Chemotherapy round 2 has begun
I am happy to report that everything went as planned yesterday. Sam cam through the surgery to establish the new central line without any difficulty – though a little tender where he opened up. The new central line working as expected, this line (aka Hickman device) was established travelling from Sam’s leg through to the major vessels just below his heart. The previous PICC lines were not able to reach the major vessels near the heart as there was too much clotting in Sam’s chest. With this new line established round two of chemotherapy has begun.
Chemotherapy medications were started promptly after Sam returned from surgery and a short period in recovery. All of these medications are entering his system through the central line system along with a lot of additional fluid. As I have noted in previous posts the drugs are intense and in order to protect his other organs additional fluid is needed. Practically speaking this means that life, and sleep are interrupted with many bathroom breaks.
Gram and Papa were here providing moral and practical support. We also had a visit from Lisa S. who brought a stack of cards from home with messages of encouragement from Sam’s friends at the Westwood Church’s youth group, along with cards for Tina and I.
Victories and concerns
Surgery went well. Finally, an effective central line has been established allowing treatment to begin.
Chemotherapy round 2 has begun. This is a much more powerful treatment then the first. There are risks and side effects. The risks include potential damage to Sam’s organs (e.g. liver and kidneys). Side effects are expected to start showing within a week, including hair loss, and generally feeling gross.
I expect we will not experience solid sleeps over these next number of days as there is a flurry of drugs, testing of fluids, and release of excess fluids … these interruptions are about every 2-3 hours.
We are thankful for all support of friends, family, rekindling old friendships, and care received from strangers
We are thankful for an amazing medical team here at BC Children’s hospital.
Tina and I are thankful for Sam. He continues to have an amazing attitude through everything!