Taking it all in...

We have learned a lot in the last few days. It is hard to believe we have been here for a week!

Sheridan has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or ALL. If you want to know more about ALL her doctors have recommended the website www.curesearch.org. ALL is the most successfully treated form of Leukemia and Sheridan has already started her treatment. She had a bone marrow biopsy and a spinal tap on Tuesday. At the same time she had a port placed under her skin in her chest. It feeds directly into a large vein and means that she does not need to have IVs any more. She gets meds and fluids through it and can have blood drawn from it. No more needle sticks :)

While Sheridan was in the OR she received her first chemo drug directly into her spinal fluid and then she recieved her second med that night through her port. She is also taking a steroid orally each day that helps make everything more effective. She is doing great! She has periods when she doesn't feel so hot because she gets a fever, but that will decrease as the cancer goes into remission. They expect she will be in remission by day 7 or day 14.

Her chemo is divided into phases...this face is called induction and lasts 28 days. She receives her chemo drugs every 7 days. The first several phases take 4-6 months and are the more intense part of her treatment. After that she will move into the maintenece phase where she will only get a treatment once a month and it will be a much lower dose.

Once we are released from the hospital she will receive her chemo on an outpatient basis and some of the time we will be able to go the CNMC satelite in Rockville, just around the corner from the restaurant. In order to leave the hospital she has to meet certain criteria which include being fever free for 48 hours and having a high enough white count. We hope to go home sometime this week. She is on the right track as of now and her blood counts are responding to the chemo exactly as they should. So keep your fingers crossed :)