On Thursday of last week my mom and I took Violet to the hospital for her labs (blood tests) and chemotherapy infusion. It was a difficult start to the day when the nurse went to access Violet's port. She began to cry before the nurse even started since she knew what was going to happen. My singing and her favorite toy couldn't distract her at all this time. Violet was upset and focused on what was happening to her. It was tough for all of us.
Usually, Violet recovers quickly from the port accessing and is fine while we wait for her lab results, but on this day she was just not having it. She cried and fussed for the next couple of hours. It broke our hearts. It is very rare for Violet to cry or fuss for more than a few minutes because she is just such a happy and content little girl.
We were called in to see her doctor and so we had to stop in the first room to get her vitals. Violet cried for each step: blood pressure, temperature, weight and height. She usually does not cry for these. At this point my eyes started to well up with tears. I really did not want her to feel like this through the 3.5 hours of her chemotherapy infusion. On our way to the room to meet with her doctor I took some deep breaths to regain my strength.
When her doctor arrived we went over Violet's labs. Her counts had come up, but not as much as we would have liked. Her ANC had to be at minimum 700 to start chemotherapy again and her labs showed that she was currently in the 900 range. This was much lower than her starting point last month, which we were sad about, but we were grateful that it was enough to start her treatment so there would be no delay.
While we waited for an infusion room to be ready for us my mom fed Violet and this helped to calm her. With the port access way behind her now, Violet started to relax a bit more and this made me hopeful that she wouldn't have a difficult infusion. By the time we got into the infusion room Violet's mood was improving.
I turned some cartoons on for Violet to watch as they started the chemotherapy. She was smiling now and rubbing her eyes a bit. I could tell she was tired from being upset for so long. I asked the nurse for a pillow to put under her as I held her. After about an hour or so Violet fell asleep. I think I even fell asleep for a little bit at some point.
My mom went to pick up Violet's prescriptions towards the end of the infusion. She returned with a sweet little ballerina bunny that she got Violet in the gift shop. When Violet woke up to her new bunny she was all smiles. My mom is pretty awesome. I know it was really hard for her to see Violet go through all of this. I am very grateful to her for being there with me so that I didn't have to go through it alone.
By the time that everything was done we had spent over 6 hours at the hospital. It was a long and trying day but now Violet was falling asleep in her car seat on our way home. I was so happy that our hospital day was finished but I didn't know what to expect for the night ahead. I prayed that Violet's body would handle the infusion well.
It always makes me nervous when Violet's port remains accessed for the next day (meaning the needle and line for the IV remains in her chest). For all of you that have children you know what it is like to have a 9 month old baby. They play, grab, roll and army crawl like crazy. It's a bit nerve-wracking because I have to make sure that line doesn't get pulled out.
By God's grace, Violet did very well that night. No problems whatsoever. Josh and I physically and mentally prepared for the next day at the hospital. We said a prayer together for Friday to be an easy and pain-free day for our baby girl.
Violet woke up in a great mood and we were off to the hospital. We were glad that they called us in quickly to begin the infusion so that we could get out of the waiting room area. We even got the best room (the only one that has sliding doors for privacy instead of just a curtain and a gliding chair). I turned on cartoons and dimmed the lights a bit. Josh held her and rocked her in the glider as they began the infusion. Violet was great. She played with her toys and when the infusion only had 10 minutes left she fell asleep.
When the chemotherapy session was complete the nurse came in to disconnect everything and de-access Violet's port. As she opened Violet's shirt and pulled all the tape off of her sterile dressing around her port Violet stayed asleep! She began to stir a bit and so Josh and I made the shhhh sound in her ears in an attempt to keep her napping. It worked. The nurse pulled the needle out and Violet never woke up! The nurse was pleased and amazed and Josh and I were so happy. Thank you Lord for answered prayers.
Violet continued to do well that night and over the weekend hurdle (the days expected to cause the most nausea). She only spit up once and continued to eat and drink her meals. Her coloring was pale at times, but she still had high spirits and played with her toys.
We humbly ask everyone to continue to pray for Violet. She has her next CT scan and exam under anesthesia scheduled for October 5th. The results that we will receive that day are incredibly crucial to this whole process. We will find out if the tumor has shrunk, if it is shrinking in the right way (evenly around and not caving in ... this is important for the ability to be lasered away) and if additional chemotherapy sessions will be needed. Oh how we would love for this tumor and cancer to be gone!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We praise God for the healing that we know is taking place.
