Alina has been doing great since the last update. Her counts went back up so she was able to receive her chemotherapy treatments as scheduled the week of Christmas and New Year's.
There is a slight change to the type of chemo she is getting in this next phase of the road map. This chemo is given every ten days through her port (as long as her blood counts are good) and the dose is increased at each treatment.
We are blessed that Alina has handled the chemo very well. In this new phase she does have some nausea after the treatment, but it's tolerable and usually goes away in a short amount of time.
We had an appointment today with the hematologist to discuss Alina's blood clot. Her last ultrasound in November showed that the clot was completely cleared, but they would like to do a follow up ultrasound in four weeks to make sure the clot remains cleared. Depending on the results, we may be able to reduce her injections to once a day. She is currently getting two injections a day and will most likely continue the injections until the intense part of her chemo is complete, which should be in June or July of this year. I'm confident that her next ultrasound will bring us positive news.
Alina's walking continues to improve daily, she's pretty much back to her normal self and is able to get around and do the things that most four year olds love to do....run, ride a bike and of course DANCE!!! ;-)
Christmas was a bit quiet this year. Since Alina's immune system is compromised we cannot be in large crowds or have too many visitors at one time. We still had a great Christmas and after being cooped up in the house for a few days we decided to take a drive out to the apple farm in Oak Glen. Alina along with her younger sister and brother were able to run around in the crisp fresh air and we also went for a walk on the nature trail. As you can see by the photos attached we had a great time.
Alina's next treatment is scheduled for Monday. Please continue to keep her in your prayers and THANK YOU for the many prayers and words of encouragement. We have truly been blessed with an outpouring of love and support.
Love,
The King Family