Anybody in the CHLA area able to donate platelets? I just received the following urgent email from CHLA:

We have a little girl with leukemia in great need of A-type platelets, we have openings for this Friday 8/21/09 (from 7:30am to 2:30pm). The demand for A-type platelets is high and our inventory is empty. Please let me know if you could help this little girl in getting the platelets she needs to survive.

Thanks again and I hope to hear from you.
Take care and God Bless.
George Merida
Blood Donor Recruiter
(323) 361-2370
(323) 361-2441

Update:
I don't like to brag, but Lauren is awesome. Sometimes I take for granted and forget what a trooper she is. People always wonder how Hilary and I have had the strength to get through all of this and I always tell them, it's only because of how strong Lauren is.

Yesterday, we met Dr. Finlay to go over the game plan. He still has not pinpointed the cause of Lauren's pancreatitis, but he thinks he has narrowed it down to either Pantamidine (prevents pneumonia), Avastin (chemo), or Decadron (steroid). While there is nothing they can do about the Decadron (more on this later), he did decide not to give her Avastin, leaving only the question -- what to do about her Pantamidine (which she normally gets via IV)? She could take it orally, but that would entail her taking it every day as opposed to getting it once a month at the hospital. Meaning we'd have to get a prescription and they didn’t think our insurance would cover it (and they said it would cost $20 a day). The only other option was for her to take it in aerosol form, but apparently it tastes really awful and most of the older kids can't even handle it. Faced with these choices, we decided to try the aerosol and see if she could handle it. She had to breath it in through a tube and it took about 15 minutes. And guess what? Of course, she took it like a champ. So it saves her from having to take it everyday and saves us the huge headache of having to hassle with our insurance to cover it and taking it as an aerosol mean it's more effective because it goes directly to her lungs where it's needed. So what a huge relief.

Her blood test yesterday showed that her enzyme counts have improved 50% and her liver enzyme counts have also improved. I didn't even know her liver enzyme counts were off. We just have to maintain a low-fat diet, which means the whole family is on a low-fat diet, which I have to reluctantly agree is not a bad thing.

Now about her Decadron. As a lot of you know, trying to get her off this steroid has been a challenge for us over the past 8 months. Without it, she get headaches, her speech slurs, her hand shakes more than usual and it makes her puffy, not to mention other side effects such as these bumps on her leg and a hump on her back (called a buffalo hump). Her dosage is so low now that Dr. Finlay wants to add another steroid, Hydrocortisone (sp?), which is supposed to be a more natural, less strong steroid, or switch her dosage of Decadron to every other day. I sure hope this works.

I also have to mention how great the medical staff at CHLA is. They really take care of us and makes Lauren feel so special. The attention all the nurses give Lauren must make her feel like a celebrity. They always come rushing over and giving her hugs and hover around her. Yesterday since Lauren wore a princess skirt they were taking pictures with her. It's very touching to see. We like it when people make her feel special.

Hilary asked me to put in a prayer request for Regina Tan (www.diana78.blogspot.com). To say the Tan Family are really going through a tough time is such an understatement. There is such a feeling us helplessness. This is Hilary's area of expertise, but I'm just praying and hoping for a miracle. All I can say is Regina
and Diana are fighters.