Wednesday's labs indicated that Lauren's blood and platelet counts are still dropping. They were going to give her a platelet transfusion, but decided not to. They want us to come in on Friday and have her counts checked since they should be going up now. Lauren's Auntie donated her platelets on Weds. It would be neat if they can process it in time to use it on Friday if she needs it. Even with her counts dropping Lauren still has a lot of energy and has been in a great mood.

Well…, Lauren and Marissa got another pet last night. We were in the pool swimming and what comes walking up? A small blue thirsty parakeet. We figured it was someone's pet since it couldn't fly, apparently it's wings were clipped. It's amazing it got past the two cats (Minnie Mouse the cat and Buster) that hang out in our front yard. Lauren and I went door to door around the neighborhood and even down the street behind our house to find its owner. To the big relief of Lauren, no one claimed it, so Grandma Vernor took Lauren to Petco and bought a bird cage and some food. It's always nice to see the girls so excited, of course they were scaring the heck out of the poor bird. It will be sad if someone comes to our door looking for the bird. The plan is to keep Peaches, the bird's new name, at the grandparents. Boy, will Grandpa Vernor be excited when he finds out he gets to take care of a bird.

We also got a call from Anna, our nurse practitioner. Lauren is now off her weekly chemo, Vincristine. It's the chemo she had yesterday (administered thru a push), that makes her hair fall out. It looks like we will be starting round 4 on July 23rd and not the 28th, like I was hoping. We are also scheduled to meet with Dr. Finlay on that day too, to discuss phase 2. Anna said that Dr. Finlay is leaning toward the three mini treatments (transplant), which would be nice. While it means going to the hospital more and drawing out the 2nd phase by increasing it from one month to three months, it is suppose to be less harsh on Lauren's body than the one mega treatment and she won't have to be in isolation for a month, and it supposed to be just as effective if not more (per Dr. Patel). Getting the extra three million or so stem cells on the 3rd day made the difference. Of course, it all depends on what Dr. Finlay thinks is best for Lauren. The results of the MRI on Aug. 25th could also affect how we proceed.

Between phase one and phase two we will be very busy. Since Phase two can cause all sorts of issues like loss of hearing, eye sight, damage to her teeth and kidneys (like we don't have enough things to worry about), Lauren has to have everything checked out and tested before they start of Phase Two. August is shaping up to be a busy month.