Possible clinic visit

We have decided to call the clinic tomorrow and see if we should go in to get Maggie's counts checked. She has had diarrhea pretty much since Friday and so her potassium could be low. Maggie and I will be heading to Columbus on Wednesday for meetings for the duration of the week and then heading home for the weekend for my cousin's wedding and a benefit concert (more details about that later). Being that we will be gone for 5 days, we feel that it is probably best that we check her out so that we don't have to make a visit to another hospital later in the week.

With this visit will most likely come the most dreaded CBC (blood counts). We have talked before that when we haven't received counts in several weeks, our comfort level drops quite a bit. I worry a lot that the CBC will show "bad" numbers, but I think most families hold their breath even slightly when that time comes. Please pray that her counts will show that everything is on track and that they are perfect.

We are pretty sure now that the reason for Maggie's diarrhea is because of her chemo drug, Methotrexate, that she is taking on Wednesdays. About 2 days after taking the drug, she begins having diarrhea episodes, except normally they subside after about a day and half. This episode has lasted much longer and being that she will again receive Methotrexate on Wednesday, we want to make sure that she has some "room" to lose potassium.

Other than this bit of projected news, we had a pretty good weekend. Andy had his 30th birthday yesterday so we got out of the house and headed towards the Cincinnati area to a new outlet mall and Ikea. Today we spent the day with his family and my parents celebrating his birthday, along with his twin brother. Maggie had a chance to "play" with her cousin Ian and his cousin Eliza. Though she didn't readily play with them, there were moments where she came out of her shell and interacted with them. Those moments are really priceless for me as they don't often occur.

Please pray that Maggie's diarrhea will go away, that her counts will come back normal, and that she will never deal with cancer (or its side effects) again. Also, please say a prayer for a family that we have been following on caringbridge, as they lost their 1 1/2 year old baby girl, Alana, to cancer yesterday. This disease is cruel and unfair as little, innocent children are losing their lives. It also again reminds us of the reality of the disease and what it can do. All I can do is hold my little girl even more tight and pray that God will heal her.