Monday, April 14 through Friday, April 18

This week we are in clinic every day for Eric to receive IV treatment. At least we are able to do it as outpatient and at least its a beautiful week to be in the car. I asked for mid-day appointments since its a quick treatment and that way we won't have to fight traffic either way. 

Monday, Day 1 of 5:

Traffic was great and we ended up at the hospital quite early so decided to look for our own parking instead of valeting, even though it was mid-day. However, we got a spot in the first row! It's one of my favourite spots because it's closer to the building and it's tucked a little so people don't realize it's there. (Who has favourite parking spots at the hospital?!?!) As we headed into the building we learned that April is dental health month. There were balloons and a poster informing us. But then also a large table of very friendly people who waved us over and gave Eric a Minions toothbrush and some toothpaste and a shark sticker about brushing. They also had an enclosed area for a quick check up but we declined that. Next we headed upstairs and noticed the family lounge had the cutest cookies. We stopped in and got to meet Rachel of Mighty Warriors Foundation, an organization that she founded after noticing a lack of mental health support for caregivers. The cookies had been donated to the foundation by Canela Sweets, a home baker in Port Coquitlam. They were super cute and delicious! Eric shared with me ;) 

We went to check in and were still 10 minutes early. Unfortunately, there was no room available! We waited until about 12:15 before getting a room, and not a minute too soon; Eric was just starting to get whiny about waiting. He got his port accessed and was given IV anti-nauseant and then his IV chemo. It's a super short infusion - 20 min for the anti nauseant and only 10 min for the chemo, but there was a lot of waiting so we were there about 2 hours. His Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Clinician did stop by and give him a quick once over, since we were just there Friday. His bloodwork showed his platelets had held from the transfusion Friday. Platelet count was 35; not high enough to heal all his existing bruises, but high enough he didn't need a transfusion. Luckily we got out early enough that traffic was still reasonable. We were home around 3pm on a lovely day, but we don't really have anything planned for this week since attending the hospital everyday uses up a lot of our mental bandwidth each day. Eric didn't even go to swimming lessons since he will have his port accessed for the week. He is not looking forward to sleeping with it accessed, but its much nicer than having an access daily in a spot made tender from the previous day. 

Eric started his oral therapy this evening as well; day 1 of 28. 

Tuesday, Day 2 of 5:

Not quite as early this time, even with no toothbrushes or cookies to distract us on the way. Luckily this time there was a room available for us upon arrival. We got the first room on the unit which is adjacent to a patio with the cutest mama and baby bear statue. 

This should have been a very quick visit with no bloodwork, no check up by doctor or nurse practitioner, and since Eric was already accessed. Our nurse did get the anti nauseant started pretty quickly, but then she got busy with something else and we had to wait about a half hour for the chemo to start. Even with all that waiting, we were only about an hour and 20 minutes, which is much faster than our regular clinic visits these days, and we were home before 2:30pm. It was a fairly uneventful day, which is a good thing; though Eric's dinner (tacos) did make him feel a bit nauseous. 

Wednesday, Day 3 of 5: 

Eric's port site is getting itchy under his dressing and we still have 3 days left, eek! Eric asked for an Ondans (anti-nauseant) in the morning before going to the hospital, rather than having it by IV at the hospital. Since he had the anti-nauseant in the morning, he only needed the chemo infusion which is just 10 minutes, but we were there for 1.5 hours. Lots of waiting! The chemo does only have a one hour expiry so the pharmacy doesn't makes it until the nurse calls. Eric's platelets were down to 15; however, since we are back every day, we are able to wait until Thursday and have the platelets pre-ordered so it goes faster. 

After the hospital, Eric finished building the Hungarian Horntail Lego set that Kristina, Child Life Specialist, gave him at the hospital last Friday when he was getting platelets. It is a very cool set; its wings actually go up and down!

Thursday, Day 4 of 5:

Chuck was able to take Eric to clinic today so that I could go see the Renaissance Fair and Joel's project on Shakespeare at his school. Unfortunately, last day before the holiday and clinic was packed. They had to wait 30 min for a room and then ended up with a room with an exam table, not a cot, just so they could get started instead of waiting another 30 minutes. They did eventually get moved to a more comfortable room. Eric received his 4th dose of IV chemo plus the platelets that had been planned for the day before. It was a long day for them and they hit rush hour on the way home, but Eric came home in a great mood with the new Lego set that Kristina gave him! 

Eric's white blood cell count has been low for awhile, impairing his ability to fight infection, but steady. On Thursday his blood work showed a drop in white count and his Nurse Practitioner suggested laying low over the long weekend. Though she did tell Eric it was okay to go to White Spot for dinner on Friday like he had planned. 

Friday, Day 5 of 5:

Good Friday! The clinic is closed on holidays, so back on Monday when our week of appointments were scheduled, we were booked into the inpatient ward for a day visit. However, as the week went on, there were more and more people being booked over there and they didn't have enough room, so clinic ended up having to open on the holiday. They were open only 4 hours with a skeleton staff, but it was nice to have the consistency of clinic. We spend a lot more time at clinic than inpatient these days, and we know all the staff and they know Eric. Our appointment was at 10am after being at 11:30 or noon all week and Eric was not impressed. Of course with the holiday, traffic was great, and with so few people at clinic we were in and out in under an hour. We were only 2.5 hours door to door. It was amazing, but the best part was Eric had his port de-accessed after a week of having it accessed. He was so happy to scratch under the dressing and was more comfortable playing outside once we got home. Unfortunately, he did burn his ear lobes, even though he was only outside for 1.5 hours and had sunscreen on. Stupid meds! 

We did go to White Spot, like Eric had planned, to celebrate the end of the long week. 

Eric has been feeling fairly well all week, just with one morning dose of anti-nauseant. Fingers crossed that continues! Next appointment is Wednesday.