Thursday, January 9, 2014
In order to determine whether or not Jaxsen had Leukemia, Dr. Fixler needed to extract some bone marrow from Jax's left hip. The procedure took place at 11am. Jaxsen was able to take a wagon ride all the way down to the room where the procedure was going to take place. When we got into the room, we looked onto the bed and saw a special pillow, a toy phone, and a stuffed sea turtle. Jax was excited! He climbed onto the bed and started playing with the turtle. The nurse gave him some bandaids to put on the sea turtle to help him pass the time since the doctors were running a little behind. The doctors all arrived around noon. The anesthesiologist gave Jax some medicine through his IV to help him fall asleep. Within 15 seconds, Jaxsen started to feel it's effects. He suddenly plopped forward which scared us all. When the doctors plopped him back onto the pillow, I noticed that Jax had red blotches all over his face, neck, and chest. The doctors assured me that was normal, but that didn't stop me from breaking down. I had plans to stay in the room with Jaxsen during the procedure since I was given the option, but Nick and Nana pulled me outside when they saw how upset I was. We all gave Jax a kiss before being escorted to the waiting room. About an hour later, the procedure was finished and we were allowed back into the room.
Jax was still asleep when we saw him, and we were shocked to see that he was bubbling around the mouth. The nurse told us that he should be awake within 15 minutes, but the procedure took place around his naptime, so he slept a little longer. After about 45 minutes of waiting in the procedure room, Dr. Fixler came in to discuss what he discovered after examining the bone marrow. When he informed us that he found evidence of Leukemia in Jaxsen's bone marrow, Nick and I both broke down. He explained to us that he examined the blood cells under the microscope and that he had reason to believe that the type of Leukemia that Jax had was Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He explained that ALL was not as aggressive as other types of Leukemia, so we were relieved, although still terribly sad. We talked for a while longer until Jax woke up from the anesthesia. We then put Jax back into the wagon and rolled him back to his room. We played in the room for a few more hours until it was time for Jax's X-ray. He needed an X-ray done of his heart because the drugs that are given to cancer patients can sometimes have an impact on the heart, so they wanted to take a "before" picture so they had something to refer to after he started taking the drugs. We were taken to the Radiation department in a wheelchair, which Jax loved. He got to sit on my lap so he wasn't scared at all.
When we got to the room, Jax was asked to lay flat on his back under the X-ray machine. He did so well! He laid perfectly still. I wasn't allowed to stay in the room with him because they were concerned about the radiation's effect on my reproductive organs, but Nick was able to stay next to Jax the whole time. I was sad I wasn't able to be there for Jax, but it was so cool being able to see his X-rays on the machine! Jax was then asked by the technician to lay on his side. Again, he did so well. After the two X-rays, we got rolled back up to the room.
Jax was still asleep when we saw him, and we were shocked to see that he was bubbling around the mouth. The nurse told us that he should be awake within 15 minutes, but the procedure took place around his naptime, so he slept a little longer. After about 45 minutes of waiting in the procedure room, Dr. Fixler came in to discuss what he discovered after examining the bone marrow. When he informed us that he found evidence of Leukemia in Jaxsen's bone marrow, Nick and I both broke down. He explained to us that he examined the blood cells under the microscope and that he had reason to believe that the type of Leukemia that Jax had was Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He explained that ALL was not as aggressive as other types of Leukemia, so we were relieved, although still terribly sad. We talked for a while longer until Jax woke up from the anesthesia. We then put Jax back into the wagon and rolled him back to his room. We played in the room for a few more hours until it was time for Jax's X-ray. He needed an X-ray done of his heart because the drugs that are given to cancer patients can sometimes have an impact on the heart, so they wanted to take a "before" picture so they had something to refer to after he started taking the drugs. We were taken to the Radiation department in a wheelchair, which Jax loved. He got to sit on my lap so he wasn't scared at all.
When we got to the room, Jax was asked to lay flat on his back under the X-ray machine. He did so well! He laid perfectly still. I wasn't allowed to stay in the room with him because they were concerned about the radiation's effect on my reproductive organs, but Nick was able to stay next to Jax the whole time. I was sad I wasn't able to be there for Jax, but it was so cool being able to see his X-rays on the machine! Jax was then asked by the technician to lay on his side. Again, he did so well. After the two X-rays, we got rolled back up to the room.
Nick and I went home for a few hours after Jax fell asleep to grab some items from home. Nana and Aunt Gail stayed in the room with Jaxsen. When we came back at 11pm, Aunt Gail told us that Jaxsen decided to name his IV machine Goofy. He said he did not want to name it Mickey because Mickey does not have wheels :)
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