Hannah finishes the first round of immunotherapy.

After the months of organization to get Hannah here to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, she has finally undergone the first round (of 6) of immunotherapy. The antibody treatment lasted for 4 days. There are many side effects associated with this and Hannah was not immune to them. On the first day of infusion Hannah had intense stomach pain though was able to get through the 10 hours of treatment. The second day was more difficult; after 2 hours of the infusion she had much itching and had to be given extra antihistamines. The 3rd day was unfortunately much worse as Hannah had a severe allergic reaction to the antibodies (which are part mouse and part human) and her face swelled up dramatically. The infusion had to be stopped and she was taken to the intensive care unit. The antibodies were given again on the 4th day, at 1/2 tempo, with extra anti-allergy medication given beforehand. Hannah managed to get (almost) all the way through the infusion - she did begin itching after about 17 hours and the infusion was stopped, though she received most of the dose. The next round of immunotherapy will begin in about 2 weeks time.