Monday, December 30, 2013

December 30, 2013








Evan had the Chemo drip removed early on Sunday morning (somewhere around 1:00 AM) and we came for a visit to the hospital around 1:00 PM.  He had been in very good spirits earlier and even had 1/2 a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast which he managed to keep down for the day.  He had taken quite a long walk with his Mom and was allowed to leave the floor because the Chemo was done.  When we got there he was complaining about his stomach hurting and his spirits were not so good; he was a little grouchy.  The nurse administered IV Benedryl and this seemed to calm his as well as let him take a much needed nap.

We decided to leave around 5:00 PM as Evan had been awake for awhile and was in pretty good spirits.  We were trying to get him to eat something but he wasn't taking the bait until we mentioned that Grandmom had brought some homemade chicken corn soup.  He went for that and as we were leaving Evan was busy eating.  Later we checked to see if the meal had stayed with him but unfortunately it had not.

Evan had a visit that evening from his two brothers, Dad and Aunt which turned out to be a spirit lifter, not only for Evan but for his brothers.  We had waited for his brothers to visit until the Chemo was over as I don't believe it would have been a good idea to do so earlier.  His brothers are 8 and 6.

Today, Monday December 30, 2013 Evan is in much better spirits and should be released from the hospital so he can go home until the next round of Chemo.  It is now 1:35 PM and I am waiting to hear from Mom that the breakout has occurred. Mom must take lessons on how to administer a shot and then there is the discharge paper work that needs to be done along with the detailed instructions.  The biggest item on the watch out for list is fever and Mom will have to monitor his temperature regularly.  If it is above 100.4 she must call the clinic immediately and bring him on in for antibiotic therapy.

I will post when he is safely home.

Evan is safely home!




Saturday, December 28, 2013

Saturday day 2 Chemo

Arrived at hospital today to find Evan sitting on the sofa and talking. They changed his anti nausea to adavan and that seems to help. He still has vomiting but his spirits are up.
He has been sleeping for awoke now which is good. He had double vision from the adavan so it's back to zofran for now until they figure out the right combination

Zofran not doing the job real well. Nurses are trying IV benedryl  hope this works for him. It's hard watching this little one puke so much. With that said, he has moments that are lucid and he is the comedian!
We left for the day at about 4:30 and he was sleeping again.  I hope the IV Benedryl has kicked in and is working without many side affects.  The staff is working towards a correct combination to combat the nausea and vomiting.  Hopefully by round two this will be accomplished.


Friday, December 27, 2013

Friday 12/27/2013

Evan did not start his round of Chemo until about 1:00 AM Friday.  He will be on a continuous feed of the DOXO drug for 48 hours from then.  He is suffering from the effects of Nausea with bouts of vomiting.  He did get out of bed and in the chair for awhile in the morning.

I will continue to update this page during the day; if you have visited early please revisit for more information.

Gave first directed blood donation at 1:00 today and then went to see Evan. He is a trooper but he has been puking regularly.  Nursing staff are super and very attentive to his needs. We hope he can go home on Tuesday. 

His hair is expected to begin falling out in the next two weeks.  
Evan managed a slight smile for his uncle Justin when I asked if I could send a pic of him to Justin.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

First chemo

Arrived at hospital at 11:30. The doctors did preliminary exams and put a numbing cream on the port. He should begin treatment in the next 1/2 hour or so.
I obtained necessary signatures to become a directed donor. I can now donate to Evan whenever he needs blood.
Port access is complete and the blood drawn for the study as well as any necessary testing. We should be moved up to the ICU shortly so the actual chemo can begin. It is now 2:00 PM. 
IV has been started with a mixture of sodium and dextrose. This will last for 6 hours. After that they will begin the chemo with a 48 hour infusion of doxorubicin and in between cisplatin for a total of 4 hours.
Update to today.  The infusion of DOX has not started yet.  The staff will not start until his is fully hydrated.  He is close to this number and Meghan feels it will start in the next hour or two.
Evan is up alert and comfortable.
I will be in work tomorrow for the morning and then off to the blood center to donate my first pint.  They will assess my platelets to see if I can be a platelet donor.  I am hoping this will be a positive outcome.
Sherie has the day off and will be in hospital early to be with Meghan and our Superman.

