This was a treatment week. When Dave got up in the wheelchair he was hurting pretty bad from his shoulder (damaged rotator cuff?) and his neck so I gave him some extra pain meds. This has become pretty normal for him, his neck and shoulder are always sore but the meds he takes usually manage the pain. On days he gets in the wheel chair it's worse because he has to stabilize those areas in different ways so the pain is different. Anyway, the combo of the morphine boost and the lorazapam kind of knocked him out. In the waiting room I was showing him something and he was telling me he couldn't actually focus. OOPS! It wasn't really more than he's taken in the past but the two drugs together compound each other plus when they were drawing blood he was trying to take deep breaths (because that helps the blood flow easier from the central line) and he almost hyperventilated and we think that contributed to his meds hitting him extra hard. He gets a little goofy when he's like that so at least he's sillier than normal. That's saying something because he's normally a little silly. Quietly silly.
You may recall that 6 weeks ago or so his central line was leaking a little and the nurse was concerned about it. That seemed to clear itself up and then this week a couple drops of blood came out from around the tubing. They're not doing anything except watching it and so far the actual line is working just peachy so they can still draw blood from it and inject all the things they need to inject so it's alright but we're definitely on edge about it a bit. If it's not one thing it's another!
We finally got the results of the genetic testing back. He does indeed have the cancer gene which means Owen has a 50/50 chance of having it. We took it in stride and come to think of it we haven't even actually told Owen yet. Not that we're hiding it from him but we have made a conscious decision to not make a big deal about it. He already knows that there was a possibility Dad could have it and we discussed what that would mean for him but we never actually confirmed it to him. I guess we should do that soon... The doctor told us what the protocol is for testing and for cancer screenings. It's pretty aggressive if you have the gene although thankfully David won't have to go through all of that since he's already got the least common cancer you can get from the gene. I told him he should have played the lotto instead. Anyway, they don't recommend kids get tested before 18 and the recommended screenings start between 20 and 25. Then you have to be tested every 1-2 years. It's known to most commonly cause colon cancer but can also cause stomach, neurological, uterine and ovarian cancers. The screenings for everything except colon aren't very easy. I hope by the time he gets to that age they revolutionize the way they can screen for those things. Not that he has to worry about two of those... but we have nieces who do. I swear Auntie Marla's gonna start nagging all the nieces and nephews over 18 soon! This is their official warning (that they probably don't read). *snicker*
Owen and I are doing pretty well. He's busy with school, national jr honor society, video games, he's walking to and from school now although we'll see what he thinks about that when it gets colder and rainier. It's about a mile each way. I went back to my middle school to see how far my walk was and much to my chagrin it was only half a mile. It felt like so much further when I was 12-14! He told me he is going to do the 100 pushups and 200 situps programs over the summer. If he does those and he'll get his braces off probably by the end of 8th grade... He'll be a new man next year when he starts high school! He is clearly motivated if he's asking if he can walk to and from school! Ugh, I just said he starts high school next year. Our baby isn't so much a baby anymore.
Oh yeah! And speaking of braces... I'm getting them... again. actually again again. I had them in middle school then again in high school and now as an adult. Spendy mouth! My ortho I had as a kid just didn't do a lot of things right, my retainers never fit right and my back teeth never fit together correctly when he was done and I ended up with all kinds of TMJ problems. I'm really eager to see what this new dentist can do. Nov 8th is the day. It's funny how excited people are to get them on... then they get really excited to get them off. The grass is always greener? This ortho said he would put a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth. I should have had that 20 years ago the first time I got them off! Owen said we get to be braces nerds together. I'm going to get a box of milk duds and savor them right in front of him before I get mine on. I'm mean like that... plus I know he'll do the same to me as soon as he gets his off. hahaha
Nothing too exciting going on. Having an ongoing battle with Owen about getting to bed on time and we had this playful exchange the other night. (this is a repeat if we're friended on facebook)
Me:Why are you still on the computer after your bedtime?
Owen: I'm irresponsible?
Me: What do irresponsible kids get?
Owen: Ice cream!
Yup, that's our boy!
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