Several of our friends have thought of ways to serve the kids at the cancer clinic. One friend brought over a huge bag of stuffed toys to donate to the kids. Another friend brought 2 large boxes of scholastic books that we took in. Friends from church made goodie bags and collected Santa hats. I posted photos HERE.
It's been fun for us to bring nice things for the other families who visit the clinic. It's been good for Jacob to be involved. Bringing your kindness to the clinic makes going much more tolerable.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday is the New Wednesday
Chemo treatments need to be evenly spaced. So Wednesday was our routine chemo day. Over the last few months I noticed a trend within myself. My anxiety would start to rise on Tuesday. I'd be quite restless that night and then very moody, irritable, and anxious on Wednesday. I would try to breathe, relax, let it go. Whatever. It's still scary each week pumping your kid with these toxic "medicines." I don't know that I'll ever be "used to it," but we have decided that we've built a tolerance to it.
I'm not as big of a basket case. I usually can sleep the night before. It helps that Jacob is dealing with it better too. He openly admits that he doesn't love clinic day, but we no longer have to carry him to the car crying. He packs his Nintendo bag, gets his shoes on, collects a snack, etc. He does it all very SLOWLY, stalling like, but he does it.
There's nothing "normal" about the whole routine. I never want it to be normal because then perhaps we aren't taking it as seriously or being as cautious or being as grateful for all the perfect moments in between. I will tolerate that we have to live through this. I will be forever grateful for those friends who have cared week after week. I will be proud of Jacob - his courage, his character, his spirit, and his brave fight. I will continue to cling to my faith and be grateful that I can see the moments more clearly. I'll cherish the strength we've gained as a companionship and as a family. But I won't be grateful for cancer. It will remain my mortal enemy. I will always stand opposed to it. I'll always hope for a cure. I'll always pray that more children, more friends, more mothers or grandfathers will never have to know what it's like to live alongside cancer.
Now our clinic days have been moved to Friday. This made it so our treatments weren't on Christmas Eve or New Years Eve. Jon took Jake to the clinic today. We might actually LIKE Fridays. I don't think they are quite as crowded, maybe that was just this week. They left at 7:15 a.m. and were back around 2:30 p.m. - this was even a Count-Dependant treatment (have to wait for labs to come back to see if counts are up before they can give chemo).
Jacob is off riding his red bike with his red helmet with his red cheeks to match. We sent him out to play and breath some fresh air before the side effects kick in. Which reminds me, when do I need to give him more Zofran? Hopefully the barfing will be mild like last time. Only one more dose of Dactinomycin. The others are just Vincristine.
I'm not as big of a basket case. I usually can sleep the night before. It helps that Jacob is dealing with it better too. He openly admits that he doesn't love clinic day, but we no longer have to carry him to the car crying. He packs his Nintendo bag, gets his shoes on, collects a snack, etc. He does it all very SLOWLY, stalling like, but he does it.
There's nothing "normal" about the whole routine. I never want it to be normal because then perhaps we aren't taking it as seriously or being as cautious or being as grateful for all the perfect moments in between. I will tolerate that we have to live through this. I will be forever grateful for those friends who have cared week after week. I will be proud of Jacob - his courage, his character, his spirit, and his brave fight. I will continue to cling to my faith and be grateful that I can see the moments more clearly. I'll cherish the strength we've gained as a companionship and as a family. But I won't be grateful for cancer. It will remain my mortal enemy. I will always stand opposed to it. I'll always hope for a cure. I'll always pray that more children, more friends, more mothers or grandfathers will never have to know what it's like to live alongside cancer.
Now our clinic days have been moved to Friday. This made it so our treatments weren't on Christmas Eve or New Years Eve. Jon took Jake to the clinic today. We might actually LIKE Fridays. I don't think they are quite as crowded, maybe that was just this week. They left at 7:15 a.m. and were back around 2:30 p.m. - this was even a Count-Dependant treatment (have to wait for labs to come back to see if counts are up before they can give chemo).
