Chemo Rears It's Ugly Head

Unfortunately the chemo side effects have caught up with Carrie. She had a rough weekend and was in quite a bit of pain from throat, mouth, tongue & gum sores. Her fever spiked a few times this weekend and she was having trouble eating and swallowing, so the on-call doctor on Sunday told her to go to the emergency room. She found out her counts was extremely low, and they admitted her into the hospital where she will most likely be for 3-4 days. The thought was that the sores in her mouth were also in her GI tract, which could have caused a tear or an infection. They have been keeping her on IV antibiotics to help stop any potential infection & gave her morphine & magic mouthwash for her mouth soreness. Today her neutophil count (key component in the body's fight against disease & infection) is up to 120 out of 1000. When she was admitted to the hospital, she was at 50 and they are hoping to get her up above 500 before she gets released. Her white blood cells were still down this morning, but went up from 1.2 yesterday to 2.0 this afternoon. Her potassium levels were also down so they have given her potassium supplements. She is at Abbott and is able to have visitors, although the doctor requested that if you or anyone you know has been sick or had any symptoms of sickness, to please refrain from visiting. Carrie is extremely susceptible to disease and infection right now and can't take any risks. She is in an area of the hospital that has filtered air, a sealed door and is kept as germ-free as possible. If you do visit, the doctor asked to please use the sink outside of her room to wash your hands and use the anti-bacterial soap before you go into her room. Amazingly, she still has a great attitude and thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers! Please feel free to email or call me with any questions: kelly.cruz@gmail.com or 612-269-0659. Thanks!