Chase was re-admitted to the hospital this past Tuesday. We had to go to the clinic first at Egleston so they could draw his labs and we thought they were also going to do an electrocardiogram to check his heart. We arrived at 10:30 and they brought us back to a room around 11:00. They drew his labs, took some vitals,and weighed him (98.9 lbs).
Then we waited and waited and waited.
Now, I knew that we would have to wait to get a bed on the Aflac floor. If I haven't explained it before, the kids are constantly coming and going for treatment much like Chase. Also, if kids develop fevers or their counts are suddenly dropping, then they are re-admitted. Unfortunately for us, on Tuesday they weren't discharging patients very quickly and Chase was third in line for a bed. Given this news, I had a feeling we wouldn't land back in the "good" wing that has the bigger rooms with HEPA filtration.
Not only did we end up with a smaller room, but they didn't have a room ready for him until 4:15 that afternoon!!! We had to wait in a clinic room - I in an uncomfortable chair and Chase on a hard exam table - for the entire time! We did go downstairs and grabbed lunch in the cafeteria, but they didn't want us going far because they started him on fluids to prepare him for his first chemo treatment.
I was surprised that they started his chemo before we got to the room, but I'm glad they did. The sooner they start the chemo, the sooner it will be over and then we can begin the waiting process (once again) for his counts to rebound.
If you'll recall, Chase entered into the hospital on March 25th and wasn't allowed to go home until the 25th day. We were told that this go around, his counts could take longer to rebound than before. This could mean that Chase may or may not be able to come home the next time or if he is allowed to come home then it could be a far shorter stay.
I did speak with Dr.Cooper the day Chase was admitted. They didn't have the molecular level results of his bone marrow sample back yet, but he was able to tell me that there were NO leukemia cells present!! Although that technically means that he's in remission, the leukemia will come back without further chemo treatments, but the fact that he did go into remission after the first round is very positive. He went on to say that Chase's counts had rebounded very quickly.
This is my observation, but he sounded almost surprised. He seemed very confident that Chase would respond to the chemo this second time as he did the first time, meaning that he might not suffer many side effects. So far, he's done very well. Today was the first day that he complained of any nausea, but described it as only being queasy.
Right now the doctors are waiting on the molecular results to come back. They put a rush order on it, so we should hopefully hear something within the next couple of days. Dr.Cooper said that they are consulting with doctors all over the world on Chase's case. Should the Philadelphia chromosome be gone, then they'll continue on with the current round plus three additional rounds of chemo. Whether or not he'll need a bone marrow transplant after that would remain the be seen. If the Philadelphia is there, then it would mean two rounds of chemo, most likely adding Gleevac to treat the Philadelphia, and a bone marrow transplant. Dr.Cooper said that William being a match is like having an ace in your back pocket. You don't want to play that ace unless it is absolutely necessary because even with a relative who is a match, a bone marrow transplant carries with it its own set of toxicities.
Last night was my first night back at the hospital spending the night. I saw Rebecca briefly. Chase wasn't able to squirt her because he doesn't have any syringes. We'll have to get him re-armed. This morning, Robert was his nurse, and as odd as it may sound, it was like seeing old friends having both of them there.
The nurse he had last night was Natalie, and she was a cutie. She made the comment that most teen guys won't talk much. Chase, surprised that they would almost ignore the nurses, asked why would they do that, to which she replied, "Attitude." After she left, I told him I knew why he wasn't like that. I said that he liked to talk to her because he thought she was cute. A slow grin spread on his face and he slightly nodded. Yep, I thought so. LOL!
When the doctors came in this morning, they were speaking of getting him on a schedule so he would get out of bed regularly. They mentioned ordering PT for him (physical therapy), and I told Dr.Alexander that he liked the PT girls. She asked which one, and I told her "the blond". Chase turned beet red and swore to aggravate me even more than what he was already doing for letting that little secret slip. Let me say that he's quite good at that. For a kid with leukemia undergoing chemotherapy, you'd be hard pressed to believe it given his antics.
As soon as we learn more about this bone marrow results, I'll be sure to provide an update. I have to say that we've been so very blessed with how his treatment has been going and how he has been responding. Prayers work and we thank you for keeping Chase in yours.
God Bless!!
The O'Bannon Family
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