Today I had my 1st bone marrow biopsy, where they put a needle into my bone marrow near my hip, and take a small amount of it to see if I have leukaemia and what type it is. I also had a lumbar puncture, where they put a needle into my spine to take some fluid to see if the leukaemia, or cancer, has reached my spine or brain.
The nurses put a special cream called Emla on my back so that the needles wouldn't hurt. Mum was worried they hadn't put enough, on the right areas, and she fixed the cream behind my back. They also ran out of adhesive tape to fix the cream into place and didn't put enough tape on my back. Mum wasn't very happy. But it all went reasonably well.
They also gave me an injection called Intrathecal Methotrexate, or IT for short, which is a type of Chemotherapy or chemo for short, into the spine. It helps to kill leukaemia cells in the brain and spine, and is usually given as a preventive measure even if you don't have those bad cells in your brain or spine.
I was told not to eat or drink anything from 5 in the morning, because I was going to be sedated so that I could sleep. This is so that the biopsy, puncture and IT wouldn't hurt. I was really hungry and we had to wait for the doctor to arrive.
He finally came at about 10am, but said the admin department needed a letter from dad's company, about payment for tests and treatment. Dad went to give them the letter. We had to wait some more. I watched a lot of Mr Bean again, along with Phineas and Ferb.
Finally I was taken to the treatment room. Dr Choy and many nurses had to hold me down while they sent me to sleep, using a drug called Ketamine. Mum and dad weren't too sure about the drug, but the doctor and nurses seemed to know what they were doing. I wasn't very happy, but then I went to sleep, and I didn't feel anything.
When I woke up, mum and dad were there. I was still sleepy from the drug, and I told mum I couldn't see, but that I had "too many imaginations" swirling in front of my eyes. She cuddled me and told me to try to go back to sleep. But I was too upset with all the "imaginations" and kept crying for a few hours. Then I got tired, so I slept for a bit. But it was very noisy outside, because the room was right next to the lifts, so I kept waking up and crying. Mum asked the nurses if we could move to another room but they said they were all taken.
When I woke up, I had to take some medicine, called Allopurinol, which was very sweet, and Prednisolone, which was very bitter. Allopurinol helps to prevent my kidneys from shutting down, which could happen when stuff called uric acid is released when the bad leukaemia cells are zapped by the chemo treatment. I am not too sure what Prednisolone does, but the doctor says it is more important than the other one.
I have to take these two every day, three times a day, for a week. I don't like taking medicine, and I refused to take these. Mum and dad put them in a syringe and tried to make me swallow but I threw up after that. Mum got a bit upset and tried to explain to me what would happen if I didn't eat it, but I didn't really listen.
I was told not to eat or drink anything from 5 in the morning, because I was going to be sedated so that I could sleep. This is so that the biopsy, puncture and IT wouldn't hurt. I was really hungry and we had to wait for the doctor to arrive.
He finally came at about 10am, but said the admin department needed a letter from dad's company, about payment for tests and treatment. Dad went to give them the letter. We had to wait some more. I watched a lot of Mr Bean again, along with Phineas and Ferb.
Finally I was taken to the treatment room. Dr Choy and many nurses had to hold me down while they sent me to sleep, using a drug called Ketamine. Mum and dad weren't too sure about the drug, but the doctor and nurses seemed to know what they were doing. I wasn't very happy, but then I went to sleep, and I didn't feel anything.
When I woke up, mum and dad were there. I was still sleepy from the drug, and I told mum I couldn't see, but that I had "too many imaginations" swirling in front of my eyes. She cuddled me and told me to try to go back to sleep. But I was too upset with all the "imaginations" and kept crying for a few hours. Then I got tired, so I slept for a bit. But it was very noisy outside, because the room was right next to the lifts, so I kept waking up and crying. Mum asked the nurses if we could move to another room but they said they were all taken.
When I woke up, I had to take some medicine, called Allopurinol, which was very sweet, and Prednisolone, which was very bitter. Allopurinol helps to prevent my kidneys from shutting down, which could happen when stuff called uric acid is released when the bad leukaemia cells are zapped by the chemo treatment. I am not too sure what Prednisolone does, but the doctor says it is more important than the other one.
I have to take these two every day, three times a day, for a week. I don't like taking medicine, and I refused to take these. Mum and dad put them in a syringe and tried to make me swallow but I threw up after that. Mum got a bit upset and tried to explain to me what would happen if I didn't eat it, but I didn't really listen.
Some more of dad's friends came today. Uncle Hisham and aunty dropped by on their way to work to say hello.
Mum made a new friend on the Internet, it is a lady in the UK whose daughter aged 3 and a half, was diagnosed with leukaemia on Christmas Eve, just one day before me.
Weight: 17.8kg
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