Called back

Eila had a good time at her chemo appointment today.  The doctor and nurse were surprised at what a big eater Eila is since her stay in the hospital.  During her appointment she had a bowl of fruity cheerios, a big bowl of edamame, and part of a turkey sandwich (thank you to all those who have given us Starbucks gift cards).  I guess that's what seven days without eating changed for her.

We arrived at DCH about 30 minutes early, so like last week we had time to ride sky bus (tram) again.  And, like last week, Eila LOVED it.  

Unlike last week, our nurse was able to access Eila's port and draw her blood sample quickly and easily.  So instead of spending over an hour getting poked and re-poked, Eila only had to spend five minutes with a nurse in her face.  It was the least anxious I've seen Eila in a while.

Unfortunately, on our ride home Dr. Thomas called to tell us that the nephrologists had reviewed Eila's blood work and was concerned that her creatinine levels were too high -- they were at 0.34 last week, 0.84 this week.  He asked us to return to DCH tomorrow (Tuesday) to run more blood tests and get IV fluids.   Dana and I don't really know what this means (Dr. Thomas didn't speculate much on the phone), but we do know that high creatinine levels can indicate that your kidney isn't working.  It sounds like it could also mean that you're simply dehydrated ...  

So, unfortunately, Dana and Eila are going to head back up to DCH again tomorrow to try to figure this out.  We are all hopeful that it's simply a matter of Eila not drinking enough fluid -- something she's known for -- and that there's nothing wrong with her recovering kidney.