I am so excited because I got to give all 3 of my little ones a bath today. Due to infection or possible infection, Natasha has been accessed (her port still has the needle in at all times) and getting antibiotics for almost 2 full weeks. Somehow a sponge bath never makes me feel like she's very clean. I never thought I would be this grateful for an ANC of 600. She had a 0 for a week. We are so glad that she finally has some immunity.
Recently we have started the most difficult round of chemo that our Natasha will hopefully get. It is called Delayed Intensification. I think the name says it all. Above is my little sweetie while receiving chemo. She refuses to give me a "normal" smile because she likes the posed ones better. She is usually well entertained while receiving the "elixir from Heaven". Here you can even see that she has been eating noodles.
Unfortunately, it only takes a few days to see the effects of the meds. Her whole body becomes weak and sickly and she gets really tired. Our biggest challenge is that her vocabulary is not big enough to tell us if she's nauseated or in pain. When Abigail went through this phase she started to shake. It took a trip to the hospital to determine that Abigail's shaking was due to pain. I was devastated that she had to go through that. Consequently, we often give meds to Tasha now even if we just suspect she might be in pain. 
We have known going into this phase that it is 'the scary one'. When Abigail was starting her DI (as it's referred to in the Clinic) they sat us down and explained that if she were to die, it would be likely in this phase. This is because chemo is strong and dumb at the same time. It just kills everything--including her immunity. We slowly watch as her ability to fight back is taken away and just hope that she isn't exposed to anything that would make her sick. Unfortunately, our twins are 5 & 6 out of 7 kids. How do you avoid germs? Prior to the start of this phase I decided to be proactive. I spoke with our wonderful elementary school principal and all of my kids' teachers. We set up a plan to pull our kids out of school around the time that Natasha's numbers would dip. They will do their schoolwork at home for a few weeks. It seems extreme but if missing 3 weeks of school would help keep your sister safe, most kids would be willing to make the sacrifice ;) I also made a PowerPoint presentation that I took in to the 3 younger classes and explained in simple terms what Leukemia was and how chemo worked. Much of the presentation focused on germs and hand washing. After that, all we could do was hold our breath and hope for the best!
The PICU scared me for a lot of reasons. The biggest one is that cancer patients usually go there to die. I was begging the whole time to get out and up to the cancer unit. It took a full 24 hours but she was finally weaned onto a low enough dose of forced oxygen that we could go there. We almost had to return to PICU but we prayed really hard and got to stay. One of her brothers and her older sister got to visit her there.
She was in the hospital for almost a week which meant that she was there for Halloween. We brought up her costume and she wore it all day while the staff did "reverse trick or treating" to her. Here she is picutred with our favorite "super nurse". She came home on oxygen and had to stay on it for a whole week. Luckily the oxygen company gave us a 25 foot cord so she could run around and play. We are happy that she is home again.
With Abigail we stayed home most of her Induction (1st treatment phase of Leukemia). Her numbers made her susceptible to all kinds of illness and infection that month. Natasha has been different. While equally sick and grumpy, she has had great numbers. As parents we have learned that our girls need time outside of the house to keep them sane. Our trick in October was to find ways and places to keep them happy. Halloween offered us some great outlets for them. We attended a party at church and a party through the Make-a-Wish organization. Both were so nice because we there were activities for all of our 7 kids. The favorite activity by far was decorating and eating cupcakes. The funny part is that Natasha cried and whined through both events, but then screamed when we pulled into the driveway. She wants to be home least of all. At least our little princesses had a chance to get out and enjoy the holiday.
It took about a week and a half, but Natasha's hair is now pretty much gone. I think it was actually harder for us to shave her hair than Abigail's because she looooooved to play with it. Her hair was a huge comfort to her. If you doubt that, just look at the photos. 
