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Julianna was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on February 25, 2004. This website will help you stay informed of her progress!
Journal
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:20 PM CDT WELL, IT'S OVER...
I guess it really is over. Julianna had her port taken out last Friday. I have to admit that I was really dreading the surgery. I kind of hoped that they wouldn't do the surgery that day because of her cold. I just didn't want to deal with it. However, they said she was just fine for surgery, so they did it. There was a small "blip" in the surgery. Julianna is allergic to Omnicef. Omnicef is an antibiotic that is prescribed for ear infections as well as other things. When Julianna was about two years old, she took one dose of this and broke out in a rash from head to toe, so that's how we know that she is allergic. Every single time she's been in the hospital she has had to wear a bracelet that is bright orange and says "Allergy - Omnicef" on it. I put this allergy on the sheet that they made me fill out, plus a nurse wrote it down in her chart. Julianna was also wearing her "Allergy-Omnicef" bracelet too.
Well, guess what? The surgeon gave her Amcef during surgery! It's a drug in the same "family" as Omnicef! :( The surgeon came out and told us his mistake, and I have to admit that I was pretty mad. Worried too. He said that she would receive some Benedryl in the recovery room, and he apologized for his mistake.
When we got to the recovery room, Julianna was crying her eyes out - loud. I felt so sorry for her. The nurse said that this was normal after anesthesia, but it was still sad. When she could talk, she started saying, "It hurts....it hurts...it hurts..." I asked the nurse what pain meds she had received, and the nurse said NONE. No pain meds???? After a surgery where they CUT HER CHEST OPEN??? I asked if she could get something for her pain, and the nurse said that nothing was ordered from the doctor. I couldn't believe it! I mentioned the Benedryl too, and she had no idea what I was talking about. Nothing was in the chart about that either. She had to call the doctor and get orders for both pain meds and Benedryl. Once she received both of those, she was better. She still cried a lot, but she ate an orange popsicle too. We had to stay in recovery for about 45 minutes, but then we were free to go home.
I thought for sure that she would throw up in the car, but she didn't. She slept a little on the way home, and when we got home, she perked right up. She was up and running around a short while after getting home. She's such a tough girl! She had a few hive-looking things on her face that evening, but they are gone now. She still has a yucky rash on her chin, chest, arms, and legs. It's hard to tell if the rash is her Fifth Disease or if it is from the Amcef. Who knows?
All I know is that I'm so glad that this whole mess is over. Over.
I am now the mother of three children - none of which have a mediport in their chest. None of which have a bald head. None of which swallow chemotherapy pills on a daily basis. None of which have CANCER anymore.
I guess I can say that Julianna is CANCER FREE. She is CURED. I am supposed to wait for five years before I can say that, but you won't tell on me, right?
Writing in this journal has been very therapeutic for me. I wrote for myself - things that I want to remember someday when I remember this awful journey that we endured. Truthfully, I still can't believe all of this happened. Justin said the same thing. He said, "It's like it all happpened to someone else." I feel the same way. I've already moved on and put it behind me. It's something that happened, and it was terrible, but we made it!
Thank you to everyone that prayed for us. You saved her life. You saved me too. I didn't know I was that strong until all of this happened. We are now one of "those families" that had to go through the unthinkable. Am I proud? You bet. We did it. We made it.
Staci
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