Another week on hold

On Wednesday we went back to the clinic all prepared for Leila to have a spinal tap and chemo. Once again her blood counts were too low to start the next round of her treatment. We will wait another week to see how she does.

Last night we all attended the Candlelighters Halloween Party. It was held at a local motel down near the strip. All of the motel rooms were decorated and the kids went trick or treating from room to room. Each room was designed with different Halloween scenes and everyone was dressed up passing out candy and goodies. Rami and Leila had a great time. Deena was scared of everything including her own shadow! In addition to the trick or treating, they also had horse and pony rides, a carnival with games and food for all to enjoy. We spent the evening with our friends Rachel and her daughter Olivia. The girls had a good time hanging out together. Dr. Bernstein showed up wearing a Superman costume. All of the kids had a great time dancing with him and taking pictures.

A week off of chemo

Leila's doctor appointment this past week was to get her blood counts only. She had another week off of chemo and no other treatments. Her blood counts were a littler higher than last week, so she didn't need anything else. She has been fighting a cold with runny nose, sore throat, cough and froggy voice this week. This has made it difficult to have her out and around much. We try to stay close to home when she's not feeling well. She did have a slight temperature one day, but it did not develop into a fever.

Grandma and Grandpa Brown arrived this weekend to stay with us through Halloween. The kids love having them here and getting the extra attention. It is also nice for mommy to get a much needed break. We have several Halloween parties and events coming up this week, so we are hoping Leila will feel up to it all.

Leila will have her weekly appointment on Wednesday this week. She is due for a spinal tap and chemo. This will be the beginning of the Maintenance stage of treatment. This is the last and final stage which she will stay on until she is done with treatment in June 2010. We still have a very long way to go, but she has done great with everything so far.

A day at the hospital

Leila's weekly clinic visit was eventful on Wednesday this week. She was due for blood counts only and NO Chemo. Her hemoglobin came back very low, so we had to head over to the hospital for a blood transfusion. This turned out to be a very long day for all of us. Things run very slow in the outpatient area and it takes at least three hours to administer the blood. The nurse has to monitor Leila's temperature and how she is doing during the transfusion in case of any reactions. All together it was another eight hour day for Leila. She was very good throughout the day and she and Deena kept busy doing Halloween crafts during our time there. Ziad met up with us at the hospital to help keep them entertained.

Leila Dancing in Car

Need we say more.....Leila at times acts like her good old self, dancing and having a good old time, oblivious to her siblings :) Rami and Deena don't even pay attention, they just ignore their crazy sister!!!!!!

A morning at Firefighters training center with Make A Wish

On Sunday, Leila was invited to a photo shoot with the Las Vegas Firefighters and a group of kids from Make A Wish. The pictures are for a fundraising Las Vegas Make A Wish calendar. It was a fun morning spending time with the firefighters and hanging out on the firetruck.

The last week of Delayed Intensification stage

WOW! We can not believe we are in the last week of this stage! We have been making our daily visits to the clinic for chemo each day. Leila has been having a lot of stomach pain this week and not feeling good at all. She has not been eating much, but is drinking well.

Mr. Gardner came but was unable to stay to work with Leila. She was feeling very sick and needed to lay down.

The past week of intense chemo finally hit her hard and she got sick. It actually made her stomach feel better. Mommy gave her a Zofran pill which is for nausea and vomiting. The Zofran worked well and she felt better afterwards.

After having a hard two weeks, Leila wanted to spend some time with her friend Emily. They always have a great time being goofy together. Leila misses socializing with her friends, so this is quality time for her.

Make A Wish Dune Buggy Event(aka SNORE)

On Sunday we drove out to the desert near Lake Mead for an annual Make A Wish event. Each year they host an off road vehicle ride for the kids who have received a WISH. It was a fun exciting adventure for our whole family. Leila and Rami loved the rides in the dune buggies on a trail through the desert. Mommy and daddy had fun too, but we were sore the next day. Deena decided not to participate. She enjoyed the clown who was making balloon animals. We look forward to going again next year.

A long week for Leila

This past week we spent four days at Dr. B's office. Jenni, our nurse practioner, on left, checks up on Leila before she performed Leila's spinal tap. On Monday, Leila had a spinal tap as well as an all day chemotherapy called Cyclophosphamide. This chemo had to be administered slowly and flushed with sodium chloride for four hours. In addition to that she was given another chemo called Cytarabine and the regular Methotrexate which is given into the spinal fluid. This made for an eight hour day on Monday. The nurses made sure to give her a large dose of anti nausea medicine at the end of the day. The following days we went back for the Cytarabine which will continue every day next week also. She also started a new oral chemo called Thioguanine to be given at home once a day.

Leila made it through the week very well considering all that she was given. She was very tired and had stomach aches, but nothing out of the ordinary. She still had her tutor come three days last week. Mr. Gardner cut it short each day because she was tired and had a hard time concentrating.

We are getting close to the end of this treatment stage. It has gone very fast, thank goodness! We feel like we live at the clinic, but it is better than the hospital!!