Thank you to all who have been praying for my Anna girl!
Your prayers and concern are so very much appreciated!
Anna's 2nd chemotherapy treatment
is tomorrow.
Please pray for a good day for her
with no reactions during the infusion,
low side effects during and after the infusion,
and that her white blood cell count
will not plummet with this cycle.
Thank you so much!
Nothing ever prepares a mama
to shave her child's hair
due to hair loss from cancer.
But that's what I did on
Sunday, January 11, 2026.
I have photos but will not post them
for Anna's privacy.
Anna's hair started falling out on Sunday, January 4, 2026.
It was falling out in such large clumps that she
had many bald spots in a week's time.
She said she couldn't stand to watch the process any longer
and asked me to make an appointment with our hairdresser
to go ahead and shave it.
When that appointment ended up not being possible,
she asked me to do it.
It was a sad day...
for both of us.
But the mourning turned to joy the next day!
Anna called and was able to get a work in Monday appointment at a wig store
and we found the perfect wig for her!
The owner said she just got that wig in on January 7, 2026
- just in time for my Anna girl!
What a blessing!
We are thankful!
We are also thankful that her white blood cell counts
have been back in the normal range for a few days now! That is truly a blessing!
Anna has officially been discharged
from the "hospital at home" program!
The cultures they took never grew a single thing (thank God)
so the doctors think that she had a neutropenic fever
and maybe not a blood infection.
A neutropenic fever is a fever with a dangerously low count
of infection-fighting white blood cells (neutrophils). This compromises the immune system.
It is considered a life-threatening emergency for
cancer patients because they can't fight off common germs leading to rapid, severe infections.
Anna responded well to the IV antibiotics and the doctor said,
if there was any infection, it has all cleared up!
So the fever is gone and her white blood cell count was up to 2.1 at last blood draw.
That is still terribly low but it is getting higher every day
so they said she could be discharged.
However, they said it is not safe for her to go to work as a teacher.
Working with children (who are precious little germ magnets) would be very dangerous for her.
But we are thankful she is doing well enough to
"come home" from the "hospital!"
Thank you so much for your prayers!
We are at home
and Anna is talking with the doctor!
Nothing like being at home!
Update:
Since Anna is stable (and the hospital is full), the cancer team is considering letting Anna do "hospital at home" while waiting the 48-72 hours for cultures to grow. Nurses would come to the house 3 times a day and administer her IV antibiotics, draw labs, and continue all the care as if she were still in the hospital building.
And we would get to sleep in our own beds!
I will update again as soon as I can!
Anna is being admitted to the hospital. She spiked a fever on New Year's Day and they think she may have an infection in her blood (but not sepsis at this time).
Please pray for healing!
Thank you!
It's been 32 years today since we said, "I do."
Always a poignant day in the present.
Such sweet, sweet memories.
Always accompanied by a burst of missingness.
On days like this,
I let the past run into the present.
Just to remember.
And to be thankful.
or are new widows or widowers, I am reposting what I wrote early on about what I did
the first time I crossed January 1st after Rob's death.
For me, it has always helped to read the stories of others
so maybe my story will help someone else.
If you make it the end of that, you will also see that I am posting links
to all that I have written on the anniversaries of our wedding.
https://jannasview.blogspot.com/2023/01/29-years-ago.html
