Day 13 in the Hospital, Day 12 of Chemo

The time has come when we are beginning to see all the side effects of chemo.  Our sweet girl is cranky & tired & has quick & dramatic mood swings.  Yesterday was a scary time as one of the points where they took a bone marrow sample became infected -- with her immune system so compromised, they put her on 2 different antibiotics & constantly monitored.  During all of this she has been in a lot of pain & is so uncomfortable that often she doesn't know what she wants in order to feel better (most suggestions are met with "no!").

Thankfully today the infection seems to be better -- she slept for much of the morning, had a bit of good-humored time during which she ate a little, & now has returned to constant pain & restlessness.  Poor baby.  She is currently receiving a platelet transfusion & as soon as that's done she'll be onto a red blood cell transfusion. It's heartbreaking to tell her "It'll be alright" & have her answer back angrily, "No, it's not alright!"  She is sick & tired of being poked & prodded but also has moments of incredible resilience & consideration -- while she hollers when she sees the thermometer, she still automatically lifts her arm to help the nurse.  Today when a nurse apologized for hurting her, she replied consolingly, "That's ok."


Now with the morphine going in, she has quieted down.  Hopefully she can get some much-needed rest.  Below is my favorite moment from the day -- quietly flipping through the pages of The Little House, one of my favorite childhood books.