Usually, Violet recovers quickly from the port accessing and is fine while we wait for her lab results, but on this day she was just not having it. She cried and fussed for the next couple of hours. It broke our hearts. It is very rare for Violet to cry or fuss for more than a few minutes because she is just such a happy and content little girl.
We were called in to see her doctor and so we had to stop in the first room to get her vitals. Violet cried for each step: blood pressure, temperature, weight and height. She usually does not cry for these. At this point my eyes started to well up with tears. I really did not want her to feel like this through the 3.5 hours of her chemotherapy infusion. On our way to the room to meet with her doctor I took some deep breaths to regain my strength.
When her doctor arrived we went over Violet's labs. Her counts had come up, but not as much as we would have liked. Her ANC had to be at minimum 700 to start chemotherapy again and her labs showed that she was currently in the 900 range. This was much lower than her starting point last month, which we were sad about, but we were grateful that it was enough to start her treatment so there would be no delay.
While we waited for an infusion room to be ready for us my mom fed Violet and this helped to calm her. With the port access way behind her now, Violet started to relax a bit more and this made me hopeful that she wouldn't have a difficult infusion. By the time we got into the infusion room Violet's mood was improving.
I turned some cartoons on for Violet to watch as they started the chemotherapy. She was smiling now and rubbing her eyes a bit. I could tell she was tired from being upset for so long. I asked the nurse for a pillow to put under her as I held her. After about an hour or so Violet fell asleep. I think I even fell asleep for a little bit at some point.
My mom went to pick up Violet's prescriptions towards the end of the infusion. She returned with a sweet little ballerina bunny that she got Violet in the gift shop. When Violet woke up to her new bunny she was all smiles. My mom is pretty awesome. I know it was really hard for her to see Violet go through all of this. I am very grateful to her for being there with me so that I didn't have to go through it alone.
By the time that everything was done we had spent over 6 hours at the hospital. It was a long and trying day but now Violet was falling asleep in her car seat on our way home. I was so happy that our hospital day was finished but I didn't know what to expect for the night ahead. I prayed that Violet's body would handle the infusion well.
It always makes me nervous when Violet's port remains accessed for the next day (meaning the needle and line for the IV remains in her chest). For all of you that have children you know what it is like to have a 9 month old baby. They play, grab, roll and army crawl like crazy. It's a bit nerve-wracking because I have to make sure that line doesn't get pulled out.
By God's grace, Violet did very well that night. No problems whatsoever. Josh and I physically and mentally prepared for the next day at the hospital. We said a prayer together for Friday to be an easy and pain-free day for our baby girl.
Violet woke up in a great mood and we were off to the hospital. We were glad that they called us in quickly to begin the infusion so that we could get out of the waiting room area. We even got the best room (the only one that has sliding doors for privacy instead of just a curtain and a gliding chair). I turned on cartoons and dimmed the lights a bit. Josh held her and rocked her in the glider as they began the infusion. Violet was great. She played with her toys and when the infusion only had 10 minutes left she fell asleep.
When the chemotherapy session was complete the nurse came in to disconnect everything and de-access Violet's port. As she opened Violet's shirt and pulled all the tape off of her sterile dressing around her port Violet stayed asleep! She began to stir a bit and so Josh and I made the shhhh sound in her ears in an attempt to keep her napping. It worked. The nurse pulled the needle out and Violet never woke up! The nurse was pleased and amazed and Josh and I were so happy. Thank you Lord for answered prayers.
Violet continued to do well that night and over the weekend hurdle (the days expected to cause the most nausea). She only spit up once and continued to eat and drink her meals. Her coloring was pale at times, but she still had high spirits and played with her toys.
We humbly ask everyone to continue to pray for Violet. She has her next CT scan and exam under anesthesia scheduled for October 5th. The results that we will receive that day are incredibly crucial to this whole process. We will find out if the tumor has shrunk, if it is shrinking in the right way (evenly around and not caving in ... this is important for the ability to be lasered away) and if additional chemotherapy sessions will be needed. Oh how we would love for this tumor and cancer to be gone!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We praise God for the healing that we know is taking place.
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