Well he finally finished cycle 1 – whoo hoo and he was all set to start Cycle 2.  His methotrexate levels dropped to 0.8 on the Wednesday but there was no point in leaving for the day as he had his new PICC line appointment at 11am.  I had gone down the night before and left the LO with her grandparents and I went in to be with him through the procedure again.

New PICC

He really wasnt looking forward to having the new line put in but to be able to have the next bit of treatment he really needed it.  Also after all the trouble they had been having finding a vein for blood and inserting the canulas it really was the only option.  Though saying that the PICC nurse also said if there was an issue and they couldn’t find a decent vein for the PICC to go in or he had another problem with it there was actually another option.  A block would be inserted underneath the skin in his arm with a line like the PICC.  However for that it would need to be done by a doctor and under anesthetic and at another hospital.  Though it did relax him a little knowing the PICC wasnt the be all and end all, if there were more complications.

The nurse said she would try 1 attempt on his right arm a) as it was the opposite to his crutch but b)because it had been the one used before if she couldn’t find a decent vein and achieve success with that one then there was little point trying to find another and it would be much easier to try his left arm.

She did find a vein in the right arm and it was her normally prefered vein to use.  It all seemed to be going pretty well until she tried to feed through the PICC line she couldn’t get the last third in, every time she adjusted my husband’s arm and tried different ways of easing it in it would stick at the same point.  In the end we all decided that it just wasnt going to happen so he was cleaned up and we all shifted places and we swapped round for her to have a go on the left arm.  She soon found a really good fat vein and started again.  Practically at the same point again the guideline seemed to get stuck – we were really put out for a bit so she decided to enter the vein slightly further up and with a bit of wiggling and persistence she managed to feed it into the vein and the PICC line soon followed with little problem.

If your interested in the specifics the length is 4cm more on the left apparently so height x3 divided by 10 plus 4.  And that gives you the length between where it needs to finish and the inside of your elbow. Just need to minus the distance from the inner elbow to where the incision is and that gives you the length of line needed.

Anyway to check it was in the correct position he was then taken to X-Ray, we had thought it was about 1-1.30pm but we just happened to ask the porter what the time was it was 2.02pm  Eek I had to get back to the in-laws to pick up Mia by half past as they had an appointment.  I left the husband on his way to X-Ray and ran off to the car.

Once I had her, we went back to the hospital for the normal visiting time.  The PICC line had bent back on itself the last cm though the nurse was hoping if he sat up straight and with some deep breathing it might actually correct itself and no fiddling would need to be done Thursday morning.   As he was to start Cycle 2 Thursday morning and had to be there for 9.30 he had already decided to stay in, so I drove home Wednesday night.  I left him in a really positive mood, he was happy the PICC was back in and everything was finally going well.

More delay

Blood taken on the Thursday morning revealed that various levels were too low to start the chemotherapy.  They said if they did start it would probably kill him.  So most definitely not a good idea.  One good thing was the PICC line had righted itself so no adjustment needed. However I had to travel back to Clatterbridge to go and pick him up as they were letting him go home for 4 days.  My husband was overjoyed.  He kept saying to the nurses I know I’m actually potentially really ill and prone to infections right now but I’m so glad to be going home.  The LO and I were really pleased to be getting him home for a while too, though I had planned to clean and tidy out some clutter before he was to officially come home on the Sunday so it was now three days early so was to wait.  part of me also regretted not staying the Wednesday night as it would have saved a trip.  We had a lengthy journey home too so I was shattered by the time we got in.  Was lovely snuggling up that night it had been 3 weeks since he had last been home and then it was only for a very short while.

The weekend passed without incident. Hoorah!  He pretty much slept most of it and got his appetite back.

CYCLE 2 – FINALLY

Finally the Tuesday arrived and we got there for 11am.  He ended up back in the same bay and bed he had been in the week previous (could have left his stuff 🙂 ).  Some of the nurses were joking they were gonna start charging him rent the amount of time he has been in there recently.  Bloods were taken and we went for lunch, he had an hour before the results were to ready so we sneaked out and went to McDonald’s.  We returned just before the official visiting time so he went up to the ward while I bought a coffee from the cafe.  I went back up to the ward at the official time and they were bringing over stuff to his bed.  The blood had come back favourably and they were starting him early with hydration.  He was really relaxed and said it was so much better with the PICC in.  There was no issue about finding a vein or anything it was literally a quick fix up.  He was feeling really confident that it was going to go well.  It was all so much better this time round as we knew what was ahead this month.  Once that had finished they brought both the Cisplatin and Adriamycin over and connected him up to both.  The LO had fallen asleep so it gave us a chance to chill out and just chat.  I also stayed for nearly the full visiting.   Left a tired but positive husband and also the promise that I would be able to pick him up Thursday afternoon as everything was early.

😦

Late afternoon Wednesday the second Adriamycin hadn’t been started and it was a 24 hour treatment..  The later it started the more it put back the time I coud pick him up Thursday.  It ended up late in the evening so he decided as he knew he would be feeling sick and also it would be late for the LO that it would be better for me to get him friday morning. I wasnt happy and the LO had been looking for him for two days and calling out Daddy every morning and night, it meant we would have to wait another day to see him.  It was all going so well, but it was only Day 2 of Cycle 2 and if last month was to go by the fact we had gone 2 days without something rotten that was a bonus.  Though to look on the bright side nothing was actually wrong or a complication it was just a slight delay.  On the Thursday we decided after we picked him up we would go via his parents to give the LO a leg stretch from her car seat and me a break from driving.  When he spoke to his dad to tell him, his dad offered to pick him up so it meant I only had to go their house saving me half an hour driving, a few miles of petrol and also the tunnel Toll for both directions.

He was feeling a little sick when I spoke to him the Thursday afternoon but no different to the first month and was looking forward to hopefully 18 days at home, barring no complications like last time.  The LO was also really happy to hear his voice on the phone and managed to talk to him with the limited words she knows.

I had also had a succesful morning – I had an appointment at our local CancerCare centre, the district nurse had told me about it a few weeks back.  They offered a load of different services and activities that are available to me and the husband.  Ranging from counselling and hypnotherapy to massage to activity groups like Arts and Crafts/Woodwork and also a Walking group.  After a good discussion I decided to register for Aromatherapy massage.  The whole idea was for me to get some “me” time.  At the moment I just seem to be rushing about constantly doing stuff for the LO, the husband or work.  I really fancied joining the Silver jewelry group and making that but I do crafty stuff and needlework at home when I have the time, so I wanted something different and a way to relax and basically do nothing for a change.  rather than do what I want it was more of chosing something I needed.  I’m not one for having pampering and things like that so im sort of looking forward to it and seeing what it can do for me.