Game Plan

February 12, 2019

We met with our Resident MD today, and admission is being scheduled for Tuesday, February 19. I will be inpatient for at least one month, receiving Chemotherapy. The goal is to reach remission status by the end of the first month. The results of this first treatment will determine the route we take for future treatments.

Ally provided a list of the medications that I’ll be receiving and went over the risk associated with each one. Honestly, this was a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, she was very open to my request of using homeopathic treatments to counter the side effects that are certain to come with receiving toxic chemicals intravenously. I personally prefer not to treat medication side effects with medications that case additional side effects. If possible, I would like to avoid that cascade of interventions. Of course, this is not to say we won’t utilize standard medications as needed.

She also mentioned that we will need to consider cranial radiation treatments in the future. We will discuss the pros and cons with a radiology oncologist when that time comes.

We haven’t talked about stages, and there is a reason for that. Leukemia isn’t measured in stages. It’s measured by risk. My age alone makes me a high risk patient. Even though, at present, all of my testing looks great. We had additional blood work done and they were pleased that not much has changed compared to my blood draw on the 1st.

I’m sure by now, you’ve figured out that we chose not to collect eggs. This was such a hard and emotional decision for us. We had intended to scheduled a consult with our Reproductive Endocrinologist last month, hoping to get things rolling on Baby Russman number 2. Choosing not to collect eggs and freeze embryos greatly reduces the possibility that there will ever be a second biological baby. Please pray for peace and comfort for this decision.

Sunday Funday!

Sunday at 2PM, we get to celebrate Miss Ryan! It will be at the same location where we held our baby shower last year. Please let me know if you need directions. (I didn’t get the invitations in the mail.) Please do not feel obligated to bring a gift. This little princess has everything she needs! We are looking forward to a joyful celebration and truly can’t wait to spend the day with each of you.

Needs

Aunt Bee has graciously offered to pick up and drop off my dad next week. THANK YOU!!! We will need someone to man the camera on Sunday. If you’re tech savvy and wouldn’t mind helping us please let me know.

Until Game Day

Our next update will likely be after admission on Tuesday. Thank you all for your support and love. We are truly blessed to have such an amazing support system!

See you all Sunday!

~Elizabeth