LP Day – July 2019

Despite its ups and downs, today was a good day. Tate’s lumbar puncture with intrathecal Methotrexate was completed without complication, and he had already been given his Vincristine dose before we were allowed into post-op to see him. The scary parts of the appointment went super smooth.

Things got kind of bumpy in post-op over the simplest thing. We have learned over the last year that Tate fares much better on LP days when he gets a bag of fluids before going home. Drawing out spinal fluid can cause headaches, and Tate kept waking from the procedures with splitting headaches that lasted for days. The nurses started giving him a bag of saline after every spinal tap, and his pain is relieved much sooner. It also reduces the amount of pain killers he needs by quite a bit, which is a very good thing. Today there was a lack of communication between the pre-op and post-op staff, so the nurse at the end had no idea he was supposed to get fluids before sending him home. They were prepared enough that the extra fluids were hanging in Tate’s recovery room, but Greg and I were sitting by his bed for several minutes before we realized the saline wasn’t even attached to anything.

It really shouldn’t have been such an ordeal, but the cancer clinic space is separate from the surgery center space, and it seems to put the oncology nurses in a bad position when their patients need a bed a little longer than a regular post-op patient. Even the nurses we work with all the time seemed flustered we requested the extra fluids for Tate even though he gets it every time. I have the feeling there are a lot of politics going on between the two PCH units, and “our” nurses really have to be careful not to step on anyone’s toes.

It took way too long. Tate reached a state of complete misery and said he needed to go home with about 30% of the bag left. We listened. We got him out of there as soon as he said he needed to leave.

Tate fell into bed as soon as we got home. He didn’t sleep right away, but eventually he got a little nap. I’m always relieved to have him back home on chemo days; recovering in his own peaceful space makes things so much better.

A couple hours after getting home, all the color had drained from his face, leaving him with a grayish complexion. I am never prepared to see him like that, even though it happens every time.

A great thing that happened today is that his Aunt Jamie and cousin Jaislyn were able to visit him again before they head to California. It’s good for Tate to see smiling, happy faces appear in his room when he’s feeling so low. And they brought him some flowers, which Jaislyn did a great job arranging herself.

Not to bombard you with more cat pictures, but it is my understanding that sharing cat pictures is one of the main reasons the internet exists. This is how I found them when I peeked in to check on Tate this afternoon. Is it normal for a cat to sleep so peacefully while pinned under a leg? I feel like it’s not.