Day 281 - Evan 2.0

     Evan is back home from this morning's surgery with minor soreness, but otherwise doing fine.  Last night during bedtime I asked Evan if he was nervous at all and he said no, in fact he was looking forward to get it over with so he could play in the water again.  It's amazing how mentally strong he has been throughout this whole ordeal.

Pre-OP.

     Cristy and Evan got to the hospital around 7:00 to get prepped and began waiting on the surgery team to call them back.  Around 9:00 he was wheeled back and Cristy got the all-clear call around 10:00.  While under the doctors pulled his PICC line, installed the port and performed another LP (Lumbar puncture / spinal tap) of Methotrexate.  After sitting in the recovery room for a short time he was reunited with Cristy in the Day Surgery area.  Once the anesthesia wore off he began to experience soreness and had trouble breathing because of the placement of the port.  All expected considering where this one was placed.

Post-Op.

     Unlike his last port which was installed around his left collarbone the surgeon put this one on his right side, close to his rib cage, on his torso but under the arm.  I think the pressure on his lung from this placement took him some getting used to.  Doctors wanted to make sure he could hold down fluid before discharging him so he had to drink some apple juice and down a popsicle.  Cristy said he eventually threw it up once she got close to the neighborhood, but he's been holding everything else down since he's been home.

Heading home.

     I had a surprise of cookies and a new video game he's been wanting upon walking in and this seems to have made him forget about the pain/discomfort.  In fact, he wanted to rough house with his brother just a little bit ago, but Cristy and I told him to use some caution for the time being.  Sponge baths are on the the agenda for the next couple of days.  We've been given the OK to start back school tomorrow, but out of caution we'll probably keep him home to allow his surgical sites a bit more time to heal.
     What does the future hold?  Well, we have another chemo treatment next week.  Obviously Cristy and I will be keeping a close eye on his skin color, surgical wounds, mobility and eventually blood counts once they're drawn again.  During his next appointment I'll most likely attend so I can ask questions and get a better idea of what a day in the life of the Pruitts will look like for the next 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, etc.  I'm really happy that the PICC line is gone.  This greatly reduces his chance of bacterial infection and leaves Cristy and I with only two mandatory drugs to administer each day.
     When the weather warms up we'll do a large scale water gun battle in the back yard.  Evan has been looking forward to getting his whole body wet again and I can think of no better way to celebrate the occasion!  Hoping for a quiet weekend full of rest and healing.

     Closing out with a song Evan really likes singing from the movie Trolls.  Even though he rarely tells us when he's in pain or nervous I do find him singing this song prior to days at the hospital so I think it's fair to say he has some idea of what's going on.  Enjoy.