The Start of Phase IV: Consolidation II

Today, Kaitlyn started Phase IV of her treatment, which they call Consolidation II. Her clinic visit started at 10am. Since she was only getting two quick doses of chemo, we figured we would be home by noon, but we were there until 1:30pm - three and 1/2 hours...good God! The good thing about being there that long is that you get to see a lot of the staff & volunteers that make the clinic visits and the hospital stays more bearable. Luckily I had my camera today :-)

Bridget from the Childlife staff stopped by for a visit and gave Kaitlyn a doll that she handmade especially for her. Kaitlyn got to draw a face and some clothes on the doll and she has a port just like Kaitlyn, so Kaitlyn can play nurse at home and access the dolly's port.

Mike ~ Kaitlyn ~ Bridget

Katie designing her doll!

Then we were lucky enough to see Jeff from the Hole in the Wall Gang. We love Jeff - he makes Katie laugh!!! He is a certified clown and really does a great job cheering up the kids (and the parents too!).

And then, an extra special visitor stopped by. His name was Oscar...

Oscar is a Therapy Dog and he made Katie's day.

Then, after Oscar left, it was finally time for Kaitlyn to get her chemo. Kaitlyn's nurse, Helen, administered the treatment. We absolutely LOVE Helen. She is an incredible nurse and a very loving person. She is SO good with Kaitlyn. She has been a loving support for all of us since our first clinic visit.

Today, in the clinic, Kaitlyn got Vincristine & Methotrexate (2 different types of chemo). She also starts a 5-day regimen of steroids and a 14-day regimen of 6mp, which is her oral chemo. She will receive Vincristine on day 1 of every cycle, but the Methotrexate will be every week. She will also be getting the PEG aspariginase shots every other week. This continues from the last phase and she is due for that again next Wednesday and Methotrexate on Friday because she can't get both on the same day.

When did they say this was supposed to start getting easier?