekend she was crying because of stomach pains. We started teaching her how to tell us the level of pain with the help of Dad acting out the levels of pain from 1 to 5. It worked last night when she couldn't express how much pain she was feeling. It was a bit of a relief to know that she felt it was a 3 out of 5. It could be worse.

Olivia's blood counts have plummeted bringing her ANC to 486 today and is considered severely neutropenic (normal is 1,500). Her hemoglobin and platelets are still normal for a chemo patient, but it is during this time that patients usually get blood transfusions again. She will be getting her blood counts again Monday next week and I'm praying for improvements. With her counts being so low, we want to be really cautious because she is more prone to infection. She's been really clingy all day and has been very vocal about not feeling well. I hope and pray tomorrow will be better for her.

I don't have a picture of her today, so I'm posting a picture taken yesterday when everything was a lot better than today. I would like her to get back to this sooner. With the help of your prayers, I know she will. Only positive thoughts! Easter is coming up and I only wish for her to get stronger and feel better, and of course, no infection please! I don't even want to entertain the idea of getting admitted anytime soon. Positive thoughts..positive thoughts...

Out and about

Since last Friday we started to bring Olivia out of the house more often. It started with the fundraiser event and after that she kind of knew that she can actually go out and have fun! Of course, we are still very cautious where we take her. She always wears a mask and we make a deal that she needs to keep it on or else we'll go home sooner than expected. We were traumatized during the first few months of diagnosis that she was in and out of the hospital, afraid that she can easily catch a virus. We still worry about it no doubt, but also at the same time we feel that she deserves to have fun as well, just like a normal kid. It helps that weather is actually getting better! During her weekly blood counts, we need to make sure her ANC is high enough for her to go out.

I also noticed that it helps to keep her busy. Her eyes light up whenever she spends time with her cousins. I guess when she's having fun she forgets all the discomfort chemo has given her. It's when she's home that she gets her mood swings. She is currently on a 1 week break from her steroids that's causing her mood swings (Yay!). She gets uncomfortable too at night when she sleeps. Usually she would say that she is not feeling well.

She has stopped drinking pediasure/milk because I think her mouth and gums are starting to feel sore. We tried to change her sippy cup to a soft spout, just like what she was using when she was younger, but she didn't like it. We tried the straw and it didn't work either. The good thing about the steroids is that it's making her appetite bigger. She needs to bulk up again because she's lost weight as you can tell from her pictures. Right now she's into spaghetti with sinigang (tamarind soup) and cheese pizza!

Last Monday was chemo day. She was in and out. Chemo was quick and it's more like a regular routine now for her. She even helped the nurse!

Shine your light for Olivia's fight

Olivia's teachers and school staff were so kind to organize and host a fundraiser event for Olivia's fight. Ever since we knew about this, I've been praying and hoping that Olivia is well leading up to the event, so we can bring her to see everyone who's supporting her. Olivia went through a lot of chemotherapy this week (4 medication total) + oral chemo at home. I can truly say she is a fighter and a trooper! I told her about the event when she woke up this morning to see if she wants to go. She got suuuuper excited! I told her it was a dinner dance party and she got much more excited!

I walked in the hall with Olivia and I was surprised by the number of people who came out for this! I was a little nervous for Olivia that she might get overwhelmed seeing a lot of people (since she really hasn't been in a crowd for quite some time). But we walked in and she was willingly able to say hello to everyone on the microphone! It only took a few minutes before she warmed up and there you go..she was running around, dancing and just having too much fun!

Photo by Ninong Robert

Today was just incredible! This was the happiest we've seen Olivia within the last 5 months since she was diagnosed.  I couldn't help but cry tears of joy seeing her so happy, dancing and jumping (as soon as she heard Katy Perry songs-yes her favorite)! She was able to last through the party for 2 hours! Good exercise for me running after her too! I had to make sure she doesn't fall because we need to be cautious of her port on her chest.

