Another Transfusion

Abby got a blood transfusion today. She did not require a platelet transfusion, but may need one before the next round of chemo. She will be retested for platelet count in a few days. The transfusion is given over a four hour span in the outpatient clinic and did not require a hospital stay this time. She was also given Benadryl prior to the transfusion in case of another reaction, which made her sleepy. She napped through most of the transfusion.

The final round of chemo is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8th.

More Tests

Abby went to the clinic at the hospital yesterday for two tests. The first one was a urine test which consisted of collecting all of her urine for 24 hours and testing the urine for kidney function. Test came back normal. The second test was another routine blood test for platelet, red and white blood cell counts. As of yesterday, she was borderline in terms of needing a transfusion. She will most likely get a transfusion on Monday. Abby's appetite continues to be poor. She hardly eats anything and her energy level varies throughout the day. 

Home Again

Abby was discharged from the hospital last night after completing chemo. She had a bit of a rough night. She was feeling nauseous and vomited a few times. She is feeling better this morning. Her appetite is poor and she is not eating much.  Her lumbar puncture results came back and are not conclusive and do not correlate with the blood tests and markers from MRI. In short, doctors have asking to redo the lumbar puncture for better results. She will also be having a urine test redone this week. In addition, she will have a vision test this week to see if chemo treatments are effecting her vision. One more round of chemo to go, then radiation. 

Round Three

This has been an busy week. Abby had a hearing test on Monday to see if the chemo treatments are effecting her hearing. Her hearing is great! Good news. Tuesday, Abby had another MRI to see how the tumor is responding to treatment. Results showed that the tumor is responding well and has decreased in size. More good news! Wednesday, she had another lumbar puncture (spinal tap). Results unknown at his time. Wednesday afternoon, Abby was admitted to the hospital for her third round of chemo. So far so good. She had a small reaction to an anti pneumonia medication which caused her to have low oxygen saturation levels in her blood. She had oxygen in her nose (which bugged her)  to bring up her levels. The medication has been changed and she is doing fine. Abby said the highlight of her week is when her newest cousin, baby Genevieve, came to the hospital to visit :) All in all, it has been a good week. 

A note from Cori

When Abby was first diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, I was in total disbelief and had a hard time accepting our new reality. This illness affects the whole family and without the outpour of love and support we receive on a daily basis, our family would not be as strong as we are today. Knowing how many people are praying for Abby everyday brings me to tears because it is truly remarkable how many people genuinely care. When I’m feeling sad or frustrated about this journey that we never wanted to take, this is what gets me over the hump and puts a smile back on my face. Thank you to all those who care, you will always hold a special place in my heart.

To all of the awesome mom’s from Blessed Sacrament Preschool in Arizona…

Thank you so much for all the time and energy invested in planning the fundraiser at Peter Piper Pizza. Due to the unpredictability of Abby’s illness I was unable to attend, but I have heard through numerous emails and voice mails what a truly amazing event it was! Thank you also to everyone who contributed to the evening to help make it such a success! I am so touched that so many people took time out of their lives to support my family. 

To Girl Scout Troop 1526, the staff at Nicholas Valley Elementary School, Mrs. T. (Abby’s 1^st grade teacher) and my sisters Julie and Suzy…

It takes a pretty spectacular school and community to pull off an event like “Abby’s Carnival!” Thanks to everyone for coming out and contributing in so many ways…from working the game booths to walking the cake walk, it is all pretty phenomenal that everyone was there for the same reason…to support our girl. It was an awesome night, one that I will never forget!

To our family, friends, and anyone that has been touched by hearing Abby’s story…THANK YOU! Your graciousness and generosity will forever impact our family.

