1) Port access
2) a blood draw
3) Zofran (anti-nausea - same dose as the last lumbar puncture. She is at the maximum dose for her weight)
4) Lumbar Puncture with Methotrexate, Cytarabine & Hydrocortisone (Intrathecal Chemotherapy)
5) Bone Marrow Aspirate
6) Vincristine (Chemo)
Helen had the day off today which made me very nervous. I hadn't seen Dr. Keuker yet, so I started asking if he was in today. I was prepared to cancel all the plans for the day (LP & Bone Marrow aspirate) if he & Helen were both out. But, he was there and I felt confident that we could proceed as planned. Although, I was disappointed that Helen was not going to be there for Katie's last LP, nurse Joan was a great replacement for the procedure.
Our appointment was at 9am and she did not have her procedure until about 11:45am. As Katie has gotten older & bigger, the lumbar punctures have been getting more difficult. She isn't "knocked out" as much by the "silly medicine" and she has been getting quite sick afterwards. Today was no different. They administered the "max dose" of anesthesia for moderate sedation, but she was still very aware of what was going on. Oh God, it was not easy to watch as she agonized over every needle. The worst part was the bone marrow aspirate. After the needle was in, he had to draw out the bone marrow with a pumping motion of the syringe. Each pump caused a "sting" as he called it, but her reaction was to more than a "sting". This was by far the hardest procedure to watch. Her first bone marrow aspirate, was the day she was diagnosed and we were not allowed in the room, we could only stand outside the door and listen to her scream. The second one, she was completely sedated. This was the first time we have watched the procedure while she was aware of what was going on and it was SO hard to watch. Both procedures only took about 15 minutes in total, but it seemed like forever. When it was over, I couldn't help but cry and thank God that this was the last time she will have to go through this. At least we hope & pray every day that this is the last time. We will have the results of the bone morrow test on Monday.
This cycle will consist of the following:
Vincristine - Day 1 (same dose as previous cycles)
Methotrexate (oral at home chemo) - Days 8 & 15 (same dose as the last cycle)
6-mercapturine (oral at home chemo) - Days 1-14 (same dose as the last cycle)
Dexamethasone (oral at home steroid)- Days 1-5 (same dose as the last cycle)
Next planned clinic visit will be in three weeks, July 29.
CHEMO VISITS LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment