Kourageous

“Courage is the most important of all of the virtues because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently.”

Maya Angelou

Update

January 31, 2022

Monday, January 31, Khloe had a doctor’s visit to check her levels. We do this every single week to monitor her White Blood Cells (WBC), Red Blood Cells (RBC), Platelets, Hemoglobin, ANC, all of which are the more important factors, but there are a slew of other aspects the doctors consider as well.

Blood Transfusion

Still January 31, 2022

Because her both her RBC was low, (2) and her ANC (Absoulate Total Neutrophils) was below acceptable levels Khloe needed 2 units of blood.

Fast Forward

Three Days after 1st Blood Transfusion

Low Grade fever, swolen & red throat, blood in urine, blood clots coming from her nose, extreme fatigue, pain all over, dizziness, and the feeling of passing out that were occurring Wednesday evening into Thursday and Friday caused us to call the doctor’s office.

Leaving for ER (she’s NOT happy)

After spending almost an entire week in the hospital for treatment, Khloe was, we will say disappointed, that we had to turn around and go back so soon. This overall experience has given us a number of elements to consider. People ask us daily how Khloe is feeling, ask us for updates, different questions about what is going on. Unfortunately, depending on various circumstances the answers to all of the queries are I guess what I would call infinite, inconsistent even. Every day, every hour within a day is a roller coaster. She can wake up feeling ready to take on the day and within the hour she may feel lethargic or nauseous or pain.

This last round of chemotherapy depleted everything in her little body. Her WBC was actually -.01, so her ability to fight any type of infection is non-existent. Her weakness and fatigue are from her diminished RBC counts, and the bleeding issues are from the reduced number of platelets her body has. None of this is abnormal for the treatments she is going throu9h, and I don’t know whether to feel relieved with that information or not. I know it doesn’t make this any easier. I know that it is still frustrating for Khloe and she feels like this is a setback in her progress. So much so when doctors and nurses come and ask her how she is, Khloe literally tells them she is fine because she is certain they will release her based on her word.

At the moment, we are still waiting……..again. We seem to be getting pretty good with standing by.

Finally…….

On September 29, 2022 Khloe completed her FINAL round of chemotherapy. We were able to have a few close family members when she rang the bell to celebrate.