Jonathan started receiving his anti-cancer drugs at 6 am today (Thursday 24th February). Instead of him taking the usually two hours to get hydrated before starting the anti-cancer drugs - he took about 6 hours - or else his chemotherapy would have started since 12 am in the morning. I don't mind too much - it meant he got a fairly peaceful rest, i.e. a sleep without having to go through the yucky feeling that comes when on chemotherapy.
Right now we are in a private room, i.e. the rooms they use for kids who have to be in isolation, either due to a bone marrow transplant or an infectious disease. Jonathan has neither but the reason we are in a private room is that there are no other rooms available. We knew since Tuesday that the hospital was full and that when Jonathan does his physical and draws lab (draws blood for the labs) the possibility existed that we may have to either wait or go home and come back. Fortunately we spent a good portion of the afternoon chatting with the nurse practitioner and Jonathan's primary care doctor that our wait didn't seem too long. Coupled with the fact that Jonathan wanted to play in the day room - a family room in the ward called 3 South - and was waiting for the 'big play room' to open at 6:30 pm so he can go in for their activities helped the afternoon go by.
Our weekend home during his recovery was an interesting one. Actually the entire first induction cycle was an interesting one. For the first couple of days - at least from Wednesday to Sunday - Jonathan was a 'mommy's boy'. He didn't want anything to do with Daddy. He also took a while to settle down and Sunday was the first time that we saw Jonathan and Arielle playing together with their toys as brother and sister without any big arguments and fighting. His general pattern over those days saw him being generally grumpy for the entire morning and some of the afternoon - with him 'warming' up around mid-afternoon. Generally he ate a little bit of food for breakfast - but by around 3 pm Jonathan will come and say, "I'm hungry". Just those two little words and his entire demeanor would change. He would eat, get more active and we would see a glimmer of his old self. As the days went by - from Wednesday to Sunday - we progressively saw more and more of the old Jonathan.
By Monday, Jonathan was recovering nicely and I have to say I started to see a shift from him being grumpy for the first part of the day - to a slow return to his regular self. The tough thing was that we knew he was going back into the hospital on Wednesday and we didn't have the heart to tell him. We knew it was going to affect him - because on Monday we went in for a consult for his stem cell collection and he was not too happy to be going back to the hospital - even though it was just for a visit.
His mentality had improved so much - that by last night - he was laughing, playing and just being plain ole Jonathan - his Pre-K crew and teachers would understand that very much (smile). We were so loud last night that he called me over to his bed to come play with him, and wanted to tickle me too. In some regards - I was glad to see him in such good spirits even though he was in the hospital.
This time around - we are wiser and more knowledgeable. We have learnt a lot from the first cycle and have started to apply some of those lessons immediately. For instance - instead of waiting for him to get nauseous, we have started him on full doses of three anti-nausea medication. Our goal this time is to be very pro active and make his stay as comfortable as possible.
2 comments:
Hey Gabby, Tricia here. I have a phone number but still no phone, will call you when this miracle happens,lol. Tricia
Just want you to know that we have you all in our hearts and our prayers. As the new cycle starts we pray that healing continues, for Jonathan and for you all.
Post a Comment