Chemo at 11. . .

Brendan met his fluid requirements and specific gravity (urine dilution test) last night at 11 p.m. and they started the Cisplatin.  He finished the infusion around 5 a.m. this morning. Anti-nausea medication made him drowsy and he slept hard all night.  I was up every two hours making sure he was going to the bathroom.

 Getting up this morning was rough on Brendan.  He had an early radiation appointment (9:15 a.m.) and I've learned to start early.  If he's pushed too much, he just has a meltdown.  So I began helping him change his clothes, asking if I could get him something to eat (didn't happen - he wouldn't even touch his thyroid medication or antibiotics, let alone eat anything), and helping him to get his shoes on.  He pushed through the nausea and made it out to the transport van for the short ride to HCI (Huntsman Cancer Institute).  We cut off about 30 minutes of transport time by not taking the wheelchair!

 We ended up sitting for about 25 minutes in the waiting room.  Brendan didn't mind just resting on my lap.

 Today was prize day in the vault!  Every 5 days on his chart he gets to pick something out of the closet.  Brendan could hardly think.  He told them he would pick something out when he was feeling better.  He went straight to the table to lie down.

 No CT scans on Tuesdays and Thursdays so he was done in about 20 minutes.

 Back at the hospital, Brendan wasn't feeling well at all.

 Shaun, Landon, and Lindsay showed up with comic books to cheer him up.  It helped a little. . .

 The one thing Brendan did perk up for was a study testing patient arm strength.  They promised him $10 for measuring his height, weight, arm circumference and arm strength.  I saw his eyes open wide when they told him how much he could earn.   He had to squeeze a tool that measures the strength in his forearms.  Ten minutes - ten dollars.  Brendan was glad to do it!

 But that was about all the activity he could muster for the day.  He played a little Lego Star Wars Xbox with Landon and Lindsay, but soon he wilted into his bed and just watched.  The kids set up the Monopoly board, but soon Brendan was throwing up and didn't want to play.  The nausea and vomiting got worse and worse until the nurse started more and more medicine to see what would help.  But the anti nausea medicines also makes him sleepy.  So he slept -- which seemed better than all that nausea and vomiting.

Today Shaun and I talked and talked. We talked to Brendan's attending doctor, Dr. Barnette, about the chemo treatment, and later to his fellow, Jessica Mesnarich, who came to check up on Brendan. We talked to pharmacists, physician's assistant, and nurses about various anti nausea medication and the pros and cons of each.  We talked to our case coordinator about insurance, home health companies, and physical therapy benefits.  We talked to our social worker -(which turned into more of a social visit :).  We talked to Brendan's child-life expert about other ways to help him manage pain.

Before I could leave tonight, Shaun and I had to "pass off" our chemo orientation requirements.  We were taught all about white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and what the numbers on the CBC (complete blood count) and ANC (absolute neutrophil count) tell us.  We were also tutored in what problems to look out for (bruising, bleeding) and when to take Brendan back to the hospital -- (immediately if he has a fever over 101 degrees or if it is 100.4 for more than an hour).  We discussed risk management, setting rules,  and, most importantly, how to live a "normal" life.

 By evening, Brendan was sleeping.  We slipped away for a few minutes to grab dinner at the Ronald McDonald Family Room.

 By the time the kids and  I left the hospital tonight, Brendan was sleeping so deeply that I'm not sure he even knew we were gone.  Anti-nausea IV medicines will be administered throughout the night, so Brendan can rest and keep the medicine down.  Fluids will finish running 24 hours after chemo (about 5 a.m.), then we will see if he can eat, take his medicine, and function independently so he can get out of the hospital.  The chemo in his system will take about 48 hours to all be eliminated, but the nausea can get worse and/or better through the next week.

I guess we can now say-- 1 chemo treatment done.  Unfortunately, we still don't know how many chemo treatments are left to go -- it is still a work in progress.