Chemo Round 1

Ashlynn had her first Chemo treatment on Friday morning.  We stayed at camp on Thursday night because we had to be there at 8 am.   The first thing we did when we got there was learn about all of the different side effect there could be from the chemo.  Most of them do not happen very often, and young children typically handle the treatment better then older kids and Adults.  Luckily for us Ashlynn doesn’t realize that all this medicine  is ‘supposed’ to make her feel yucky, so there is no head games involved with how she is feeling.  After learning about all of the what ifs we moved on to treatment.  The first step in treatment was accessing her port.  This went perfectly.  We apply a cream to the area before we leave home, and by the time Nurse Eva accessed her port Ashlynn couldn’t feel it at all.  The hardest part was getting her to lie still for the needle.  After the port was accessed they started IV fluid, and anti nausea medicine.  We had to wait to start the chemo until Ashlynn’s  urine had a specific gravity of 110. This took a few hours and Ashlynn even took a little nap while we waited.  Ashlynn needs to be very well hydrated to receive one of they types of chemo because it irritates the bladder.  Around 11 we actually started the chemo.  2 of the 3 medications took about a minute each of infuse, and the other took about a hour.  Ashlynn had a good time in the playroom while she was getting her treatment.

Enjoying the playroom!

So happy.

Trying really hard to stand up!

Loving her Baby

Trying to chew through her IV

After she finished the chemo we moved up to the CHaD wing to spend the night.  4 hours and 8 hours after her treatment she needed to get a medication that helps with the bladder irritation.  Since this was her first treatment and it was going to be such a long day we decided it was best to spend the night.  During her treatment and through the night Ashlynn did great.  Her appetite was slightly reduced, and she was mildly cranky, but nothing too bad.  By this morning she was back to her normal happy, hungry self.  She enjoyed a nice big pancake for breakfast.  She was so happy we even stopped at camp for a quick swim on the way home!  We will count our blessings again- Thank goodness for an easygoing kid!