Jake got his picc line in yesterday and is struggling with that. It is in his left upper arm and there is an IV 'cord' hanging out of his arm. The tubing goes up his arm and around into the base of his heart. The Dr.'s finally got some pain killers that have managed his pain and he has been able to get some food down. The oncologist Dr's came into his room yesterday and said that with the weight that he has lost they are going to feed him some nutrient through his IV. They also swobbed his mouth and found out that the chemo had activated the herpies virus in his mouth and so that is one of the reasons his mouth has so many sores. although Methotrexate is notorious for mouth and throat sore. They are able to treat some of them with some medicine, as of today he has noticed that he doesn't have as many throat sores and is able to swallow fairly well. We are hoping and praying that we can leave by tomorrow morning. We will have to come back down on May 3rd for his port placement and next round of Methotrexate as long as he has no mouth sores and is well fed.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Infected port site and mouth sores on the mend....
Sunday April 29, 2012 - With Jake's port site being infected they have left his incision open so it can heal from the inside out, it will eventually close itself. The wound team come in and change the mesh in it twice a day. I was watching them change the dressing on his port site and its as painful as it was to watch (I could tell on Jake's face that it hurt) I watched the whole thing. They push this long mesh into the wound until it is full and then put new cotton mesh on it. I would have thought they would of stitched it up but they weren't sure how far the infection went into the tissue. Who knew of such medical technology!
Jake got his picc line in yesterday and is struggling with that. It is in his left upper arm and there is an IV 'cord' hanging out of his arm. The tubing goes up his arm and around into the base of his heart. The Dr.'s finally got some pain killers that have managed his pain and he has been able to get some food down. The oncologist Dr's came into his room yesterday and said that with the weight that he has lost they are going to feed him some nutrient through his IV. They also swobbed his mouth and found out that the chemo had activated the herpies virus in his mouth and so that is one of the reasons his mouth has so many sores. although Methotrexate is notorious for mouth and throat sore. They are able to treat some of them with some medicine, as of today he has noticed that he doesn't have as many throat sores and is able to swallow fairly well. We are hoping and praying that we can leave by tomorrow morning. We will have to come back down on May 3rd for his port placement and next round of Methotrexate as long as he has no mouth sores and is well fed.
Jake got his picc line in yesterday and is struggling with that. It is in his left upper arm and there is an IV 'cord' hanging out of his arm. The tubing goes up his arm and around into the base of his heart. The Dr.'s finally got some pain killers that have managed his pain and he has been able to get some food down. The oncologist Dr's came into his room yesterday and said that with the weight that he has lost they are going to feed him some nutrient through his IV. They also swobbed his mouth and found out that the chemo had activated the herpies virus in his mouth and so that is one of the reasons his mouth has so many sores. although Methotrexate is notorious for mouth and throat sore. They are able to treat some of them with some medicine, as of today he has noticed that he doesn't have as many throat sores and is able to swallow fairly well. We are hoping and praying that we can leave by tomorrow morning. We will have to come back down on May 3rd for his port placement and next round of Methotrexate as long as he has no mouth sores and is well fed.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Mouth Sores and Dehydration...
Friday April 27, 2012 - Jake has been struggling with horrible mouth and throat sores for the last two days. A lot of the sores are about an inch long and others are small pebble sized cankers sores all on the inside of his mouth and throat. Needless to say he's struggling talking and swallowing. When we got here they were doing his assessment before they start the fluids and they had the Dr. come in and look at his mouth and couldn't believe that we hadn't taken him to the hospital. He was severely dehydrated and she couldn't believe how many sores he had in his mouth and then to top it off they got looking at his port and it was infected. So..... change of plans. He went into surgery last night to have the port removed and he is getting iv antibiotics and they are trying to hydrate him. He will get a picc line tomorrow so maybe we can come home on iv therapy by Sunday and then if the sores are better we will come down next Thursday for the new port placement and the Methotrexate. I am hoping and praying that his sores get better by Sunday or we won't be coming home till he can eat and drink. He woke up this morning and the sores in his throat and mouth had gotten worse. (sigh). I feel so bad he has been so miserable. Wednesday night he went to bed with severe stomach cramps from lack of eating.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Nausea
Sunday April 22, 2012 - Jake has been so sick throwing up and nauseated. We thought he would get to go home today but with his blood work we just got back looks like we will be staying until tomorrow...hopefully. We are set to come back on Thursday for another round of this same Chemo~ Methotexate.
