Clinic day

The day started off with such promise. Peyton’s appointment was at 8:30 and our goal was to get in first and get out quick. They were seriously busy today with the holiday backup and had 3 spinal taps scheduled for morning.

Thanks to awesome friends, we left on time with EMLA all over Peyton…chest for her port access, back for her spinal tap and her leg for the flu shot. We got to the clinic to find out that the machine that processes all the blood for counts has gone on strike and everything is being sent to the hospital…then we find out that the pharmacist is running way behind…Peyton has eaten/drank nothing since bedtime the night before and she finally got her spinal tap at 11:30.

Poor kid was just miserable with hunger and thirst, but she was a trooper and got through the spinal procedure…she had the movie Hairspray in her goggles and she sang through the whole thing…like a drunk Irishman, it was great! She even managed through the flu shot in the leg….but when we de-accessed her port it bled quite a bit and the nurse Lisa had to put pressure on it to get it to stop. After having needles stuck all over your body, one would think pressing a piece of gauze to your skin would be a no problem kind of thing.

But it was the straw that broke my sweet little camel’s back. She was so angry and grumpy and covered in orange Cheetos crumbs and she just cried and cried for the longest time. We finally got out of the clinic around 12:45 and I took her straight to Olive Garden as a reward for a rough clinic day completed. Pete brought the other two kids up to meet us and we had such a nice lunch together, it’s just awesome to have him HOME!!!!

As I went to put her back in her carseat and head home, she started to cry and rub her head. She was so achy and grumpy, which is really unusual for her. Honestly, I guess I’ve gotten spoiled to the fact that she normally just takes off at full speed after these procedures, but today she got whammied in a big way. She whined that her back ached and her head hurt and I got her home and down for a nap with hopes that after a full belly and a good sleep, she’d feel better.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. As soon as she woke up and sat up in the bed, she started wailing and then screaming in pain. Her head was the cause of the pain. This is new to us, but I’ve heard of some kids that suffer through spinal headaches following an LP and it takes anywhere from 24-48 hours to subside. Luckily, the clinic called at just that time with results from her CBS (which were perfect, regardless of the bruising I’ve been watching obsessively) and I was able to talk to the nurse about the headache.

There really isn’t anything that can be done, so I just gave her a heavy dose of pain medication and had her lie flat for as long as she could stand it. After her meds kicked in she was up and going at Peyton speed, but I could tell that she was pretty achy and she kept rubbing her head. However, she is so funny when she's high as a kite! She would even lay her little head on my lap and tell me she was tired. So pitiful tonight. I gave her another dose of pain meds with her nightly chemo and hopefully she’ll have a peaceful night’s sleep and feel much improved in the AM.

My Christmas tree came down today….I guess I never knew that you’re supposed to keep it up until New Years. I was just thrilled that I got it down and back in the box before March. Mind you, the kids who were practically mauling each other to put the ornaments ON the tree couldn’t be bothered to help me take them OFF. Fairweather kids, I say!!

I still have receipts, my little offspring, oh yeah!

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
–Anissa