Much love to all, 

Cori

Another night in the hospital

Abby will be staying in the hospital again tonight. She had a blood test 4 hours after completing the transfusion. Results showed that her red blood cells and her platelet counts have gone up. The white blood cell count have gone down, which is not good. Along with the white blood cell count, her ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) has decreased as well. She is considered severely neutropenic and is at high risk for infection. Blood cultures are showing a possible upper respiratory infection which would explain why the white blood cell count is low. She will get a G-CSF shot which speeds production of white blood cell count and will boost the ANC.  She will get this shot every 24 hrs for the next 4 days. 

Allergic Reaction

Abby received the platelet transfusion first last night without a problem. She did, however, have an allergic reaction to the blood transfusion. Her body started to itch and was red and blotchy from head to toe. The transfusion stopped and she was given Benadryl. She was having a reaction to the preservative in the blood which they use to store donated blood. The transfusion resumed this morning with new blood with a different preservative. Two hours after the transfusion is complete, they will test Abby's blood to see how she responded and if her counts are up. 

On another note, Cori is saddened that she will not be able to attend the fundraising event tonight in Arizona.  She was so looking forward to seeing everyone! As you can understand, Abby needs her right now. Have a great night! Sounds like it is going to be an awesome event!

Admitted to the Hospital

Abby had a slight fever today. The doctors asked her to come to the hospital for a blood test and check for infection. A fever of 100.0 or higher can be an alert of an infection. The danger is an infection in the port which is near her heart and can cause organ damage. As of right now, she is being given IV antibiotics and her fever is coming down. Doctors are running blood tests to check for infection. In addition, her white and red blood cell count along with her platelet count has dropped since yesterday. She is being admitted to the hospital now for a blood and platelet transfusion. This process will take approx 4 hours. She will most likely go home in the morning depending on how she responds. 

5-11-10 Blood Test Results

Results from Abby's blood test showed that her counts are very low, the lowest they have ever been. Tests will be repeated on Thursday. She may require a blood transfusion if there is no improvement. Seems to be the same as last cycle with much lower numbers. Let's hope for better counts on Thursday! 

Reminder of Fundraisers This Week

Just a friendly reminder that there are 2 fundraiser events this week. So much effort, thoughtfulness and time has gone into planning these events. Thank you to all who are involved! Unfortunately, Abby cannot attend either event due to germ exposure. Cori will be flying to Arizona to be with everyone at the event on Thursday. She is very excited to see everyone! She will be back for Friday's event along with Craig, Mason and Carly. We hope to see you there.

Thursday, May 13th 

Peter Piper Pizza in Scottsdale, AZ

Frank Lloyd Blvd @ Hayden

4-9pm

Friday, May 14th

"Abby's Carnival"

Nicolas Valley Elementary, Temecula

4-7:30pm

Update

Abby has been home for about a week and a half after completing her 2nd round of chemo. The first 5 days home were pretty rough. She was experiencing lots of side effects of the chemo...nausea, loss of appetite, and constipation. The constipation was a really big issue and hard for a 7yr old to understand. Lots of crying and being uncomfortable. It was a rough couple days at the Radke house for everyone. It is really starting to impact the whole family, especially Carly and Mason. In frustration and anger Mason said "chemo is stupid!" Once the constipation passed Abby was much happier:) She continues to have tummy aches (nausea) and is starting to get very bored being at home. Taking her medication can sometimes be a battle of the wills, but what child gets excited about taking 5 different medicines right when they wake up! On the bright side, she finally lost her 2nd tooth and is very excited about it. Next week she has an MRI, LP (spinal tap), and if blood counts are good she will start round 3 of chemo.

Garage Sale, June 12th

Grandma Jackie (Cori's mom) is organizing a garage sale at her house in Temecula Saturday. June 12th. Clean out your closets, house or garage and get rid of your unwanted items. All the money made at the garage sale will go to Abby's fund. All items not sold at the garage sale will be donated to the American Cancer Society. You can drop items off at Jackie's house or she will come pick it up. Call or email her to coordinate.

Jackie's cell 951-805-7097 or jackieo4@verizon.net