Clinic last Friday 10-21-11

Friday was our third clinic visit. We’ll be going once a week for chemotherapy for the next 6-8 months or so. When we first get there we do the normal doctors visits stuff: height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, etc. etc.

Here’s Jacob getting his blood pressure taken. He used to hate this, sometimes he would scream. Now he’s pretty much a pro. He's used to the thing that “gives his arm a hug.”

Can you tell how puffy his face is getting? That’s from the steroid he’s on. He’s got a round little belly too, though you can’t really see it in this photo.

We try to bring things for Jacob to do while we’re there. This is him putting together his newest Star Wars Lego set. He really impressed the nurse with how he can put these things together. She asked, “have you done this one before?” Nope, but he has done several other Star Wars Legos. And Dad was there to help.

After they check his vitals it’s time to access his port. ‘Port’ is short for Port-a-Cath, or “portal catheter.” It’s a central venous access device, which basically is a way to put things into his blood, or to draw his blood without having to do the traditional IV each time. It’s a device surgically implanted into his chest and it’s totally under his skin. They just poke into it and they can do what they need to do.

I don’t know if I explained that very well. Here’s the Wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.

So on Friday, they drew blood to do the weekly test and gave him his chemo. It was just a syringe full of Vincristine. It just took a minute or two to put his chemo in. He didn’t have to go under this time for any back pokes or bone marrow draws. That was a relief (this week).

Here we are ready to leave. He wears a mask going through the hospital; “lots of sick people come here,” says the nurse.

On our way to the car he wanted to stop and watch a butterfly. Normally, or previously—I guess I should say—this is not the kind of thing that I would let my kids do for long. You know, ‘places to go, people to see,’ blah, blah, blah. But we hung out and watched that butterfly for quite some time. Then we went to Panda Express for lunch. His new favorite.

Clinic stats:

Height: 40.2” (or 3 feet, 4 inches or 102 cm however you want to measure it)

Weight: 39.6 lbs. (17.8 k) That’s my boy! I guess it’s mostly water though…

ANC: 2.0 (Absolute Neutrophil Count, this amounts to his ability to fight infection. Regular counts in you and & I are 5.0 to 10.0. But 2.0 is good for Jacob; When it gets to .5 he has very little infection fighting ability. Last week he was at .5).

HCT: 27.1 (Hematocrit, basically red blood cells—they’re the ones that carry oxygen. Typical levels in a non-cancer patient are in the 40’s I think. If he gets below 25 he’ll need another blood transfusion).

PLT: 136 (Platelets, they clot your blood. This is a good number for him; I dunno much more than that)