Well today was the big day that we have all been waiting for! The start of the much dreaded Delayed Intensification. We started out the morning getting the girls up, and ready for the day, then it was no food or drink for Brenn, but luckily, we had booked our appointment for 9 am. Brenn and I were the only ones who went to the hospital today, as Christine had to stay with Samantha. It was a little weird for both Brenn and I not to have Christine there wit h us, but we made the most of our time together by walking to the hospital this morning. We had a fantastic walk, Brenn held my hand the entire way from when we left the house until we arrived in the clinic. I think that the contact was good for both of us, as I am sure that Brenn has felt the increased tension in both Christine and I as we were preparing ourselves for this round.

Things went pretty well like normal in the clinic today. We started the morning with weight, blood pressure, height, and temperature before heading in to get her VAD accessed. As soon as we were done accessing, we were taken into the procedure room for her lumbar puncture, and spinal chemo. We were given ondanzatron before her procedure, and and a half bag of saline. After the procedure, we went back to the room, where Brenn had to lay down for an hour and drink some coffee. We both had breakfast, and enjoyed watching a Dora movie together. The doctors came in and talked to me about what to expect and when during this phase of our treatment which is pretty scary, but we are optimistic as Brenn has done so well over the course of her treatment so far. Finally as we were getting ready to leave, the nurse came in and administered a new drug to Brenn called Doxorubicin. This drug is designed to really drop her blood counts in preparation for the 2nd month of this phase. We are expecting that Brenns blood counts will be very low, right on the edge of transfusion by the end of this month so that the next months drugs can actually carry her blood counts lower. We are expected to have some delays, blood transfusions, and hospital stays during the second month of this round, as well as many full days spent in the clinic. I really feel like all that we have been through up to this point was just preparing us for these last two months of Brenns intensive treatment.

Brenn and I were able to go and watch Bobs and Lolo (made famous by Treehouse) in one of the parking lots at Childrens Hospital right after clinic today. Brenn sat in my lap and danced to all of the songs that they sang, and then went and played in a bouncy castle for a little while before we headed home. It was a really good decompression time for us both. We had lunch when we got home, and almost right away, Brenn started to get really tired, and not really feeling well in her tummy. With the drug that we give her called Ondanzatron, she doesn't really ever want to throw up, but sometimes it really feels like she is going to. She was really feeling bad until just before dinner time when she started to perk back up again. I do believe that she is going to be much more tired this round than any other, but she is really strong, and we will all pull through this together. Please continue to pray for Brenn, and our family through this time, we have really appreciated all of the prayers and thoughts sent our way over the last 4 months, and now I feel like we need them more than ever. Brenn was feeling okay when she went to bed tonight, but she was most definitely ready to sleep!

Scott