Friday April 20, 2012 - This medicine is putting him though the ringer. He has been throwing up this time, my strong young man that wouldn't ever let himself throw up. It is hard to watch. Brother Nielson came by yesterday with Lorraine. He gave Jake a blessing and said that this was going according to Heavenly Fathers plan. He would extend the knowledge of the Dr.s that they would do best for Jake's needs and that Jake would preach the gospel and touch others. It was really amazing.
Friday April 20, 2012 - This medicine is putting him though the ringer. He has been throwing up this time, my strong young man that wouldn't ever let himself throw up. It is hard to watch. Brother Nielson came by yesterday with Lorraine. He gave Jake a blessing and said that this was going according to Heavenly Fathers plan. He would extend the knowledge of the Dr.s that they would do best for Jake's needs and that Jake would preach the gospel and touch others. It was really amazing.
A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Jake's Support Team! Buzz cuts of all lengths! They are showing their support by word and by deed ~~ Truly there has never been a more handsome group!!
Friday, April 20, 2012
2nd Round of Chemo
Thursday, April 19th -- We arrived at Primary Children's Hospital and they hooked him up to the IV's through his port and started fuels. They were pumping him full of fluid to get the kidneys going before they could start the Chemo. We got here around noon on Thursday and they didn't start his chemo until 11:30 pm. He is very nauseous and they told us to get him moving around so the Methotrexage will move quicker through his body and that is how he will get to go home. It has to be 0.1 or lower to get to go. They pump him full of anti nausea medications and they they want him to get up. It has been hard to get him going.
Fever of 102
On Thursday April 12th Jake got a fever of 102.4. We were instructed by his oncologist to take him to the ER as his ACN (absoulte nuetra fill count) which is a count of the white blood cells was 0.1. As a result he got the fever and not being able to fight off anything we took him to the ER. They gave him antibiotics and Neupagen. Neupagen is a medicine they give to patients that have no white blood cells. it is very painful to receive. He was at Logan Regional until Saturday morning (April 14th) when his fever broke and his white cell came up to 4700. Home health came out and did labs on Monday and Wednesday and they called and told us everything looked good and he was okay to go back to Primary Children's for his second round of Chemo.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Diagnosis of Osteosarcoma
On March 7, 2012 Jake went to the doctor for what he thought was a sprained ankle. After blood work and x-rays the physician explained his swelling was not the result of coming down incorrectly on his foot in a basketball game. Jake was referred to Dr. Steven Scott, MD. an oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer institute in Salt Lake City. His week was filled with more tests, a biopsy, CT scan, MRI, and a full body scan. Dr. Scott diagnosed Jake on March 13th with Osteosarcoma, an aggressive, cancerous tumor surrounding his tibia right next to his growth plate. It was also discovered that Jake had developed a nodule on his lung--a most life threatening situation that needed immediate treatment. A second opinion was sought from Dr. Jennifer Wright, MD at Primary Children's Medical Center and she had Jake lined up with his first treatment the very next week. Jake, at age 17 years old, requires chemotherapy to be administered and his care to be given at Primary Children's in Salt Lake City. Jake began his first inpatient chemotherapy treatment of Doxorubicin and Cisplatin on March 28th 2012. After his discharge on April 1, home health care began to oversee the care of his IV therapy. Jakes' side effects include nausea, headache, dizziness, mouth and throat sores, hair loss, change in tastes, ringing in ears and memory loss.
Jake will continue to receive inpatient treatments every two to three weeks. He and his family are optimistic and very appreciative of all the prayers and concern shown on their behalf.
Jake will continue to receive inpatient treatments every two to three weeks. He and his family are optimistic and very appreciative of all the prayers and concern shown on their behalf.
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