Originally Posted Jun 10, 2009 7:36pm
First of all, I must express our gratitude to you all. I always knew that Amelia was loved by many, but the outpouring of support from friends old and new is absolutely staggering. Truly, words cannot express what this means to our family and Amelia's healing process. Thank you all!
On to the great news (wishing I had some Monty Pythonesque animations for this announcement)...
As some of you may know, part of the testing performed to confirm a leukemia diagnosis is a bone marrow aspiration. Amelia had this done last Friday, which is why we know that her leukemia is ALL, affecting her type B white blood cells. Over the past few days, the lab has used the same bone marrow samples to examine the genetics of her leukemia cells, in order to further narrow down her type and therefore, tailor her treatment as needed. As it turns out, this analysis revealed that the genetic arrangement of her particular leukemia is one that generally responds fabulously to treatment. This is great news, as it places yet another chip in her positive column. Also, because she is doing so well with her chemo and her blood work is showing a response, we will begin working toward going home if her next marrow aspiration - scheduled for Monday - shows that she is in remission. Keep your fingers crossed!
I also have to let everyone know what a drastic change we've already seen in Amelia. She has her color back, is gaining strength every day, and is easing her way back to her silly self. The steroids have fulfilled their promise of a ravenous appetite (4 slices of pizza and an ice cream sandwich for dinner), and she is taking the rest of her medications like a pro. We will start her on oral steroids tomorrow, in order to reduce her dependency on IV delivery of medications - a requirement if she wants to hit the road anytime soon.
That's it for now. I have to get my rest so I can keep up with her tomorrow!
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