Jacob is off riding his red bike with his red helmet with his red cheeks to match. We sent him out to play and breath some fresh air before the side effects kick in. Which reminds me, when do I need to give him more Zofran? Hopefully the barfing will be mild like last time. Only one more dose of Dactinomycin. The others are just Vincristine.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
An Anniversary
Jacob pointed out that along with Christmas Eve we celebrate his 5 month anniversary. It's been 5 months since he had surgery to have his tumor removed. For Jacob, this is when everything began. Going to the doctor, going for an ultrasound, and even going to a second doctor on the same day because he had a tumor wasn't the starting point for him. All of this became VERY serious when he had to have SURGERY. He hated that.
For Jon & I it started on the first day the tumor was found. We worried about everything and tried to keep ourselves away from Google until we knew the exact diagnosis. We held our breath in anticipation for the changes that would surely come that we didn't understand. We waited for insurance approvals and paperwork. We called our families. We cried, we prayed, and we stayed together. Kisses on every head, every night.
Surgery day was a long day. Jacob needed to go fasting, so Jon offered to fast along with him. I didn't agree to those terms because I still needed to produce milk to pump for Jayson. Although, I might as well. I couldn't eat in front of Jacob and I couldn't leave his side. Our children were home with Sharon and Jon & I were with Jacob at the outpatient surgery center.
First we waited in the waiting room wondering why everyone else was there waiting for themselves or a loved one to be cut open. How many of us had tumors? Who needed a knee or shoulder patched up?
When we were brought through the double doors, I immediately noticed a painting hanging on the wall to the left. It was beautiful and prompted a silent prayer. It is by Nathan Greene called Chief of the Medical Staff (click image to learn more).
I really felt that we were placing our son in the Lord's hands. We were at the Adventist Hospital (where health and healing, respecting our bodies, and trusting the Savior are highly valued) with the Mormon doctor. I found great comfort that the Lord would send Dr. Chamberlain - someone who was well trained medically and also blessed with priesthood power. I knew that if anyone could receive heavenly guidance and power beyond his own to heal, it would be our doctor. We had an instant connection and we truly felt his concern for our Jacob. It was another way that the Lord showed Jon & I that he was caring for us and placing people in our path to help us.
Jacob was one of the older patients on the schedule, so his surgery time kept getting delayed. He really wanted to eat, but he tried to distract himself by watching Drake & Josh on tv. We played the dot game, figured out Sudoku puzzles, and rubbed Jacob's back.
Going in to anesthesia, Jacob chose to wear the bubble gum flavored mask to help put him under (the other option was to start an IV and inject him there. He liked the idea of not remembering the needle). Days later Jacob confessed that he was having nightmares that bad guys were trying to smuther him with a mask. It showed me just how scary it all was to him. On his port surgery he opted NOT to wear the mask, but preferred the IV.
Coming out of anesthesia was tough. The nurse had warned me that his emotions would be very raw. She said that she hadn't met a child how didn't cry his way out of anesthesia. I knew that Jacob would have a hard time waking up anyway. He regularly has night terrors and we can never wake him up. So we've seen him crying in his sleep before. This actually helped me to sense when he was really coherent and when he was still under the meds. He did cry with lots of tears. Sobbed with lots heart-tugging sound. He thrashed back and forth and I worried that he would rip the line out of his arm. Raw, tender emotion. Broke my heart to watch him go through it even though he wouldn't remember that part.
He was in pain initially. The meds worked quickly. His hunger returned. We sent the nurse to get the promised Big Stick Popsicle. He loved that. He was thrilled that they had apple juice too. But it was all too much too soon for his system that had just been doused with anesthesia. He threw up everywhere. Bright flying liquid all over him, his gown, the bed. After he was dried and changed, he ate another popsicle. Slower this time.
