Today is the day we found out what type of Leukemia he has. The Doctor’s came around for their morning rounds and Dr. Chuk told us that he has Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). They said that this is the most common type in children his age and has a very high success rate of remission. She would be back later in the day to discuss the plan.
Uncle Rusty stopped by to visit this morning and gave him a little truck to squeeze when he had pain. He was also shooting the Nerf darts at the target on the window that the Child Life girls drew and he got a Bullseye! He was so excited. He really loves the Child Life girls and couldn’t wait to show them. They have quite an amazing program for the children. There is a playroom on all of the floors and the one on the Oncology floor is open 24 hours a day. They have the Child Life Specialists who are wonderful with the kids. They are the ones who explain procedures, diagnoses and such all through play to get the kids to understand what is going on with them. Dana and Erica are the two girls that come by and they are always bringing some kind of gift / prize. (They rely solely on donations, so if anyone is interested in donating, let me know and I can get you information)
Dr. Chuk came back to explain about the the first stage of the treatment process. It is a month long phase and usually the most intensive. It is called induction. It will begin tomorrow with the installation of his port in his chest in the morning, then chemo in the afternoon. They gave you some platelets to make sure that his body is strong for the surgery tomorrow.
He has spent a lot of time in his bed since his legs still hurt and he can’t walk.
by evanshou