So I’ve been slacking on my writing duties so I missed the 4th & 5th rounds of chemo. For the 4th round, Tristan did well except for Sunday morning he threw up several times from the chemo. But it was early Sunday morning and we went to McDonald’s and picked him up some food and he was fine after that. But for that weekend, we were focused on getting out early for Easter on that Sunday. My brother, David and sister-in-law Becky and their kids were planning on coming over for Easter but we didn’t know what time chemo would end. The way it works is that when chemo is first administered on Friday then it’s 21 hours after that when they can start the next treatment. So we had to see when he would get his treatment on Friday to find out when we would get out for Easter. I can’t remember when we first started on Friday but our last chemo on Sunday started at 11am. On Sunday there is only 1 chemo drug being administered so it only takes an hour. We got out of the hospital at 12:30 and were able to have David & Becky and kids over. It was a great Easter. The kids ate candy for lunch/dinner and we sat around and chatted. I’m so glad we get to spend time with our close family and friends during this time. It really does help to be seeing people on a regular basis.
Tristan’s 5th and final round of hospital chemo was a week and half ago. Tristan was excited to not be in the hospital again and the time flew by. Tristan got sick again early Sunday morning but once again, once he had food in him, he felt better. I couldn’t be more grateful of how easy the chemo treatments have been. Tristan has experienced very little reactions to chemo. But we have heard that radiation is worse so we’ll see.
Since he had one last chemo treatment that was outpatient last Friday (5 days after he got out of the hospital), they decided to wait until then to ring the bell that signaled the end of chemo treatments until Friday. Both Vincent and I went to this doctors appointment since it was such a landmark occasion. It was great. He also got his PICC line pulled out. It’s crazy because it’s basically an IV to his heart that is located on his upper arm. Though we don’t use it at home, we have to clean it every day. It becomes a little bit of a pain in the butt to keep up with. Tristan was nervous about getting the PICC line taken out because he felt like he was going to feel it being taken out and that would be weird. During the appointment when it came time for it, he reached out for my hand to hold it. I love that my almost 14 year old can still reach for his mother’s hand when he gets scared. I was definitely holding back tears. But the whole process was super easy. She counted down from 3 and Tristan closed his eyes and squeezed my hand. About 3 seconds after she said “3” the PICC line was out. Tristan’s eyes were still closed so I said “Hey bud, it’s out now.”. He opened his eyes in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t feel a thing! So, thank God, he didn’t feel anything and it was a breeze.
Then it was time to ring the bell. I had tears in my eyes while the nurses sang their little song and then Tristan rang the bell 3 times. It was so great to see what Tristan has accomplished so far. It feels like January 30 was forever ago but it was only 3 months ago. It’s crazy to think it’s only been 3 months when it feels like years.
Next thing up is radiation. We’ve heard from numerous sources that radiation is tougher than chemo. So far we have 4 weeks, Monday-Friday planned. We go in this week to get everything that he needs sized out, made. He will be wearing protective gear that needs to be his exact size. He has to wear a head guard that completely covers his face. Each session that he does daily is about 45 minutes long. This part of the process will definitely be the hardest. Please pray for us. We don’t have a start date but I suspect it’ll be the end of May before we begin. I will keep everyone updated with the latest news as I get it.
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