Eila's temperature did not return after the 24 hrs of antibiotics, so I think we're in the clear! We'll wait to hear about her blood work still, but hopefully she won't be going back to the hospital any time soon.
Yesterday Joel & I had to take Eila to the ER because she was running a temperature (101.7, she has to go in if it's 100.4 or higher) - we were there for over 7 hours. We had made it so long without an ER visit, and we learned last night just how glad we are that we haven't had to do this more. They accessed her port, took blood, gave her IV fluids, and waited for a urine sample. We waited ... and waited ... and waited. In case you don't already know this about Eila, she doesn't pee much, never has; she goes through 3 diapers a day, and that's only because she often poops once. So after 6 hours with nothing happening, we asked how much longer we would have to wait for urine. The ER doctor called up to the DCH oncologist for advice. Eila was give antibiotics and we were sent home at midnight (we had gotten there before 5 pm).
So today I talked to an oncology nurse and learned about what may happen next, there are 3 options. Option 1: Eila's temperature has gone away and we get to continue on with life as usual. Option 2: Eila's temperature returns after the 24 hour antibiotic period; we return to the ER and relive last night (although this time we won't wait so long for her to pee). Option 3: Bacteria grow in Eila's blood cultures; she will need to be admitted to the hospital and given IV antibiotics.
We are obviously all hoping for option 1 and praying we don't get option 3. We'll keep everyone updated as best we can as things progress. I'm hoping we'll just have a cute little post tomorrow saying everything's fine again ...
Jillian and I brought Annikka and Mika to Mt. Hoodoo for a ski lesson.
Highway 20 was in surprisingly good shape on the way up. After all of the rain and flooding in the valley this past week, I expected slow going and walls of snow on Tombstone and Santiam passes. But the roads were clear.
After the two hour drive, we suited up the kids and left them with the ski instructors.
Both Annikka and Mika were smiling and laughing when we picked them up from the lesson, and they claim that they had a good time, so I'm hoping that we can get in another two to four trips to the mountain this year.
The passes were much messier on the way home, but we drove slow, took comfort in our studded tires, sang songs, and eventually returned to Corvallis safely.
Today was Eila's last chemo appointment! It feels like we've reached this milestone so quickly, and we are extremely grateful for all the support we've received over the last 5 months. But we're not done with our doctors yet, we'll be back in 3 weeks for another round of scans and x-rays. Dr. Thomas explained that if everything comes back clear then, we will be able to officially say Eila's cancer is in remission.
And the nurses, who have been just the greatest with her through all this, sang the "Good-bye Chemo" song for her. It was a little intimidating at first, but then she liked it.
We celebrated after dinner with a special gelato dessert, complete with a candle to blow out (one of Eila's favorite activities these days).
When we moved to Oregon, we were told that we'd get snow every 5 years or so. Well, we've probably had at least one snow day each winter. Today was this winter's first snow day (they are forecasting more for tomorrow), and it was Joel's first opportunity to experience a snow day - he's always been the parent who still goes into work when school is closed for snow. We all had a fun morning sledding down our road.
It's so fun that Annikka's at an age that we can play games with her. Eila is fascinated by these games and always wishing to join in. Here's Annikka and Eila playing "game" - doesn't matter which game, they're all called game to Eila, and she's overjoyed to be included.
