After chemo glow

Every time Olivia gets chemo,  I notice she has this certain look- she looks very tired,  droopy and dark under eye circles, and physically tired as well. I remember back in the intense phase of her treatment (delayed intensification), it was hard to recognize her as she would look really different after chemo. You know her body is taking a toll from all the toxic medication. You can't help but cry because you feel helpless. These are things of the past that makes us appreciate and feel blessed to be where we are now.

A few days after her monthly chemo,  and with the help of the steroids to increase her appetite, you will notice a certain glow, I call the after chemo glow. I took her out to breakfast and she told me it's the best day ever! I'm so happy to see her with so much joy and how she appreciates the most simple things.

Olivia 2 days after Chemo (Maintenance cycle 4)

Olivia 1 week after chemo

Maintenance cycle 4

Last Friday Olivia began cycle 4 of maintenance. She had chemo and spinal tap. And as always, she was so brave all throughout. She was tired before we got to the hospital and so she was sleeping for the most part while waiting for her procedure to be done. I got a bit worried because she had increased heart rate while the spinal tap was happening. She was breathing heavily even with oxygen support (she was sedated the whole time). Olivia looked flushed so her temperature was checked which could be a reason for the increased heart rate. Her temperature was good though and the nurse kept on monitoring her until she woke up.

That afternoon, the doctor gave us good news that her blood tests show that her liver function count has improved! A few minutes later the doctor emailed and asked for a number she could reach us at. Then we got nervous. We never got that kind of email before. She did say it was nothing urgent to worry about. But of course we still couldn't stop worrying. We found out that her glucose levels were low (glucose count 27). Doctor said there's different reasons why her glucose will be low. But as long as Olivia looked and acted fine, there's nothing to worry about. Chances are she was on fasting for a longer period of time than usual that's why her glucose was low. She needs to fast everytime she has a spinal tap procedure. There was a delay at the hospital that's why her procedure was done later than usual. I read about low glucose online and Olivia showed no symptoms that we should worry about.

A lot of worrying today but I'm glad everything is fine. Olivia's back on steroids and her appetite is fast increasing again! Only kids on steroids get a pass to eat chocolates for breakfast!

Update on liver function

We went for Olivia's scheduled check up on Thursday. I expected to have blood work to be done,  but after being examined by the doctor,  he said there's no need to. They would rather do it in 2 weeks when she is scheduled to come back for her spinal tap procedure. One less traumatizing needle poking for Olivia.

She was back to her cheerful self, no enlargement in the belly area,  no complaints of pain which made the doctor decide to not check blood count this week. He did say that her liver enzymes has been fluctuating. Many years ago,  this level of increase would be a reason to stop chemo for a certain time but recent studies show that they don't need to. I asked if there is a long term effect to her liver and the answer is no. He said the liver is one of the greatest organs in our body because it can recover on its own. I still pray though that her liver enzymes don't go higher than it did.