Jacob walked like a cowboy for a few days, but he didn't slow down. He took it easy for about a day and then he was ready to get back in the game. I worried about all the falls or hits that would be devastating. He wasn't allowed to continue sports or go to his swim lessons. The incision needed 3 weeks to heal before it could be submersed.
We did see a photo of the tumor - about 2-3 cm. It was bumpy almost like a grape cluster. At a follow up visit, Jacob was very interested in seeing the photo. Since then he was wondering if we could get a picture of it to go with all the pics I've been taking.
We went home from surgery day knowing that our boy just had cancer removed. The preliminary sample indicated rhabdomyosarcoma. We had nieve hopes that they could just take it out and we could be finished, maybe just keep an eye on it. But we've learned too much about this cancer. Even when tumors have been completely removed, there's an 80% chance of reocurrance without further treatment. It is standard protocol to undergo chemotherapy. The truth is that nearly all kids with rhabdomyosarcoma also are treated with radiation. There are few exceptions. Jacob's stage, type, and location was one of those exceptions.
Chemo has been hard for Jacob, but what he dreads most is SURGERY. I think that's why he takes such pride in his 5 month Anniversary.
For Jon & I it started on the first day the tumor was found. We worried about everything and tried to keep ourselves away from Google until we knew the exact diagnosis. We held our breath in anticipation for the changes that would surely come that we didn't understand. We waited for insurance approvals and paperwork. We called our families. We cried, we prayed, and we stayed together. Kisses on every head, every night.
Surgery day was a long day. Jacob needed to go fasting, so Jon offered to fast along with him. I didn't agree to those terms because I still needed to produce milk to pump for Jayson. Although, I might as well. I couldn't eat in front of Jacob and I couldn't leave his side. Our children were home with Sharon and Jon & I were with Jacob at the outpatient surgery center.
First we waited in the waiting room wondering why everyone else was there waiting for themselves or a loved one to be cut open. How many of us had tumors? Who needed a knee or shoulder patched up?
When we were brought through the double doors, I immediately noticed a painting hanging on the wall to the left. It was beautiful and prompted a silent prayer. It is by Nathan Greene called Chief of the Medical Staff (click image to learn more).
I really felt that we were placing our son in the Lord's hands. We were at the Adventist Hospital (where health and healing, respecting our bodies, and trusting the Savior are highly valued) with the Mormon doctor. I found great comfort that the Lord would send Dr. Chamberlain - someone who was well trained medically and also blessed with priesthood power. I knew that if anyone could receive heavenly guidance and power beyond his own to heal, it would be our doctor. We had an instant connection and we truly felt his concern for our Jacob. It was another way that the Lord showed Jon & I that he was caring for us and placing people in our path to help us.
Jacob was one of the older patients on the schedule, so his surgery time kept getting delayed. He really wanted to eat, but he tried to distract himself by watching Drake & Josh on tv. We played the dot game, figured out Sudoku puzzles, and rubbed Jacob's back.
Going in to anesthesia, Jacob chose to wear the bubble gum flavored mask to help put him under (the other option was to start an IV and inject him there. He liked the idea of not remembering the needle). Days later Jacob confessed that he was having nightmares that bad guys were trying to smuther him with a mask. It showed me just how scary it all was to him. On his port surgery he opted NOT to wear the mask, but preferred the IV.
Coming out of anesthesia was tough. The nurse had warned me that his emotions would be very raw. She said that she hadn't met a child how didn't cry his way out of anesthesia. I knew that Jacob would have a hard time waking up anyway. He regularly has night terrors and we can never wake him up. So we've seen him crying in his sleep before. This actually helped me to sense when he was really coherent and when he was still under the meds. He did cry with lots of tears. Sobbed with lots heart-tugging sound. He thrashed back and forth and I worried that he would rip the line out of his arm. Raw, tender emotion. Broke my heart to watch him go through it even though he wouldn't remember that part.