Here's her video dancing and jumping around!

Photo by Ninong Robert

We can't thank everyone enough for making this event possible. From all the food sponsors, DJ, teachers, school staff, parents, clean up crew, the teachers who stayed in school for babysitting, family and friends who were with us tonight and for those who were with us in spirit, we feel so loved. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

On the way home, Olivia was telling me that she really had a great time and that she likes going to dance parties. I'm so glad she was able to come. Definitely a big highlight in this journey. As soon as we got home, she knew she was tired and told me she needs to rest. This girl is going to sleep well tonight =)

Olivia's happy thought

Olivia had chemo today and  had to stay at the hospital all day. The medication she took required 3 hours of monitoring for any allergic reaction. She received this chemo before and did not get any allergic reaction from it. However, it would vary every time she gets that medicine. Mood swings have started already after 4 days of being on steroids. She was feeling tired all day. Good thing she was able to nap at the hospital while being monitored.

She's started to get hungry more often now too. Steroids side effects really starting to kick in. She cried tonight telling me that she was not feeling well. Her belly hurts and her mouth hurts. Mouth sores are common side effects during this phase. Her doctor examined her today though, and didn't see any sores yet. After a few minutes she was her happy self again. Have I mentioned mood swings yet?

At bedtime, we prayed as a family and we make it a habit to ask the kids what their happy thoughts are. We tell them to always think of happy thoughts so that they don't have bad dreams. Our 5 year old boy sees his toy and shouts his shark tank is his happy thought! (who doesn't like shark tanks?! lol). Then we asked Olivia and she paused for a few seconds before she said, "My family..." (mom in tears). Before she went to sleep, she asked to pray again. Then she hugged me and thanked me for making her feel better and said 'I love you's' so many times. She is such a sweet girl. We feel so blessed =)

Delayed Intensification Phase

Today's chemo went well. Olivia had 3 different chemo medication this morning (her first time getting this much in one session) plus she is back to her daily oral chemo at home. She will start to get chubby again! Kinda miss her chubby cheeks!

She brought all her 'babies' to the hospital today, including their crib! Her 'babies' always make her happy.

Keep up that smile our precious fighter! So proud of you =) This phase lasts for about 2 months if everything goes according to her schedule. She will be getting another chemo session on thursday, then once a week after that. Same as the previous phase, her blood counts need to be a certain level in order for her to receive chemo.

Wonderful day!

Today and everyday is a blessing! Family and friends are gathered today at the chapel and are praying 2,000 Hail Mary's for Olivia's healing and for all the sick.

Olivia's blood counts yesterday were good! Her ANC was 4,000 + (1,500 is normal). And so we decided to bring her to the chapel today for a little bit. This was her first time to really go out of the house and see family and friends (she would only go out of the house when she goes to the hospital; sometimes she gets lucky if mom/dad needs to drop off her brother in school on the way to the hospital - in which she only stays in the car, but at least she gets to see her teachers!). I am so happy for her and you can really see she enjoyed her day out.

I also took her to her favorite pizza place by our house. It's her simple joys that make me happy a thousand times more!

Thank you to everyone who never left our side and continues to keep Olivia and our family in their prayers. It means so much to us! Here's her personal thank you message to all her prayer warriors.

This is her when we got home..one satisfied little princess!

Monday will be the first day of the Delayed Intensification Phase. She will be sedated for this chemo session. More updates to come!

Seeing doubles

Olivia is still in her tinkerbell phase. She always wears her tinkerbell costume! And look what she got...her mini-me tinkerbell! =)

Things are looking good with Olivia right now. Tomorrow she goes to the hospital just to get her blood counts to find out if she is ready to get chemo on Monday.

Energy is back

Thank you to our prayer warriors, Olivia has gotten her energy back! She was so playful today! She received 2 quilts and 2 beanies from generous parish members. She loves them! She was playing pretend picnic with the quilts and hide-n-seek with her beanies! Thank you so much!