12:32 pm:

Advanced Neutrophil Count…..8,175!! Immune system reporting for duty and fully engaged!

I am appreciating the doctor’s metaphor this morning, “Phoebe was in a thick forest, now she is coming out of the woods.” He was very pleased to see that her swelling has reduced by almost half, her vitals look good and she had several bowel movements (big excitement after having been on pain meds for so long) last night. During rounds I kept hearing “she’s definitely turned a corner”, and it was music to my ears.

Our Oncologist came by last night and it was decided that Phoebe will have an undetermined amount of time off chemotherapy in order to heal. Her hands and feet have gaping skin and are shedding and weeping so they will need some time to heal completely before her immune system gets knocked down again.

We had some discussion about the chemotherapy drug that caused the neurotoxicity and both agreed that it is difficult discerning how to move forward. The drug that caused the harm to Phoebe also causes harm to cancer cells in a significant way and seems to be key in this particular protocol for keeping the tumors away. He was reluctant to make any decisions right now and I agree. Let’s just focus on getting her better before we move forward and are faced with more difficult decisions. The truth is, the response Phoebe had to this med is so rare that there isn’t really a “plan” for how to move forward or change protocol with such patients. Oh me.

Her hands have transformed in the past 2 days! To the untrained eye they look like a hot mess, but if you had seen them 48 hours ago, you would see the positive change. The golf-ball size blister is totally deflated and there is only a pocket of skin where it was. Her other blisters are popped and healing and peeling. Her legs look so tiny at that normal size! Her tummy, as per usual, still needs to deflate so her lungs can have room to breathe. This will be key in trying to wean her from the ventilator by Friday. Please pray for a soft tummy and that all the remaining fluid in her abdominal cavity will leave.

She’s looking good and wanting to wake up and I’m thrilled. I am praying for a nice steady weaning off the ventilator and anxiously awaiting that chance to look into her eyes again. I can’t wait to hear her voice!  There is so much to look forward to this weekend and I am so stinkin’ blessed by the way people have stood with us during these past few weeks. Thank you all for holding our hands through the storm. God has sustained her beautifully as she teetered on the edge during her sepsis and I am overwhelmed by that. Seeing her rally has been amazing!

Soon we will have “Phoebe wakes up!” pictures on here! Thank you Team Phoebe!