So there we were, 2 adults, and 2 kids sleeping in a queen size bed. At 5am, I was awoken by the sounds of a vomiting 4 year old. J had been picked up early from school the previous day, because he was feeling unwell. It looked like whatever bug he picked up was legit. He wouldn't be going to school that day. Luckily, my mother-in-law had spent the night to help us get J off to kindergarten so we could leave early. She would have to stay to take care of him.
We were out the door around 6:30am, and arrived at SickKids around 7:30am. It was a fairly uneventful trip. We went through the usual motions of registering, medical questions, height & weight, accessing E's port, bloodwork, and visiting the oncology team. Then, we just had to sit and wait to be called into Cujo's Room for the lumbar puncture. We were told that E would be going second that day.
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| Playing, and looking out the 8th floor window at SickKids while waiting to be called for his lumbar puncture |
The procedure for the child called first seemed to take longer than normal, and I could feel my anxiety starting to crank up while we tried to keep E still, and entertained until it was his turn. Then E's procedure seemed to be taking longer than normal. We watched while a hospital staff member walked down the hall, entered Cujo's Room, stayed a few minutes, then left. Before he walked away, he looked at us and said "don't worry, your son is fine". We looked at each-other, and wondered what that was about.
After what felt like hours, the door opened, and E was wheeled out of Cujo's Room on his recovery bed. The recovery beds are full-sized adult beds, and I always marvel at how tiny he looks when he comes out of his procedure. The nurses told us that the oncologist fellow doing the procedure had problems accessing the spinal fluid with the needle, and that they had to stop and call a more senior staff member after 3 failed punctures. There was a total of 5 punctures in his back, and that he might be a little extra sore because of it. While a bit upset, I wasn't angry about this. Junior team members deserve the opportunity to learn and practice procedure, otherwise they will never advance. It wasn't done on purpose, or with malice - I don't think any oncologist in history has woken up in the morning thinking "let's seen how many unnecessary lumbar puncture pokes I can dole out today...". Younger/junior staff are the future, and they need opportunities to both succeed, and fail so that they can learn, and grow as professionals.
In the recovery room, the nurses measured E's vitals, and the anesthesiologist seemed happy with what they were saying, so that's my cue to relax. My wife sat with E, and I ran downstairs to grab a bite of lunch. I brought my food back upstairs while E slept so that my wife could run down and grab some food for herself. I briefly set my food down to snap a pic of unconscious E. I had literally just sent the pic to our family group chat to let them know the procedure had gone well, when E woke up, and woke up screaming. Having added the text "sleeping peacefully after his lumbar puncture", I think I put the whammy on myself.
He was NOT happy when he woke up. He usually wakes up a bit early, but NEVER after 15 minutes. Usually, he might wake up after 45 or 50 minutes, but never this early. E has to lie flat for an hour afterward, so that 1) he doesn't get a massive headache, and 2) the methotrexate is dispersed evenly throughout his spinal fluid, and the fluid surrounding his brain. He was still heavily under the effects of the general anesthesia, and he was not happy about it. Screaming, and crying; he was inconsolable, and nothing we tried calmed him down. He didn't want milk, he didn't want to eat. He didn't want to watch any of his favourites on YouTube. Everything we tried to give to him was swatted away by his angry little hands. Individually, we took turns lying down with him on the recovery bed, but to no avail. Finally, the solution was to sit in a chair, and hold him down while trying to soothe him. Unwillingly, E lay flat our laps until the hour was complete, and he was able to sit up again. It was exhausting both mentally, and physically. Also, as the hour ticked slowly to a close, the effects of the anesthesia started to wear off, and we could see our little E again. He became less angry, he wanted to watch YouTube, he accepted his milk, and he wanted his cookie.
He was given the same anesthetic that he received during the previous lumbar puncture. The only thing different this time was that he was also given gas. The anesthesiologist was puzzled, because the gas usually makes them sleep longer. He suggested we state "no gas" at our next procedure.
Returning home, we found that J was feeling a bit better, and that my mother-in-law had very graciously made soup. We had a healthy ready-to-eat dinner solution, and I wouldn't have to cook that night.
It had been a hard night, and day with sleeping problems, being up in the night to give milk, a vomiting 4 year old, and the upset over E waking early from his anesthesia. But, the day wasn't done with me yet. My mother called the house around 6pm with some news. My great aunt, who's had a health decline in the past couple of weeks was in the hospital. The doctors had determined that she had cancer, and that it had spread literally everywhere in her body. I'm having a lot of difficulties processing this right now, especially given that E is in treatment for leukemia. Two days later, on Friday October 5th, I received another call that she had passed away. Love you, miss you, and rest in peace, Auntie J.
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