Yesterday afternoon Kristin underwent her 2nd Bone Marrow Biopsy procedure of the month. The original procedure, which was used to confirm her diagnosis, was done 14 days ago, and this was a shceduled follow-up. The reason for doing another bone marrow biopsy at this stage is to determine the effectiveness of her 7+3 chemotherapy course. The results, which won't be in until Friday, will determine if she will need an additional course of chemotherapy during this hospital stay. Additionally, results from this biopsy will play a large part in determining her consolidation plan (what she's looking at down the road). A bone marrow biopsy involves taking a small piece of bone from the hip area. It is a simple procedure taking about 15-30 minutes, however, it is known to be quite painful and uncomfortable since the patient is awake during the procedure. Kristin didn't have any problem with her first procedure, remarking that it wasn't that bad. This time, however, she had a rough go of it. In the entire time I have known Kristin, I have never once seen her cry from physical pain, but when I came back into the room after her procedure she was visibly shaken with tears in her eyes. They were able to get a good sample, but it just took more digging around than usual. She is feeling better today, but still experiencing hip pain (expected) and is pretty much exhausted. She has spent most of the day resting while recieving another unit of platelets (her 5th) and two more units of blood (number 15 &16). What we are wanting to see from this biopsy is absolutly nothing. Finding nothing in the biopsy will be an indication that her AML responded fully to the chemo, and that she will be on track to be released in about 14 days. The presence of any lingering lukemia cells or mutated cells of any kind will mean that she will require an additonal week of chemotherapy and keep her here longer. 

In addition to her bone marrow biopsy, yesterday was also the day that Kristin's hair finally succumbed to the chemo. She knew this was coming, so it wasn't a big deal to her. As soon as the first clumps of hair came out, she had the nurses come in and buzz off the rest. She looks great bald, and is even planning on having me post a picture soon.