Well, her numbers are up to 540 (not neutropenic) but not at that 750 yet!!! All of her other numbers are still looking great and she is still feeling well. Here's the tricky part. Once she starts DI she gets a ton of chemo on day 1 and than goes in three days later for another big chemo on day 4. This means day 1 has to be either a Monday, Thursday or Friday as the Bass Center clinic, where the chemo is given, is closed on the weekends. So we thought that since we weren't ready for tomorrow that we would plan for Friday. Apparently Monday is a holiday so they aren't giving chemo 👎🏼. So we check labs next Monday and start next Tuesday.
Though I love having Sofia feeling great, it is beyond nerve racking to not give her chemo when we know she needs it. This will be a 3 week no meds break! Scary but normal for many. We have to trust that this is just what her body needs right now and that this break will just make her stronger to fight!!!
So, lots more dance parties this week and maybe a mid week surprise outing (in a non crowded location).
Thank you all for your prayers, we can feel the power of prayers coming from everyone who surrounds our life![...]

It's been 18 days since we ended our high dose methotrexate. 18 days of Sofia feeling GREAT! This little break really has been awesome for Sofia. With her ANC up between 1000-2000 we were able to get out a little more and have some fun. We went to Great America for Courageous Kids day where Sofia was honored as an Ambassador, she had play dates with old and new friends, she threw out the first pitch at a Bellarmine game, she met her new baby cousin and got to visit with her Great Grandma who was visiting from Florida. And I can't forget, we had countless dance parties!!!! Not only did she feel good but she has had a great appetite and has even gained a couple of pounds!
Even though we have had a great couple of weeks, I've had a little pit in my stomach as I couldn't help but think to the phase ahead called Delayed Intensification. This is Sofia's last phase before she reaches "maintenance ". Delayed intensification is a really rough phase. It goes for about 57 days and she gets hit hard and often with Chemo (2-4 times a week). We know that these chemos will drop her counts making her neutropenic for most of the 60 days. She will also probably need blood and platelet transfusions. She will be nauseous throughout and could lose all her hair (which has grown so much!) She will also be put back on Steroids which if you remember caused extreme hunger, Giant cheeks and a lot of anger and sadness. With her counts so low for so long she will be at risk for infection so we will be locked in for a while. If she does get a fever than we would be admitted back into the hospital. So you can see why one would feel uneasy as this phase approached!
In order to start this phase Sofia's ANC needs to be 750, but since last Thursday she was at 1600 we thought we had it in the bag for an on time start. We had labs on Monday to prepare for a start today. We were quite surprised to learn her ANC was only 240 and she is neutropenic! I swear you wouldn't know it the way Sofia is running around every day. We checked her numbers again today and she was still only at 300. So we will check again on Monday and hope for a Tuesday start. So another weekend of fun and laughs but because of the low counts we are staying home. Noni has found his voice and personality so he keeps us entertained and on our toes! Three year olds love tiny little toys that babies just have to put in their mouth!![...]

We are home and done with Interim Maintenance!!
Our time at home between round 3 and 4 was not fun. Sofia, some how, caught a stomach bug and was sick for about 4 days. Crazy to think that the stomach bug has made her feel worse than chemo. Luckily her counts recovered just in time for her to start her forth and final round of High dose Methotrexate. We checked in late of Wednesday night and she started chemo at 1am. I hate starting in the middle of the night because I have to stay up all night for the start and the stop 24 hours later. Either way all went well and very smooth (4th times a charm).
About 2 weeks prior to this I was contacted by the Love your Melon campus crew at SCU. Love your Melon is a beanie company that was started to raise funds and awareness for Pediatric Cancer. In addition to selling their beanies online they have campus crews at colleges around the country. These kids raise awareness and work with kids battling cancer in their cities. The SCU crew asked to come over to our house on the 28th, which was National Superhero day. When I told them that we were going to be in the hospital they worked up a plan to come surprise Sofia, decorate her room and spend the afternoon playing with her. Well, the day went great! Sofia was so surprised and these girls were awesome. They colored, sang songs and ran around the hospital "flying". The next morning she asked if they were coming every day. It was a memorable way to spend our last scheduled in patient stay.
This morning the Doctor agreed to do an extra set of labs because we were so close to clearing in the middle of the night. Luckily she cleared and we were discharged by 10am. As usual we will have a couple days of nausea and low appetite but hoping she will feel good by next weekend for Courageous Kids day at Great America, where Sofia will be featured as an Ambassador.
Though we still have nightly oral chemo we have about 16 days until we start our next phase called Delayed Intensification. I am scared to death of this phase as it is the hardest of these past few phases. It will be about 8 weeks long and Sofia will most likely be neutropenic and not feeling well though most of it so we will be staying home.
Today, we will just focus on what we have accomplished and enjoy being home as a family. Noni (who turned 7 months yesterday) has started to inch worm across the floor so he wasn't very happy in the hospital where I wouldn't dare let him on the floor!!
So incredibly grateful for all of your love, prayers and support!! #teamsofia #sofiastrong[...]