He was in pain initially. The meds worked quickly. His hunger returned. We sent the nurse to get the promised Big Stick Popsicle. He loved that. He was thrilled that they had apple juice too. But it was all too much too soon for his system that had just been doused with anesthesia. He threw up everywhere. Bright flying liquid all over him, his gown, the bed. After he was dried and changed, he ate another popsicle. Slower this time.
Jacob walked like a cowboy for a few days, but he didn't slow down. He took it easy for about a day and then he was ready to get back in the game. I worried about all the falls or hits that would be devastating. He wasn't allowed to continue sports or go to his swim lessons. The incision needed 3 weeks to heal before it could be submersed.
We did see a photo of the tumor - about 2-3 cm. It was bumpy almost like a grape cluster. At a follow up visit, Jacob was very interested in seeing the photo. Since then he was wondering if we could get a picture of it to go with all the pics I've been taking.
We went home from surgery day knowing that our boy just had cancer removed. The preliminary sample indicated rhabdomyosarcoma. We had nieve hopes that they could just take it out and we could be finished, maybe just keep an eye on it. But we've learned too much about this cancer. Even when tumors have been completely removed, there's an 80% chance of reocurrance without further treatment. It is standard protocol to undergo chemotherapy. The truth is that nearly all kids with rhabdomyosarcoma also are treated with radiation. There are few exceptions. Jacob's stage, type, and location was one of those exceptions.
Chemo has been hard for Jacob, but what he dreads most is SURGERY. I think that's why he takes such pride in his 5 month Anniversary.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
No Chemo on Christmas Eve
Jacob is due for his make-you-barf chemo on Wednesday, Christmas Eve. But we have now switched his treatment days to Friday. So Merry Christmas - eat all the chocolate, candy canes, fancy cookies, & breads that you want - no barfing 'til Friday. From there Jacob has 3 more treatments into January, then scans. Assuming the scans are clear, he'll be considered Off Treatment (OT). Then we wait and hope it doesn't come back. We'll do follow-up scans in several months. His port won't come out for at least 3 months after treatment.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Snap
"Mom, I can snap with my fingers now." Oh, the simple triumphs!!!! I'm so thankful that the Vincristine doesn't have as strong a hold on my son. I pray that it will kill the cancer cells and leave my little boys limbs alone.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tour of the Clinic - a Day with Jacob
It's been a long time coming, but here is our tour of the clinic. Some photos were hard for Jacob to take (ie. having his port accessed). But we decided that we would have a picture record of his experience to go along with his written story that he is working on with Liz. These were all taken on December 3rd (our 10 hour day with count-dependent chemo).
Arrive at clinic at 10:03 a.m. Mom takes pictures of Jacob with all the hats and goodie bags that we brought from our friends to donate to the reward closet at the clinic. Then we make our way to the basement to the pediatric hematology/oncology offices.
Mom checks Jacob in, pays the $20 copay, and asks for numbing cream. Jacob spreads cream on the skin above his port and puts a bandaid on top. It takes about 30 minutes for the area to numb. Jacob is highly sensitive to tapes and adhesives, so we try to avoid using them. Jacob settles right into his DS game & I pull out my Twilight novel (I don't remember which one I was on).
At 10:41 Jacob is taken back to record his vitals. He weighs about 75 pounds which is down 6 from where he started back in July. They check his blood pressure and measure his height.
We bring his file & all his name labels down to the lab. They are way backed up, so they send us back to the waiting area.
Usually Jacob gets to play video games for the better part of his clinic days. We try to worry about homework before he goes or the days surrounding clinic day. We've also added some reading time, but it's hard to enforce. Jacob really likes to escape into his games and forget he's at the clinic.
At 11:54 a.m. we are brought back to access his port. This is the toughest part on him. Sometimes just the sight of this tray can make him feel sick.
