July 20
One more backpack weekend complete! Ally did really well with the backpack this weekend. We didn’t have pump alarm issues this time, but we did have a pump scare. Saturday morning before the nurse came to change Allyson’s bag from chemo to IV fluid, Brad just happened to check the bag and pump. Usually, the pump signals when there’s just a few ml’s of fluid left in the bag. Well, it didn’t signal…When we checked the pump earlier in the morning, the pump said there was more fluid in the bag than we thought should be left…when we calcalcated the amount of time the pump said we had left (something like three more hours), we knew that was not right. Brad checked the bag..it was empty (it had to have just finished) and the pump was pumping air through the line…air was through about three quarters of the line. We shut the pump off until the nurse got there. Basically she told us it was a good thing we’d turned the pump off! Thank GOD we checked the bag when we did. It could be dangerous if the pump kept pumping air into Allyson’s veins!
Other than that scare, we were fine and Allyson did great. She did NOT sleep well at all the entire time she was hooked up (Thursday night - Sunday evening). She tossed and turned every night. Last night, her alarm signaled - just a kink in the line. Once I got it straightened out, it was fine. She also woke up with the IV tubing around her back and couldn’t get fix it on her own. She sat up and told me, “I stuck!” - I also got no sleep either. I just can’t sleep at all when she tosses and turns. I worry so much about the IV tubing, and I don’t like for her to be uncomfortable.
We were able to unhook her this evening around 7p.m. after the last dose of the “rescue drug”. Freedom (for all of us) once again! I am hoping she’ll sleep better this evening. She’s got a bit of drainage going on right now and it settles at night and causes her to cough. Let’s just hope that doesn’t keep her up tonight.
Benjamin is cutting three of his eye teeth right now. (We knew it…he was “cutting teeth crabby”.) The tips have just broken the skin. When these come in, he’ll have all his front teeth. All he needs to cut now are his two year molars. I am not looking forward to that at all. If he knew that was coming, I’m sure he’d say the same. — He’s discovered books now. YEAH! I’ve been waiting for that to happen. He’s still not really interested in reading a whole book. He loves to look through them and turn the pages. He’ll sit in front of the toy bins now and pull some out and look for though them. He LOVES to grab one and back himself into my lap (or anyone else’s for that matter) and flip through it.
Another busy week is on the horizon. We go in Monday to have the dressing on her PICC line changed. Tuesday - THursday, Ally has therapy. Friday, back to the doc’s for chemo. We’re hoping maybe next week or the week after she’ll be able to get her new port put back in. The PICC line has worked well for her, but I’ll be glad when it’s not hanging from her arm anymore.