Update on Julia

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update to let you all know that Julia finished her 1st cycle of chemo yesterday. She did very well just like doctor's expected. The high dose steroids made her crazy, and she was extremely angry and violent towards everyone including nurses. Her CT scan showed improvement and doctors are very pleased that she's showed quick response to treatment.

Tomorrow will be the start of our rough ride, as Julia begins cycle 2 of her chemo. This is the "induction stage", where she will start high dose chemo and begin feeling unwell. She will receive one 6 hour chemo tomorrow, have a break Sunday, then get 3 high dose chemos Monday, 2 more on Tuesday along with a spinal tap (chemo in her spine), and one more on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This will be a tough week. Doctors are expecting that her counts will bottom out by week's end, and total hair loss by mid March

On a funny note, when I told Julia that she would be losing her hair, she asked me why. I told her that it was because of the medicine she will be getting. She said "like Zoe?" (a hospital friend). I said yes, and she said "ok mom". I asked her if she wanted to cut her own hair. At first she said no, but as the day went on she changed her mind. It was so cute I gave her a pair of scissors and she stood there asking me "mom, are you sure it's ok?". She had so much fun giving herself a haircut.....it's a little uneven but it's cute.......and most importantly she had a great time doing it.

We want to thank everyone for all your support, wonderful words of encouragement, and keeping Julia in your prayers. I will let you all know how she does next week. Once again please keep her in your prayers especially on Monday and Tuesday as she goes through 2 intense days of chemo.

Thanks
Nadia