So you want to know how it all goes down...
So a lot of you have been asking me what exactly happens when I take Evelyn for her weekly treatments. I thought I'd take the time here to briefly explain the process:
1) Evie and Mommy arrive at SickKids and make our way to the Sears Cancer Clinic on the 8th floor. Once we're there we get to stand in line and check in with the lovely receptionists, Linda and Joan. They ensure that Evie gets "in the system" and give us her paperwork, and a fancy little yellow bracelet....which we actually put on her ankle!
2) We next move down the clinic and line up to get Evie's finger poke - this is her bloodwork, a tiny little poke on the tip of her finger, and then the blood is collected, just enough to run the appropriate bloodwork.
3) Now we wait in the clinic waiting room (which is fully equipped with numerous televisions, computers, video games, toys, and volunteers who are usually either singing or making crafts) until we hear, "Evelyn Laplante to the Blue Pod"....kind of like code for, "the Doctor is ready to see you", but then again, we're not quite there yet!
4) Once we go to the Blue Pod, we meet our nurse, Kirsten, and get our official weekly weigh in, and then move into one of the exam rooms. Here we see any number of people, it just depends on the week; fellows, social workers, nutritionists, and of course whichever doctor is in the office that week.
5) By the time we finish in the Blue Pod, we usually have the results from Evie's CBC (bloodwork). As long as they are good counts, chemotherapy is a go. That means we go back to the waiting room and wait until we hear, "Evelyn Laplante to the IV room".
6) The IV room is where the amazing nursing staff prep the child for their chemo. In Evelyn's case, she had a port*inserted in her chest shortly after diagnosis, so the nurse would be accessing her port. This is basically done by pressing a needle into the port. From there they can more easily administer medications, antibiotics, and even take bood, directly from her port. She is hooked up to an IV, receives her Bravery Beads* and off we go...
7) As Evelyn is receiving two chemotherapy drugs, Carboplatin and Vincristine, we are then moved to the "Day Hospital" (another wing on the 8th floor), and given a private hospital room to enjoy while her treatments are administered. Another nurse devoted to Evelyn comes in and administers first the Vincristine (as it is a singe syringe, referred to as a "push"), and the hooks up the Carboplatin (as it is an IV drug that is administered over 1-2hours). Once it is hooked up we are on our own, in our little room until it is done, at which point the nurse comes back, unhooks everything, and we're free to go home!
Port: a special IV line placed completely inside the body, when IV therapy is required over a long period of time. It consists of two parts, a chamber (called the port), and a thin flexible tube (called the catheter). One end of the catheter is attached to the port and the other is inserted into a large vein leading towards the heart. A port can typically stay in place for months, or even years.
Bravery Beads: This is a special program created by the Women's Auxiliary. Children are able to collect a different bead for every procedure or event incurred during their treatment at SickKids (a light blue bead for a Clinic Visit, a gold bead for a trip to the ER, a star shaped bead for Tests/Scans, etc). When finished their treatment, they will have collected a necklace (or necklaces) full of beads representing all of their accomplishments and their unique to their journey. For more information, check out www.sickkids.ca/womensauxiliary. There is also a company, Bravery Hearts, that creates unique jewelry, and the profits go towards the Bravery Beads program!
No comments:
Post a Comment