Today was a really long day. I had to go to hospital for my 2nd high-dose MTX cycle.
I had to fast first from 7am, so mum gave me a bottle of milk then. We had to leave really early too because I needed to do a blood test first at 9am. Dad wasn't working so he went with us.
They put in a new needle this time, it didn't look like the usual butcher's meat-hook. It looked like a smaller needle and had a yellow plastic cover which looked like a butterfly. The nurses said it was called a butterfly needle. I wasn't sure I liked it. Mum had put the numbing Emla cream on my chemoport before we left for hospital so it didn't hurt that much but it still hurt a bit. You can read about numbing creams here: http://www.acor.org/ped-onc/treatment/treatmentsideeffects.html
As usual I wasn't happy at the thought of people poking me, so I cried and screamed and struggled for half an hour before the nurses could put the needle in. I didn't want them to touch me or put the needle in me.
Dr Lin said my blood count was a little high today. He said it could be because of my runny nose and cough. It's how the body reacts. But he said we can proceed with the chemo today.
So he gave me my IT MTX injection in the spine. They had to put me to sleep first, which I wasn't very happy about. I didn't want anyone to touch me at all.
Before that though, I started vomiting, probably due to gastric because I hadn't eaten since 7am. Mum asked the nurses to give me the anti-nausea medicine Kytril. But it was a bit late because the pharmacy needs time to prepare it so they went ahead with the IT first and gave the Kytril to me later. But I vomited anyway because it was a bit late. Later mum read that Kytril's use on children has not been thoroughly researched yet, and it may have some side effects.
After Dr Lin put me to sleep, he got a bit of a surprise because my bandages from the last BM and IT were still on my back. Mum told him it's because I refuse to let anyone take them off even in my sleep. Even though mum says old bandages will have lots and lots of germs on them. So he said now is probably the best time to take them off.
But the good news is that Dr Lin told mum and dad that I'm still in remission. That means that he can't see any cancer cells in my body.
After that, they started me on a hydration drip before the MTX. I had to wait for a room. The nurses said that the hospital was all full and that there were no rooms available. There were lots of sick people, and even one H1N1 case on the 4th floor. Luckily I will be on the 2nd or 5th floors. They said I might need to take a 4-bedded or 2-bedded. Mum and dad didn't look too pleased. The nurses said I could take a VIP room but it would cost RM500. Mum and dad said that was too expensive.
So we had to wait. Mum made some new friends in chemo daycare. There were two boys named Danish in daycare. One was having a relapse for the 2nd time, so this is the 3rd time he is having ALL. The 1st time was when he was 2 years old, the 2nd was when he was 6. Now he is 9 and he has got it again. His mum said Dr Lin was discussing a bone marrow transplant with them, as he has undergone chemo twice.
The other Danish was having a bacterial infection in his tummy. This means that he had a bad tummy ache and needed to go to the toilet all the time. He has ALL too.
And aunty Vanessa was also there, with Sarah, for her Aspa injection in the leg.
Finally we got a bed, it was in a 2-bedded room. Luckily it was with another patient of Dr Lin's, Stephanie the Indonesian baby. She also has ALL. The room was a bit cramped but it was Stephanie's last day doing the MTX so she went home after 7pm. So we got the room to ourselves for the night.
Later mum and I watched Breaking the Magician's Code on AXN. Mum didn't really want to watch it but I wanted to. I asked mum why the magician wanted to reveal his secrets and spoil it for everyone. She said it was so that everyone would know their tricks. I also saw an ad for women's razor blades and asked her if women shaved under their arms and why.
The MTX made me very cold again so I wore a fleece robe that aunty Shalya (dad's sister) had bought for me. She had bought me some clothes but they were all too small except for the robe. She didn't know I was a size 8 now instead of a size 6. But I'm shrinking slightly because I've had no appetite now that I'm not taking steroids anymore. But I will be taking them again during the 3rd chemo protocol. I'm on the 2nd protocol right now, it will be completed by the end of May.
Anyway mum had to turn the airconditioning off because I was just too cold. Luckily we have the room all to ourselves otherwise some other patient or parent might complain that it was too hot. And you can see in the photo that I have socks on. I very rarely like to wear socks. You can ask mum. Ever since I was a baby, she's bought me sackloads of socks but I always pull them off or just refuse to wear them. Unless it's gym day at school. So you can tell that I'm really really really cold.
Blood counts:
Haemoglobin 11.6 (13.0-18.0)
WBC 9.9 (4.0-11.0)
Platelets 177 (150-400)
Neutrophils 64 (40-74)
Weight: 18.6kg (-0.2kg)
QOTD: "Don't touch me!!!!! I don't want to sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep, I don't want to sleeee.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."
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