Posts will follow.  I hope everyone has a great night and I am blessed to have an audience.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Day

Today was a very good day!  Evan had an early Christmas at home with his brothers and sister.  He then came over to our house for yet another round of gifts. His spirits are high and we are very happy
He received his very own tablet which made him very proud. It is a v-tech innotab 3 with wi-fi and is really a learning tab; I think he will do just fine with it 
Tomorrow we report to health park at 11:30 and I will keep
You all updated.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Heart test today

Evan has his echo cardiogram done today. Results were not immediately. He was really good and cooperated with the technicians. 
Tonight we are making cookies for Santa and watching Christmas movies. 
T- minus 2 days for first chemo treatment. Admission time I'd 11:30 AM.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Baseline hearing test 12/23/2013

Evan had a baseline hearing test today. He was a trooper and passed the test with flying colors. He was rewarded with a beautiful red stuffed puppy to help him on his journey. Hopefully with no hearing loss now, it will translate to minimal hearing loss at the end of the journey.  Tomorrow is the Eco-cardiogram  and we all hope this will be good news as well.
T-Minus 3 days until the first Chemo.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

December 22, 2013

Saturday was a fairly normal day for Evan.  He went to the park with his brothers and sister and enjoyed the swings and other playground items.  He is in good spirits considering what has already been done to him. 
He came over to the grandparents and had dinner and played games on the Ipad.  We gave him a hair shampoo in the sink as we cannot get the port site wet.
It is T-minus 4 days to the first Chemo and hospital stay.  Tomorrow he will have a baseline hearing test and then on Tuesday he will have an Echo Cardiogram.  These tests assist the Doctors in assessing the inevitable damage to his hearing and heart during the Chemo phase.


Friday, December 20, 2013

Port placement

Evan went to surgery to have his port placed at about 7:25 AM.   He was in recovery by 9:30 and x-ray confirmed good placement with no lung puncture.  He is in the process of being discharged.

Our next step into the journey is to start the first round of chemo therapy on December 26, 2013.  I am thankful we can have a somewhat normal Christmas although it will not be a very happy one.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Today at the preoperative appointment

Evan had his preoperative appointment today.  It was basically a discussion on how the port is placed and what are the potential complications.  The complications include infection and potential lung collapse when the catheter is inserted into the vein as it is close to the lung.  Infection is a real issue as the chemo will destroy his immune system so we will have to be vigilant.
His port placement is tomorrow as a surgical outpatient.  He is due to check in at 6:00 AM Eastern and actual surgery is scheduled for 7:30 AM.  The procedure takes about 1 hour and some recovery time before he can go home.

The consents for the chemo will be signed tomorrow with the oncologist and first treatment will be December 26, 2013.  I will post tomorrow on how well the port placement went.

Introducing Evan who has Osteosarcoma

On Sunday December 08, 2013 our grandson Evan fell on his right shoulder while playing.  He complained to his mother about pain and not being able to move it too much.  He was given some aspirin and went to bed.  Upon awaking he complained that the pain was worse and he couldn't move his arm much which led to a trip to the local Emergency Department.  There it was discovered through an x-ray that indeed his upper arm was fractured but in addition to that there appeared to be a tumor in the upper arm bone.

This led to a biopsy of the affected bone.  The sample was sent to the Mayo clinic for analysis and the diagnosis was returned as Osteosarcoma on Monday December 16, 2013.  A bone scan and CT of the lungs were order to determine if there were any metastasizes of the cancer.  Both of the scans return a negative answer, a positive sign.  A retinal scan was also preformed to make sure there was no evidence of retinal blastoma and that scan was also negative.

Today December 19, 2013 Evan is have a preoperative consultation with a surgeon and will have a venous port placed on December 20, 2013.  He will begin Chemo treatment on December 26, 2013 and has a 29 week journey ahead of him.

This blog was created to log the journey of a 4 year old little boy as he battles cancer.  My hope is that other people will find the blog and add their comments.  It doesn't matter if you have had the same type of cancer or other cancers or none at all your additions to this blog will be greatly appreciated.