Normally it is Damond who takes Jack to the Valerie Center for his Chemotherapy treatments but on Wednesday this week I got to take him. The biggest challenge in the morning was that Jack wanted to eat breakfast at home and once we got to the center he directed me to the kitchen area and pointed towards the food.
Jack was not able to eat as he was having a procedure done and was having general anesthesia.
He was really upset and it was hard for me to see him trying to communicate that he wanted to eat but how do you explain to a twenty two month old that you cannot eat anything because it is important to have an empty stomach when having general anesthesia...
The good news was that Stan, an older gentleman, who has been a volunteer together with his wife Jean at the Valerie Center for 10 years was there and Jack loves to play with him. Stan is a wonderful distraction and Jack forgot all about food as Stan started showing Jack the train tracks.
Once the port had been accessed and the blood work was drawn, and sent to the lab and the results were back indicating that Jack's counts were good the anesthesiologist together with Dr. Rifkin was able to perform a spinal tap. Jack also received Methotreaxate in his spinal fluid in addition to given a second dose of Methotrexate and Vincristine through his port.
He also received a Pentamadine (an antibiotic) instead of Bactrim. This is an alternative given once a month instead of having to take the Bactrim twice a day for three days every week.
All this while Jack was zzzzzzz. Looking at the pictures you can see Jack sleeping while Kristine (his oncology nurse) is watching over him.
You can also see how happy Jack is waking up and getting to enjoy both a bagel and a muffin.
I mentioned Jack's blood cell counts and here they are in BOLD with a brief explanation:WBC (White blood cell) - 6.9
White blood cells help fight infections and aid in the immune process.
Normal counts 4.5 to 11 thousand white cells per microliter of blood
Platelets - 317
Platelets are tiny cells produced by the bone marrow to help your blood clot in response
to a cut or a wound. Normal counts 150 to 450 thousand platelets per microliter of blood
ANC - 2760
The immunesystem which we have mentioned in previous entries.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Anneli
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