Rough Night-Rough Start

Hello again,
Ok, our story picks up this morning with a scheduled fluoroscopy at 11 to use real time imaging to help the doc check out the condition of Braxton's port and to help guide him to access it. Brad called me at 8:30 a.m. to say that they were bringing Braxton down right then! So...I jump in the mini van and purposefully made my way through Hwy 280 rush hour traffic and made it down to Imaging by 9ish. They were waiting for me to begin, which was good. The difficulty of accessing Braxton's port has become legend amongst the U of M medical staff. "Oh, I've heard about you" the doctor replied when asked if he was using the right sized needle. Braxton had been given the emla cream to numb the area for port access before going down to Imaging but, once the needle was inserted and the doctor was moving (swiveling, corkscrewing...) it around to try to get it in place, Braxton started jerking and the tears came. He was in alot of pain but didn't say anything. I was crying because Braxton was crying and Brad yelled at the doctor. So...everyone stopped and took a step back. We requested lydocane (sp?) to numb Braxton's tissue below the surface, which they quickly followed through with. They gave him 3 shots before he could handle the pain of having the port accessed. Nurse Teresa stepped in and asked to relieve the doctor and give it a try (since she has succesfully accessed Braxton before). Teresa hit the mark right away and we could all stress down. Big sigh of relief from all 5 physicians and nurses who had gathered to help. Oh, my gosh...there is not much worse than watching your child be in pain and not being able to help. This was another good time that Brad's temper came in handy.
Braxton recovered well and was able to walk up to the floor by himself and relax in his bed. He has started his 4 hr fluid drip and will begin methotrexate and doxyrubicin chemo drugs by 4ish. The 24 delay will have us bringing Brax home on monday evening. Hopefully the rest of the stay will be VERY uneventful.
-posted by Beth