I realized that we're late in posting an update, sorry. The clinic visit on Monday was fairly standard although for the first time we had to wait about 20 minutes to be called in and another 20 minutes before anyone could talk with us. Usually we hardly get sat down in the waiting room before we're called and we see a nurse right away.
One side of his port wasn't cooperating so he did get poked twice instead of once (he has the double port so they have two options of where to put the needle, or they can put in two at a time if needed). They will flush out the uncooperative side at his appointment next week (every now and then they get plugged up). The nurse removed the needle and Sawyer said "why are you taking it out?" - she hung her head as she realized that she was supposed to leave it in so he could get chemo at home the next three days by the visiting nurse. So we got the needle and supplies for the visiting nurse to access him again on Tuesday at home.
Tuesday afternoon Sawyer called me at work and asked where the chemo was since the nurse was there to administer it -- it was my turn to hang my head as I realized that we were supposed to have picked it up at the hospital pharmacy on Monday before we left. I quickly called the clinic and asked the nurse practitioner what we should do (mostly I was worried that it was going to be a big problem if he missed his dose). She reassured me that missing a day was okay but we would need to get the chemo from the hospital. The doses are pre-filled syringes and contain a drug that our local pharmacy isn't able to supply. I called Sawyer back and talked with the nurse who was waiting to find out the next step. I said I needed to go to Rochester and she said she was willing to go pick it up. After we "argued" back and forth for a few minutes I finally relented and let her drive up there to get it. She came back to the house about 7 pm and administered it after accessing him (the needle and attached tube are left for as many days as needed and can't bathe with it in). Tomorrow is the last dose and he'll be able to have a clear chest again and jump into a hot shower.
His diet lately has been consisting mostly of vanilla yogurt, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, toast, Pirate's Booty cheese puffs, cheese quesadillas, apple slices, ginger candy and flat ginger ale. Overall he's feeling better than last week but still nauseated and somewhat worn out. Strong smells also bother him so Mark and I have to be careful what we cook, or where we eat anything that has peppers, onions or spices.
He is planning on attending his school's semi-formal on Saturday and all indications are that he will be feeling mostly up to it. The event is a dance held right at the school. He may get together for dinner and picture beforehand. It's good for him to have these chances to get together with friends and attend social functions. He'll take a mask with him just in case he feels he needs it but we don't insist that he absolutely wear it. Hopefully we'll be able to post a photo of him and his date next week.
Zero is growing quickly and learning "the ropes" quite well. He does a good job of letting us know when he needs to go outside, sleeps 6-7 hours at night and is slowly convincing Nana that he can be her friend. He loves to bark at our cat who just sits and looks at him, with little or no reaction.
And we are back to receiving meals three times a week from our gracious community. I look forward to the time when I can return the favor to someone else who will benefit from such a simple act in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment