Unplanned Stays

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     Our little Hazelnut is still in the hospital or this unplanned visit. Much like her frontline treatment, Hazel has spiked neutropenic fevers after each round of chemotherapy, sending us to the hospital.  This is done to protect her and to keep a watchful eye on her, for when her blood counts are this low, she is in danger of contracting very dangerous illnesses/diseases and even going into sepsis.  The doctors put her on doses on antibiotics to protect against these potential risks. However, the antibiotics (even when we have her on a daily probiotic) can wreak havoc on her gut, and can kill all the good bacteria that is used to fight some of these infections, thus allowing some bad bacteria to potentially grow.  It is difficult to weigh the risks and benefits to these antibiotics, and to be honest, I am still unsure of the right decision for her.  Last time, she ran the course and came out of her neutropenia unscathed.  This time, however, she has developed a GI issue called C-DIFF, which causes some pretty extreme diarrhea, and she also has caught a cold.  This has made our stay not as easy and has also put us in strict isolation.  But true to form, Hazel continues to remain positive and finds the joy in each day (much better than I do, I'll admit).  While uncomfortable, these two complications will NOT keep us in the hospital longer, unless more complications arise. However, her counts still remain at zero, so we currently do not have any plans to go home. So please be praying for a miracle to get us home by Christmas!

     Hazel was also to have her scans this Wednesday, to asses this treatment's efficacy.  Thankfully, the scans will still be performed, as planned, but we will just be inpatient as we do them.  This actually makes things less complicated for me, so I suppose there is a silver lining to be had!  Please pray for these results, as we will get them the same or the next day!

    Despite not quite feeling herself, Hazel continues to radiate her God given JOY.  She has spent much of our time here thinking about all of the other patients on the floor. She made presents for, gave some of her unopened toys to and wanted to visit and cheer up our roommate (who we shared a room with before we were put in isolation). And she wanted to make every child a handmade star with a heart in the middle and written on it, in her word and handwriting " FOR KIDS AND HOPE". She said, and I quote, "Every kid has to go through treatment, and surgery and stuff. And they don't feel good, so I want to bring them joy."  Boy this girl just fills up my heart to the brim!  I have really been struggling to find the joy lately, but God is certainly using my own daughter to teach me immeasurable lessons.