Bone Marrow Aspiration No. 3

     John and I took Everett to Childrens yesterday (May 24) for his 3rd of countless bone marrow aspirations.  Everett wasn't allowed to eat after midnight Monday and couldn't have anything to drink after 10 am yesterday morning, which might not have been so bad except his appointment wasn't until 1:30.  I'm sure Everett must have been starving and thirsty, but he's such a trooper...he only asked me for something to eat once, and after I explained that he had to go to the hospital for a test and that he couldn't eat or drink until Mindy (his favorite nurse) said it was okay, he never asked again.  I was expecting tears and pleading from him for snacks and milk, but as usual, he just did what we asked him to do, without even a little bit of fighting on his part. 

     The bone marrow aspiration went well and took less than 15 minutes from start to finish.  John and I were allowed to stay in the room with Everett while the doctors and nurses did the procedure.  I told myself before they started that I would NOT get upset, that if Everett could go through the procedure without tears, so could I.  I probably would have been okay, but when the doctor started to insert the needle to collect the bone marrow, Everett lifted his whole body up toward the doctor, and the very thought that maybe he was aware of what was going on and could feel pain, sent me over the edge.  The doctor said they would give him a little break and they gave him more sedative to be sure he was under, and the rest of the procedure was smooth sailing.

     It took quite awhile for Everett to wake up from the sedation and when he did wake up he was feeling pretty nauseous.  The nurse gave him some zofran to help settle his belly, but that didn't seem to do the trick.  They gave him ativan as a second try, and that seemed to work, so they let us leave the hospital around 5:30.  We were going to grab dinner (since John and I hadn't eaten all day either) and then head home, but never even made it into the restaurant before Everett got sick again.  We decided to grab drive through and get Everett home ASAP.  We were almost home when Everett started saying he didn't feel good.  We got him home and he seemed okay, until he threw up all over himself and the kitchen floor.  Thankfully, that was his last episode and he slept soundly all night.

     We hope to have the results of the bone marrow aspiration this Friday, and we are saying our prayers that Everett is still in remission. The doctors are hopeful and said that they expect nothing but good news.  When your child has leukemia, the hope for continued negative bone marrow tests is one of the things that keeps you going.  It's the reason you allow doctors to pump poisons into your child.  It's the thing you hold on to when you don't feel strong enough. 

Val