A special needle is used to access the port. It looks like a glorified thumb tack. I guess I didn't really get a good angle with the pic. I was trying to hurry before she started using the stuff. The nurse wears gloves. There's like a cotton swab on a stick that the nurse rubs around Jacob's port to sanitize the area. He doesn't like the pressure. I imagine his skin kind of gets pinched between the swab and the port. Jacob has to sit up real tall and poke his chest out. The nurse feels the port and pushes the needle through his skin and into the port. They fill up the tubes with blood for his tests. Jacob often helps to fill up the tubes. He detaches them from the access and hands them to the nurse. Then the nurse "flushes" the line by pushing saline through the tube. Finally is the part that has gotten increasingly worse for Jacob - the heprin. He is REALLY grossed out by the smell. I've encouraged him to plug his nose. We've also brough hard candies for him to suck on. That seems to help some.
Now the blood is sent to the lab to get counts and we WAIT. On this day we left the clinic and drove to Denny's Diner for a brunch date. Jacob ordered lemonade and alien pancakes.
Even after our labs came back saying that Jake's counts were good enough for chemo, the doctor wasn't back from tumor board over at the hospital. They got WAY backed up with patients which meant LOADS if waiting for everyone.
At 4:32 p.m. we were finally brought back to Exam Room 6. We've spent most of our visits in this room. Jacob was bored and started to fiddle around with the equipment. He even started to drift into the hall to play with the height measurement thingy. Then he was playing video games again.
I took picture to show his new set of lashes that are about half way in. His eyebrows are growing back too. Starting from the insides and spreading across. His new hairs are quite blond and oh so soft.
Dr. Mathias checks his eyes, ears, belly, scar, etc. She observes his hands and feet and accesses the neuropathy. I know she felt very hurried on this day, but she still took sufficient time with Jacob and even paused for a photo with him.
Another thing about Room 6 - this was where we first sat down with Dr. Mathias. This is where she confirmed what Dr. Chamberlain had said - it's Rhabdomyosarcoma. She listed off the tests that we'd need, mentioned that we needed to be admitted to the hospital for a line and to start chemo. I'm sure we looked dumbfounded sitting there. We didn't even know what questions to ask. We didn't get a thorough overview of the chemo regime until we were in the hospital surrounded by a social worker, and nurse instructor. It was a Wednesday. The first of many Wednesdays that revolved around cancer.
At 4:55 p.m. Dr. Mathias wrote the orders for chemo. Jacob had gotten bored of playing DS in the waiting area, so we were allowed to come back to the Infusion Room where they have a GameCube and assortment of games.
FINALLY, at 5:39 p.m. we were brought back in for chemo. This is what the tray line up looks like. The ones with blue lids are saline for flushing the line. The green lids are the two chemos. First the Vincristine and then the bright orange potion is the Dactinomycin. There are flushes in between. Finally with the yellow cap is the heprin. Then the needle is pulled out and a cotton ball and bandaid go on top.
Arrive at clinic at 10:03 a.m. Mom takes pictures of Jacob with all the hats and goodie bags that we brought from our friends to donate to the reward closet at the clinic. Then we make our way to the basement to the pediatric hematology/oncology offices.
Mom checks Jacob in, pays the $20 copay, and asks for numbing cream. Jacob spreads cream on the skin above his port and puts a bandaid on top. It takes about 30 minutes for the area to numb. Jacob is highly sensitive to tapes and adhesives, so we try to avoid using them. Jacob settles right into his DS game & I pull out my Twilight novel (I don't remember which one I was on).
At 10:41 Jacob is taken back to record his vitals. He weighs about 75 pounds which is down 6 from where he started back in July. They check his blood pressure and measure his height.
We bring his file & all his name labels down to the lab. They are way backed up, so they send us back to the waiting area.
Usually Jacob gets to play video games for the better part of his clinic days. We try to worry about homework before he goes or the days surrounding clinic day. We've also added some reading time, but it's hard to enforce. Jacob really likes to escape into his games and forget he's at the clinic.
