I was awakened at 5:30 by a HUGE clap of thunder followed by the sound of sleeting hitting the windows. The local schools were closed, the University where I work was delayed opening by 2 hours, but lil man was scheduled today for his EKG, echocardiogram, and MRI as part of the baseline tests before he starts chemo. Enter SuperDad to the rescue (actually it was a matter of I just asked Robert to drive us so I didn't have to drive in it).
The oncologist wanted to get a baseline MRI so Alex could be followed with MRIs instead of CTs and significantly cut his radiation exposure. I was all set and ready for a really long day as his MRI was scheduled for 3:30. Children's does MRIs for the kids under sedation so they can get a good study. Honestly, if I knew I was going to have an hour long study where I had to hold perfectly still, I think I would want to be out! Anesthesia meant no food after 5 AM (so really, last night) and we could have clear liquids until 11 AM. I was not looking forward to this. To say I was happy when MRI called right as we were getting ready to leave and asked if we would like to come in earlier (they'd had cancellations) would be an understatement. I believe my comment to the lady was "Oh thank God!". So instead of hanging around waiting until 1 PM to check in for his MRI, we were instructed to come straight down from his echo/EKG and check in.
The echo and EKG went just fine. Alex's port is right over the "best" window for seeing part of his heart, but the tech worked around it. For his MRI, they give laughing gas to put the kids to sleep before they start the IV. The anesthesiologist explained that she does not like using the port since it is a central line and the risk of infection is higher (and he really needs it for the chemotherapy). Robert arrived on his lunch break just in time to carry Alex back to the scan. Total scan time was 1.5 hours and it took lil man about 30 minutes to wake up enough to be discharged afterwards. He devoured FOUR graham crackers in recovery and was double fisting it on the way out with two more.
We start chemo tomorrow with a check in time of 9:30. My supervisor and section chief have basically informed me that if I need to work at home/in the evenings/on weekends to do whatever I need to do. My section chief is really concerned that Alex won't tolerate being in daycare while on chemo. So the plan is to just play it by ear right now. I will say that the lady who keeps Alex is pretty darned awesome and already has someone to temporarily fill the Friday's he is gone while on chemo. That savings of one day a week is going to add up big time over the course of this treatment and we'll take every bit of savings we can.
No promises on an update tomorrow. It will all depend on how Alex reacts to the chemo.
Terri
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