No More Needle Sticks

This post is #118 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

October 23, 2008

Hannah's Facebook status ten years ago today: "Hannah had to get another platelet transfusion today ... Glad that's over!"

By this point in her treatment, Hannah had  endured hundreds of "sticks" ... often two or three in one visit because it was so hard to find a good vein on her.  She was such a pro at it, she would often calmly coach the nurses on just which vein to use or how to hold the needle just right in order to have a successful blood draw.

With all the platelet infusions she was needing and the IV-administered chemotherapy drug she would soon be receiving, it was finally time to give her some relief from all the needle sticks.  The decision was made to insert a PICC line instead of a port ... I believe because poor wound healing was a side effect of the chemo she would be receiving, and insertion of a PICC line would be a less invasive procedure.

While we were glad Hannah would no longer have to endure the innumerable needle sticks, this step was yet another reminder of just how serious her illness really was.

My email from ten years ago today ...

Just a quick update tonight...we went to Children's Hospital today for blood work, and Hannah's platelet count was low again. So, while they waited for the platelets to arrive from the blood bank, we ran over to CARTI for Hannah's radiation treatment, then headed back to Children's for her infusion. The infusion was uneventful, and by about 3:00, we were headed for home. Her blood work also showed that her white cell count has also continued to drop, and she is very close to the point where they will order her to be in isolation (no going to school, Walmart, church, etc). This is not really too much of a problem...since pretty much the only places she goes right now are to Children's and to CARTI. 

Tomorrow morning we will return to Children's for the insertion of a PICC line--a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. Once this is inserted, they'll be able to do all of the blood draws, transfusions, and chemotherapy treatments through that line, and she will no longer have to be stuck every time! This will be a real blessing, because her arms and hands are covered with bruises from all of the blood work and infusions she's had to have in the last couple of weeks.

Yesterday was Hannah's 17th birthday...and she received dozens of emails, text messages, Facebook messages, phone calls, cards, etc. She even had a surprise visit from a group of her school friends yesterday evening, who brought her a digital camera and all the accessories. The kids at school had secretly been collecting money for a couple of weeks, and it was a wonderful surprise when they came over last night. We have been blessed with so many wonderful friends....We can never thank all of you enough for the kindnesses you've shown to our family! Thank you so much for making her birthday special!

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

God is good, all the time!
Brad and Jill