At 11:54 a.m. we are brought back to access his port. This is the toughest part on him. Sometimes just the sight of this tray can make him feel sick.
A special needle is used to access the port. It looks like a glorified thumb tack. I guess I didn't really get a good angle with the pic. I was trying to hurry before she started using the stuff. The nurse wears gloves. There's like a cotton swab on a stick that the nurse rubs around Jacob's port to sanitize the area. He doesn't like the pressure. I imagine his skin kind of gets pinched between the swab and the port. Jacob has to sit up real tall and poke his chest out. The nurse feels the port and pushes the needle through his skin and into the port. They fill up the tubes with blood for his tests. Jacob often helps to fill up the tubes. He detaches them from the access and hands them to the nurse. Then the nurse "flushes" the line by pushing saline through the tube. Finally is the part that has gotten increasingly worse for Jacob - the heprin. He is REALLY grossed out by the smell. I've encouraged him to plug his nose. We've also brough hard candies for him to suck on. That seems to help some.
Now the blood is sent to the lab to get counts and we WAIT. On this day we left the clinic and drove to Denny's Diner for a brunch date. Jacob ordered lemonade and alien pancakes.
Even after our labs came back saying that Jake's counts were good enough for chemo, the doctor wasn't back from tumor board over at the hospital. They got WAY backed up with patients which meant LOADS if waiting for everyone.
At 4:32 p.m. we were finally brought back to Exam Room 6. We've spent most of our visits in this room. Jacob was bored and started to fiddle around with the equipment. He even started to drift into the hall to play with the height measurement thingy. Then he was playing video games again.
I took picture to show his new set of lashes that are about half way in. His eyebrows are growing back too. Starting from the insides and spreading across. His new hairs are quite blond and oh so soft.
Dr. Mathias checks his eyes, ears, belly, scar, etc. She observes his hands and feet and accesses the neuropathy. I know she felt very hurried on this day, but she still took sufficient time with Jacob and even paused for a photo with him.
Another thing about Room 6 - this was where we first sat down with Dr. Mathias. This is where she confirmed what Dr. Chamberlain had said - it's Rhabdomyosarcoma. She listed off the tests that we'd need, mentioned that we needed to be admitted to the hospital for a line and to start chemo. I'm sure we looked dumbfounded sitting there. We didn't even know what questions to ask. We didn't get a thorough overview of the chemo regime until we were in the hospital surrounded by a social worker, and nurse instructor. It was a Wednesday. The first of many Wednesdays that revolved around cancer.
At 4:55 p.m. Dr. Mathias wrote the orders for chemo. Jacob had gotten bored of playing DS in the waiting area, so we were allowed to come back to the Infusion Room where they have a GameCube and assortment of games.
FINALLY, at 5:39 p.m. we were brought back in for chemo. This is what the tray line up looks like. The ones with blue lids are saline for flushing the line. The green lids are the two chemos. First the Vincristine and then the bright orange potion is the Dactinomycin. There are flushes in between. Finally with the yellow cap is the heprin. Then the needle is pulled out and a cotton ball and bandaid go on top.
10 Hours for 3 1/2 Minutes of Chemo
WOW!!!! That was a L-O-N-G day at the clinic. We headed to Loma Linda at 8 a.m. He didn't get his blood draw until nearly 11 a.m. The chemo is count dependent, so we had to wait for labs to come back before he could get his chemo. The good part of the morning is that I was able to see several of my clinic/hospital friends, other moms with cancer kids. Seems like we were all there for a long haul.
Today we delivered the Santa hats that our friends at church donated and the Rudolph goodie bags. Jacob looked like Santa with the bag slung over his shoulder. That helped the day feel more Merry. I also took my camera, so we could record where we go each week. Jacob has been writing "His Story" about cancer with Liz. I thought it would be good to have images of what he's been going through. He didn't really want pics of the port accessed, but agreed that he should save them to show his kids or his brother.
