Today was a really long day. I had my 2nd bone marrow biopsy done to see if I'd responded well to the prednisolone.Mum and dad took me to the chemo daycare centre at SDMC. I was told by the nurses at the ward to stop eating from 5am because my tummy needed to be empty for 5 hours before the mini-op.
I was really hungry by the time we got to hospital at 9.30am. But then the nurses at chemo daycare said next time I can still eat until 7am, because Dr Lin only comes in around noon. I had yet another canula put into my hand, this time my right one. I hate it when they have to take it out when I go home.
We played what felt like several million rounds of Fairy Snap to pass the time. I had also brought my dvd player and some sticker and colouring books.
Mum and dad chatted to some of the other parents. There were a few other sick children in the chemo daycare. The room had 5 beds and one telly. It was a bit noisy, with people talking and babies crying. I told mum I didn't want this room and I wanted the other room we had the last time.
Then Dr Lin finally came. Mum and dad were happy to meet him. He showed them my treatment protocol which will run for a year. Mum and dad will have to bring me in to SDMC every Tuesday and Friday for the first few weeks.
After 36 days, I will then have an injection called Ara-C 4 times a week for 4 weeks.
I will need to do a bone marrow (BM) biopsy 4 times in the next two months. This will be on Tuesdays. After that it will be less frequent.
Before I start the Ara-C, I will be given a drug called Vincristine (VCR) on Tuesdays while I sleep. Dr Lin will also give me an injection in my leg called Asparaginase. VCR and Aspa are part of the chemo, to kill the bad cancer cells. He will also give me the chemo injection into my spine called Intrathecal Methotrexate (IT). I will also have to have the aspa injection every Friday as well.
This time I slept a bit better after the BM biopsy. I still saw some "imaginations" but I did my best to sleep. Dad went out for lunch and tea while mum waited with me. When I woke up, I remembered from the chemo book that chemo causes your hair to fall out so I quickly touched my head to see if my hair was still there. It was.
Dr Lin gave me a new medicine called Dexamethasone to take home. I have to take this twice a day, and is part of the chemo. Dr Lin had prescribed me tablets but mum and dad weren't sure if I would take those, so they asked for the syrup version.
When I woke up, I was super hungry. Dad had to buy a loaf of bread. I ate 4 slices. On the way back, we stopped at a McDonalds drive-through and I had two orders of french fries and a Ribena. I got sick in the car while eating. Mum stopped to get me some croissants at a bakery but they didn't have my favourite plain ones, only sausage and chocolate.
She also stopped at an opticians to get my glass frames tightened. I waited in the car because mum didn't want me exposed to any germs.
When we got home, I was tired again, so I went to bed. Mum checked my temperature every hour, because Dr Lin had said to bring me to hospital if I had a fever of 38 degrees Celsius and above, or was bleeding. She said my hands and body felt hot, probably because of the chemo, but I didn't have a fever.
Blood Count:
Platelets 28 (Normal 150-400)
Neutrophils 7 (Normal 40-74)
Lymphocytes: 89 (Normal: 20-45)
Today's bill: RM4,640.55
No comments:
Post a Comment