Feeling Good

Back to Salt Lake--the road seems to get longer every week.  Thank goodness for Grandma's house.  Things would be even harder financially if we had to pay for a hotel every weekend.  Austin woke up Friday morning ready for another trip to the Oncology Clinic and a lumbar puncture.   He can't eat breakfast because they sedate him for the procedure.  He doesn't love being hungry all morning, but now that he isn't taking the steroids, the hunger monster doesn't come out as bad.  This Friday he woke up feeling really good and had more smiles and energy than I have seen him have in months.  We were told this month should be better than the last but I didn't expect him to start acting like my normal kid.  I have missed him!  He was teasing Madison and rough housing with Jaxon and I couldn't help but stare and wonder where he suddenly got all the energy from.  You can tell from these pictures of him at the Clinic that he is in a better mood. 

Getting his vital signs checked

Checking his weight.  This is the first week that he has
 lost weight instead of gaining.

Getting measured.  I always wonder if they
 expect him to get taller every week.

Getting his port accessed.  He is a pro at this by now.

Austin has to wear a mask when they access his port
 to avoid a line infection.  He gets a numbing cream as well as
 this cold numbing spray so he doesn't feel the needle go in.

With Rachelle, the Child Life Specialist

Austin's counts were great this week, another reason he is feeling so good.  This is also the first week in months that Austin hasn't had any pain.  No wrist, leg, jaw, ankle, finger, hand, head, or any of his other past pain locations.  This is huge!  I am so excited he can feel better for hopefully awhile.  So we left the Clinic and headed down to the Rapid Treatment Unit for his lumbar puncture.

Love love love that smile!!!

Being assessed by the Nurse Practitioner, he is giggling because
 she is tickling his leg that was sore to see if it still hurts

Hanging out waiting for the Doctor to see him

Doing his favorite thing

Playing a game with Lindsay, Child Life Specialist while the Anesthesiologist
 gets ready in the background to sedate him for his lumbar puncture.

Playing up until the last second 

They let one of us in the OR to be with him until he falls asleep.  I'm sure smaller kids need a parent, but Austin is mostly oblivious to anything but the game he is playing.  They push in his medicine and he falls asleep while still the pushing buttons.  They have to hold the Ipad for him so it doesn't smack him in the face.  Such a silly kid.  Austin is only asleep a few minutes while they do his lumbar puncture and give him his chemotherapy in his spine.  Then it takes him about 30 minutes to wake up, drink some juice and eat a snack.  

Best Pizza Place in Salt Lake

  We always let Austin pick where he want to eat after we are all done and this time he wanted pizza.  We went to The Pie near the U of U--the best pizza in our opinion.  

Austin, really excited about posing for the picture

Austin decided he wasn't interested in pizza, but the desert was awesome

 We packed up and headed back to St George ready for another week of good counts, school, work, and hopefully no excitement.