An Interview w/ Jacob

Jacob is not really interested in writing about his experiences or even talking much about it. It's not in his personality to be real chatty, but when you do get him to talk it usually carries some weight. I did convince him to answer 8 questions (because he is eight years old) so his cousins would know some answers from him.

What do you remember about surgery? [Referring to his out-patient procedure when they removed his tumor].

I don't know cause I didn't see them do surgery. I remember going into the operating room. The room was white. Then they put me to sleep by putting a mask on my face. It smelled like bubble gum. [He doesn't remember waking up, but Jon & I were there watching him wake up. He cried. It's hard for kids to come out of the anesthesia. Their emotions are real raw. Jacob has a hard time waking up anyway. I think he was also a bit uncomfortable until they gave him some pain meds. He didn't seem aware for all of that. Not until they started offering him treats]. I got two popscicles & apple juice- I threw up one. The sleep medicine sometimes makes your tummy throw up.

What test was the best? [I was probing him to answer what test was the scariest, but he wanted to say the best one. See next question].
The blood test. It squeezes your arm. [I think he's referring to the elastic they tie around your arm].

Were you nervous for any of your tests?
No. [Jacob actually likes to watch them insert needles into his hand or arm. He watches the blood draws. He watched them take out the thumb tack looking needle from his port. WAY braver than me].

Does cancer hurt?
No. [Truly it's the side effects of treatment and the procedures that inflict the discomfort. His type of tumor usually doesn't present with any pain - that's why a diagnosis is so difficult].

What does it feel like when you have chemotherapy?
It makes you sick [nauseous], but I don't really feel it going through my line. [He has a port which is a device that was surgically placed in his chest that connects to the central line. They place a special needle through his chest skin into the port and then all his blood work, IV fluids, and medications go through there].

What bothers you the most about having cancer?
I can't go to swimming lessons & I can't play basketball. [These were two activities that he was involved in when he had his first surgery. He still isn't supposed to play in a league, but after his stitches heal he can shoot baskets in the backyard. He may also be allowed to swim down the road when his counts are good because his port is completely covered, but still no beach, ocean or sand].

What about having home school? Kind of.

What about losing your hair? [He got a big grin]. I think that's cool. [He did tear up when he first learned about that, but he doesn't seem bothered now that he's had time to think about it. He met a cool kid, Daniel, at the hospital who was completely bald. He was kind of like the Oncology Unit Class President; the role model for kids going through chemo].

What about nausea? What's that?
Feeling like you have to throw up. I don't like that.

Would you like to tell me what you did at the hospital?
They gave me two games & two Lego sets.

[Jacob kept asking how many questions he had answered so far. I wasn't counting the follow-up questions, but he was making sure I didn't get a chance to ask more than eight].

Are you done answering questions? Why don't you like answering questions?
I'm bored.