Day 6 - The 'Therapy' has begun

Well, it's official. As of 10:52 this evening, Courtney has begun the harsh therapy that will cure her of this horrible disease. The plan as it stands now is to start her with doses of idarubicin for three consecutive days, starting tonight and cytarabine for seven consecutive days starting tonight. This phase, called the induction phase, usually lasts four weeks - one week of the drugs and three weeks to recover. The goal during this phase is to induce remission, meaning no detection of leukemic cells, and usually takes one to two phases to complete. A better explanation of this treatment can be found here - http://patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=blod_dis/2244.

Once the therapy has begun, meaning now, Courtney will not be able to receive visitors except for adult members of her own family. And even they have to take severe precautions (thorough cleansing of hands and wear a mask) when visiting. This means our children won't be able to see their mother. Words cannot describe how difficult this has been, is and will continue to be. All we can do is endure this dificult time and look forward to the day we can all be back together and resume our lives as they were up until two weeks ago. We can get through this and will. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;"