Friday, January 10, 2014
Today marked the first day of Round One, or as it's known in the medical world, the first day of Induction. The goal of Induction is to achieve remission. This means that Leukemia cells are no longer found in bone marrow samples, the normal cells return, and the blood counts become normal. The first step in Induction is having a port-a-cath implanted into the chest. This port allows repeated access to the venous system for the purpose of delivering Vincristine, a type of chemotherapy, and drawing blood. Jaxsen wasn't allowed to eat breakfast or lunch in preparation for the surgery to implant the port into hid chest.
The surgery was scheduled at 2pm. To pass the time, we watched The Polar Express, for the hundredth time, and played in the fish-themed playroom. At 1pm, our nurse informed us that it was time to head down to the pre-op area. Jaxsen and I laid on the bed as the transporter and Nick wheeled the bed down to our pre-op room. While Nick and I were talking to the doctor and the anesthesiologist about the upcoming procedure, Jaxsen laid on his bed and watched a show called Peppa Pig. Apparently he liked the show because as Nick and I were answering questions, we heard Jax snort like a little piggy! A few minutes later, he tried picking his nose with his right arm, the one that had the cast on it (he needed a cast on the arm that had the IV in it to prevent him from bending it). He got very frustrated and yelled, "I can't pick my nose!" Jax fell asleep shortly after while holding onto the stuffed snowman that the nurses in pre-op gave him. We were glad he fell asleep because then he didn't get upset when they rolled him away to the operation room. It was very upsetting watching a team of doctors roll our baby away, but we knew he was in safe hands.
The surgery took about 2 hours. After the port was inserted, the doctor did a lumbar puncture to see if Leukemia cells were present in the spinal column (spoiler alert... there weren't any!). They also gave Jax his first dose of chemo in his spine. After the two procedures were complete, Jax was rolled into a recovery room, which is where we were able to see him. He was still asleep when we saw him. He slept for about an hour, since the surgery overlapped with his naptime once again. When he woke up, we were able to get rolled back up to his room.
Along the way, we ran into a narcotic-carrying robot (TUG) named Herbie. Herbie was able to navigate the hallways of the hospital completely on it's own. When we crossed paths with Herbie, we moved to the side to let him pass. However, when Herbie got close to us, he paused for a moment, turned to face us, and then ran directly into the foot of Jaxsen's bed. Jaxsen laughed and said, "Silly robot." The rest of us got a kick out of it too! Right after Herbie ran into the bed, he got himself back on track, continued moving foward for a few feet, and then made a bee-line right toward me! It really lightened our mood after dealing with the stress of the surgery.
When we got back into the room, Jaxsen was able to get the IV taken out of his arm, since he now had an IV that was attached to the port in his chest. He fussed when the cast and bandages were taken off and said that he didn't want the IV out. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing with our families and enjoying each others company.
The surgery was scheduled at 2pm. To pass the time, we watched The Polar Express, for the hundredth time, and played in the fish-themed playroom. At 1pm, our nurse informed us that it was time to head down to the pre-op area. Jaxsen and I laid on the bed as the transporter and Nick wheeled the bed down to our pre-op room. While Nick and I were talking to the doctor and the anesthesiologist about the upcoming procedure, Jaxsen laid on his bed and watched a show called Peppa Pig. Apparently he liked the show because as Nick and I were answering questions, we heard Jax snort like a little piggy! A few minutes later, he tried picking his nose with his right arm, the one that had the cast on it (he needed a cast on the arm that had the IV in it to prevent him from bending it). He got very frustrated and yelled, "I can't pick my nose!" Jax fell asleep shortly after while holding onto the stuffed snowman that the nurses in pre-op gave him. We were glad he fell asleep because then he didn't get upset when they rolled him away to the operation room. It was very upsetting watching a team of doctors roll our baby away, but we knew he was in safe hands.
The surgery took about 2 hours. After the port was inserted, the doctor did a lumbar puncture to see if Leukemia cells were present in the spinal column (spoiler alert... there weren't any!). They also gave Jax his first dose of chemo in his spine. After the two procedures were complete, Jax was rolled into a recovery room, which is where we were able to see him. He was still asleep when we saw him. He slept for about an hour, since the surgery overlapped with his naptime once again. When he woke up, we were able to get rolled back up to his room.
Along the way, we ran into a narcotic-carrying robot (TUG) named Herbie. Herbie was able to navigate the hallways of the hospital completely on it's own. When we crossed paths with Herbie, we moved to the side to let him pass. However, when Herbie got close to us, he paused for a moment, turned to face us, and then ran directly into the foot of Jaxsen's bed. Jaxsen laughed and said, "Silly robot." The rest of us got a kick out of it too! Right after Herbie ran into the bed, he got himself back on track, continued moving foward for a few feet, and then made a bee-line right toward me! It really lightened our mood after dealing with the stress of the surgery.
When we got back into the room, Jaxsen was able to get the IV taken out of his arm, since he now had an IV that was attached to the port in his chest. He fussed when the cast and bandages were taken off and said that he didn't want the IV out. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing with our families and enjoying each others company.
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