I was really proud of him. He really was a good sport. He was a little sluggish when it was time to walk to the room to access his port saying, "I'm never going to be ready to go." But he went ready or not. When the nurse said it was time, Jacob took a big breathe and stuck his chest way out. I think he's so brave for doing this each week.
Jacob & I enjoyed a nice sit-down lunch at Denny's Diner. Jacob ordered alien pancakes. I didn't think he would eat all 3 pancakes, 2 sausages, & 2 strips of bacon. But he did PLUS my 2 strips of bacon and 1/2 a pancake. He also enjoyed an icy glass of lemonade.
His labs game back after a couple of hours, but the doctors didn't come back from the hospital and tumor board meeting. The clinic got way backed up with patients and no doctors. I secretly thought, "well, at least if we have to wait a few more hours for chemo, he'll have time to digest and keep some of that food."
Dr. Mathias was kind and thorough when she returned. I know she had to be rushed, but she let us snap a pic (I'll share those another day). Then we had to wait for the chemo orders to get ready. Thankfully we waited in the infusion room, so Jacob could play the GameCube for a while.
He didn't get his chemo that only takes about 3 minutes to administer until 4:45 p.m.
After our long day, we went to the Pharmacy to get Jacob's newest favorite: Whatchamacallit.
I found this candy bar a couple weeks ago and bought one. I remember the entire commercial from my youth:
Hey, what ya eatin?
A Whatchamacallit
What-do-you-call-it?
A Whatchamacallit
I mean - what's it's name.
I told you the name.
Did not.
Did too.
You said, "Whatchamacallit."
That's right.
Today we delivered the Santa hats that our friends at church donated and the Rudolph goodie bags. Jacob looked like Santa with the bag slung over his shoulder. That helped the day feel more Merry. I also took my camera, so we could record where we go each week. Jacob has been writing "His Story" about cancer with Liz. I thought it would be good to have images of what he's been going through. He didn't really want pics of the port accessed, but agreed that he should save them to show his kids or his brother.
I was really proud of him. He really was a good sport. He was a little sluggish when it was time to walk to the room to access his port saying, "I'm never going to be ready to go." But he went ready or not. When the nurse said it was time, Jacob took a big breathe and stuck his chest way out. I think he's so brave for doing this each week.
Jacob & I enjoyed a nice sit-down lunch at Denny's Diner. Jacob ordered alien pancakes. I didn't think he would eat all 3 pancakes, 2 sausages, & 2 strips of bacon. But he did PLUS my 2 strips of bacon and 1/2 a pancake. He also enjoyed an icy glass of lemonade.
His labs game back after a couple of hours, but the doctors didn't come back from the hospital and tumor board meeting. The clinic got way backed up with patients and no doctors. I secretly thought, "well, at least if we have to wait a few more hours for chemo, he'll have time to digest and keep some of that food."
Dr. Mathias was kind and thorough when she returned. I know she had to be rushed, but she let us snap a pic (I'll share those another day). Then we had to wait for the chemo orders to get ready. Thankfully we waited in the infusion room, so Jacob could play the GameCube for a while.
He didn't get his chemo that only takes about 3 minutes to administer until 4:45 p.m.
After our long day, we went to the Pharmacy to get Jacob's newest favorite: Whatchamacallit.
I found this candy bar a couple weeks ago and bought one. I remember the entire commercial from my youth:
Hey, what ya eatin?
A Whatchamacallit
What-do-you-call-it?
A Whatchamacallit
I mean - what's it's name.
I told you the name.
Did not.
Did too.
You said, "Whatchamacallit."
That's right.
P.S. Thanks to Judy & Melissa for watching my kids all day. Thanks also to Sara for driving the preschool BOTH ways & other friend Sara for getting James at school. How could I be away all day without you?!!!
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