Collin started his third round of chemo today. We went to the outpatient clinic this morning, and while we were there we saw a few familiar staff faces from our stay in the hospital; Collin kept pointing to them as if he was saying,"Hey, I remember you!" We picked up the two chemo drugs that will be administered at home through the feeding tube. He was scheduled to get the first of three more doses of Vincristine today at the clinic, but his oncologist thinks there is a chance that the recent left eye turn could be a side effect of the drug, so she wanted him to wait a few more days before having the Vincristine. We will return to the clinic next Tuesday morning to have the dose administered. The two drugs he is receiving at home are Temodar and Etoposide (or VP-16). The Temodar is given once a day for 5 days, and the Etoposide is given once a day for ten days.They are both given orally through his NG tube. The Temodar can cause nausea, so I have to give him his Zofran (anti-emetic) beforehand; it also has to be given on an empty stomach, so I have to time dinner carefully so that he can be finished eating an hour before the drug is given; then I need to wait another hour before giving the rest of his medications and starting his tube feed. I was also instructed to wear gloves while administering the drug, and to bring back the empty syringes so they can be disposed of properly (instead of in our regular household garbage); it makes me nervous to handle something like that, let alone give it to my child, but I just remind myself how well the chemo seems to be working! Collin will also receive more Cytoxan during this round; for that we will be re-admitted to the hospital for about three days on Monday July 12.
Collin is vocalizing more; he is starting to learn to talk now that the tumor is removed. He has started to make sound he never made before, and in a way I feel like I'm starting to hear his real voice. I look forward to hearing all the new sounds he'll make every day!
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