well, e got his first infusion yesterday. i have got to say that emla cream is nothing short of amazing. we have had some toruble with the nurse that was supposed to come out here, so i took him to st. joe's until we can find someone that is on board with the way we choose to access his port. when it was time to lay him on the table he got really nervous...he knows that usually means a lot of poking to get an iv in. plus, there was a nurse (that he has never met before) holding him down with her "hug" and she was wearing a mask. we were soon able to distract his apprehension and anxiety by singing "head, shoulder, knees and toes" and he didn't even notice when sara accessed his port with the needle. in fact, he didn't notice she was doing anything at all. it was great.
now i just need to get comfortable with all of this so that i can go ahead and start giving him the infusions.
2.19.2009
2.07.2009
port surgery went really well!
i was pretty nervous before e's surgery. i think it was the thought of my child having to be put out. and the fact that he was being cut open. and he just happens to have this disorder that keeps him from clotting well. so, yeah...cutting him open was frightening. however small the cut was, it was still cutting him open to me and that was unsettling, to say the least.
i got evan to the hospital at 8. his procedure was at 11, but he needed to be there early for an infusion. they also wanted to take his factor level an hour after the infusion, but before the surgery itself, so that they knew he was alright. that's a great idea in theory, but evan has got some of the hardest veins to find. so we ended up with two pokes by the nurses, then called in the iv team (i live mani...she's awesome). but even she had trouble with him and had to poke him twice. we finally got him infused, at 10:15. so it didn't quite leave an hour before the procedure (and lab time) to get the factor level back. it was decided we would go ahead and take a level after 15 minutes.
well, in an effort not to blow e's iv that had been put in his hand, they needed to find another vein to get the blood from. this time, it was the foot. this poor kid. mani got a little cathedar in him and was planning to milk him like a cow to get the blood to come out into the tube. but (in a strange irony) his blood clotted right away and we couldn't get the blood. the hemotologist tok that as a good sign and gave the ok for him to go ahead with the procedure.
***side note for other hemo parents, e's usual dose is 500 IU, but for this we had to go with 750.
the actual procedure itself took just about an hour. it was weird not being able to be with him. even though he was asleep and wouldn't have known if i were there or not. dr. coughlin (the surgeon) came in to tell michael and i that he did great and that we could go back to see him soon. when we got back there he was waking up from anesthesia and was crabby. but he drank juice right away and ate some graham crackers. he was connected to a bag of saline, as he would need fluids for the next 24 hours just to make sure he has enough in his body.
about thirty minutes or so after we went back to see him, we were moved to our room in the children's hospital. we stayed there for two nights, and were able to go home at 8pm on friday night. it was really nice to be home.
now we're on to the next part of this port...which is actually using it. e will start his prophy treatment around 02.18 or so. a nurse from hemophlia of the sunshine state has already come to the house to show michael and i how to use the port on a mannequin. we'll start the prophy treatment with a home nurse, and then transition to me doing them. i never in a million years thought i would be sticking my own child with a needle.
and here are a few pictures from our stay at st. joe's. i feel funny making posts without pictures. so here they are.
i got evan to the hospital at 8. his procedure was at 11, but he needed to be there early for an infusion. they also wanted to take his factor level an hour after the infusion, but before the surgery itself, so that they knew he was alright. that's a great idea in theory, but evan has got some of the hardest veins to find. so we ended up with two pokes by the nurses, then called in the iv team (i live mani...she's awesome). but even she had trouble with him and had to poke him twice. we finally got him infused, at 10:15. so it didn't quite leave an hour before the procedure (and lab time) to get the factor level back. it was decided we would go ahead and take a level after 15 minutes.
well, in an effort not to blow e's iv that had been put in his hand, they needed to find another vein to get the blood from. this time, it was the foot. this poor kid. mani got a little cathedar in him and was planning to milk him like a cow to get the blood to come out into the tube. but (in a strange irony) his blood clotted right away and we couldn't get the blood. the hemotologist tok that as a good sign and gave the ok for him to go ahead with the procedure.
***side note for other hemo parents, e's usual dose is 500 IU, but for this we had to go with 750.
the actual procedure itself took just about an hour. it was weird not being able to be with him. even though he was asleep and wouldn't have known if i were there or not. dr. coughlin (the surgeon) came in to tell michael and i that he did great and that we could go back to see him soon. when we got back there he was waking up from anesthesia and was crabby. but he drank juice right away and ate some graham crackers. he was connected to a bag of saline, as he would need fluids for the next 24 hours just to make sure he has enough in his body.
about thirty minutes or so after we went back to see him, we were moved to our room in the children's hospital. we stayed there for two nights, and were able to go home at 8pm on friday night. it was really nice to be home.
now we're on to the next part of this port...which is actually using it. e will start his prophy treatment around 02.18 or so. a nurse from hemophlia of the sunshine state has already come to the house to show michael and i how to use the port on a mannequin. we'll start the prophy treatment with a home nurse, and then transition to me doing them. i never in a million years thought i would be sticking my own child with a needle.
and here are a few pictures from our stay at st. joe's. i feel funny making posts without pictures. so here they are.
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