|
February 7, 2003 -- Consolidation (Day 14) Katie went to clinic on Wednesday (2/5/03) for her blood work, spinal tap and spinal chemo treatment. The nurses had trouble getting an IV placed. Since she isn't permitted to eat or drink after midnight the night before her procedures, her veins had shrunk. They stuck her 4 times before they could get a "good" vein. They got her prepped for the spinal tap and during the procedure, Katie was very agitated and wouldn't stay still. No matter what John, myself, the nurses or the doctor tried, she fought the whole way. The doctor got the needle in a few times but, had to stop for fear of causing damage to her spine with her constant fidgeting. After much discussion about what to do for this treatment and the many future treatments to come, John and I decided it would be best for Katie to have general anesthesia for her spinal treatments and a subcutaneous port (implanted port) placed in her chest so she wouldn't need to have an IV put in every time we went to clinic. They sent us home with her IV in place and home care instructions. Both procedures were scheduled for Thursday (2/6/03) at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. My parents went with me for support and help. We got there around 9:20am, so Katie had time to relax and do some arts and crafts with the other kids in the clinic, and get some fluids through her IV. We headed to outpatient surgery at 11:00 and they got her prepped for her procedures. She was very relaxed and played happily while we waited. The poor thing was so hungry (she wasn't allowed to eat or drink after midnight). They took her into the OR at 1:00pm. The procedures took a little over an hour and went well. While they were wheeling her to the recovery room, she started to wake. She was very agitated again, and wanted to sit up right away. She is supposed to lay flat for 30 minutes after the spinal chemo treatments. We had a tough time holding her down until she was able to sit up. When she was able to sit, she was still swinging and kicking. The nurses brought her some "Mountain Dew" soda to counter-act the effects of the drugs. It took a bit of convincing to get her to drink it (she's never had soda before and didn't like the bubbles). It was amazing to see how quickly the "Dew" worked. She was calm and content in no time. We left the hospital by 3:30. Katie's back and the two incision sites for the port hurt her a great deal. Her pain should subside in 4 or 5 days. In the meantime, we are watching movies, reading stories and doing whatever craft or activity she can do comfortably while laying on her side (most comfortable position for her right now). Katie's hair is very sparse everywhere except for a small patch on the crown of her head. I cut whatever was left to about two-inches in length. She feels much more comfortable with it shorter. Katie associates long hair with being a girl, so it was good for her to be around the other hairless girls at the clinic yesterday. She still feels like a princess. Katie is starting to get more mobile (the spinal treatments set her back a bit, however). She crawls around to get to her toys. The other day, she tried to get off the couch by herself. She wasn't able to put weight on her legs due to her fractures, so she fell. She didn't get hurt, but I think she was very frustrated that she's not as independent as she was before she got sick. To better explain the port, I pulled the following from the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society web site (http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org): "Permanent catheters. Some patients have small veins and some have very few veins, making IV insertions difficult. Frequent IV insertions and too small or too few veins may prompt the doctor to recommend a permanent type of IV catheter to a central vein, known as the implanted port. It is round in shape and surgically inserted under the skin surface on the chest wall between the neck and shoulder area. A nurse inserts a needle through the top skin surface to gain access to the vein. The chemotherapy can then be given through the catheter as if it were an IV in the arm. Along with receiving drug therapy and IV fluids through this device, patients can receive blood products and have blood drawn without painful needle sticks. There is no home care required." |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||