Port Access and Congratulations to Finn

Since I had the camera the other day from the State House, I thought it would be neat to take pictures of Nick getting his port accessed. We have come a long way since the start of his treatment. He used to cry and scream and really did not like the needle. He is now much more comfortable getting his port accessed and even helping the nurse out. Here are steps he takes:

1. Numbing cream was placed on his port prior to accessing. When we get to clinic Nick will take the bandage w/cream off.

2. The nurse cleans the area with something we call the 'stinky angel'. It smells bad, but keeps the skin sterile

3. You can not see this picture too well, but the nurse actually has a needle w/IV tube attached and she sticks the needle through his skin and into the port.

4. The nurse then attaches a syringe like needle and tries to draw blood. (Sometimes the port can move and the blood does not come out, that's for another day)

5. She fills up a couple of syringes

6. Nick helps her move the blood from the syringe to the test tubes. He really likes this job

7. There is his blood to be sent off to the lab.

He keeps the needle in to wait for the IV chemo to come. Once that comes, they send it through the port and then de-access the port. This is the only way he likes his blood drawn. He is not used to a needle in the arm.

Nick has been doing great in school and we are happy he is enjoying it and making new friends.

I have some wonderful news that I wanted to share: A family we have met at clinic, The Whelan Family, have just finished treatment for Finn. Finn was diagnosed with ALL T-Cell and followed the same protocol Nick is currently on. They just received the great news a couple of weeks ago and his last day (of all those toxic drugs) is today. Way to Go Finn, we are proud of you and your family can hopefully fall back into some 'normalcy' and more play time at home. The Whelan family have really helped us through our clinic visits and they have seen Nick at his worst and would always re-assure us that it gets better. They gave us advice and were a shoulder to lean on. We thank you Whelan Family. Take Care Karen