Second Round of Chemo, Day 1

Britley watched us pack up our belongings before we headed back down to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for the first day of Myla's second round of chemotherapy. We arrived at the Hematology/Oncology Medical Service Area on the 3rd floor of the Riley Outpatient Center for our 2:30 appointment. As usual, Myla had her blood pressure taken before being measured for length and weighed. She then had her lines prepped to receive some fluids via her central line. Her blood was also drawn for analysis, and we waited around in room 3 for what must have been an hour before Dr. Kumar came in to discuss the results of the blood test. Melissa and I thought it was funny that Myla had her fingers crossed as we waited. When Dr. Kumar arrived, she explained that Myla's ANC had dropped down to 324 from the 700 it had been on Monday. We had hoped that this number would have been closer to 1,000 before Myla started the second round of chemo, but as Dr. Kumar explained, the drop in the ANC was due to the presence of leukemia in her bone marrow. That's the bad news. The good news is that the leukemia is far less than what it was when Myla started the first round back on November 8. So, the bottom line is that Myla appears to be making some progress.

After consulting with our doctor, the nurse placed the mask over Myla's face and we headed down the hall, up the elevator, and through the doors of the cancer center to our new room. Here's the view out our front door. Once we had checked into the hospital room, I headed to the Ronald McDonald House to check in there. This time, our room is the top one on the corner as seen in this picture.

When I returned to the hospital, I found that Myla was being hooked up to more equipment. We spend a quiet first evening at the hospital that included the following:

1. Raul Matthew playing with magnets on the marker board.
2. Melissa posing for the camera.
3. The Byroms looking through the pictures we just recieved in the mail from an organization that specializes in free portraits of children with cancer.
4. A nurse checking on Myla's oxygen sensor.
5. Coloring, including an alien masterpiece from yours truly.
6. Myla being entertained by toys.
7. Another nurse came in to start Myla's first and second doses of chemotherapy.