An Eventful Few Days

On Friday, Layne was able to get his port put in. You could tell he was pretty nervous the day of. When we got there they explained everything to us. He was given the "power port" which is supposed to be the best one out there. You are able to draw blood from it, give all medications through it and I guess with this one you can even inject the dye for CT scans into it. They say it will last in his chest under his skin for hopefully over a year. It's a device about the size of a quarter. The port attaches to a catheter that is placed inside one of the large central veins that take blood to your heart. He was really starting to feel well before they placed the port but unfortunately since they put it in, he is in a lot of discomfort again and not feeling well. (I'll explain a bit later).

Before his port was put in

After his port was put in

Saturday Layne had a busy day.  We were able to have a friend of his do family pictures for us before he starts chemo this week. He really wanted to get it done and she was really wonderful and was able to squeeze us in last minute to get it done. We are always amazed at how kind people are! We rushed home after the photos to get there just in time to have a whole bunch of friends over for a little pre-chemo party. If anyone knows Layne, he is a very social individual and it was good to have people over and have a little fun. We had great company, food and played a fun game. We are definitely grateful for all the great friends we have, who are there at a drop of a hat and always concerned for us.

Everyone was gone by 9pm. (I know! We are party animals!) I thought even though we had a lot going on Layne still took it pretty easy. The photos were done in the shade and during the party Layne sat on the couch for most of the night. He had been experiencing an upset stomach that day and had had diarreah several times but before I went to bed I asked him how he was doing and he said great! He had lots of fun and felt like he hadn't pushed himself. That all changed at 3AM. I thankfully woke up hearing him get up to go to the washroom. A few minutes later I heard him call my name (Which I would not have heard if I was sleeping) I ran to the bathroom where he told me he felt like he was getting the flu and then proceeded to pass out off the toilet and hit his head off the bathroom floor (he now has a good bruise of the centre of his forehead). He then got up off the floor to finish going to the washroom (much to my protest, but there was no talking him out of it) but passed out again. This time I was able to hold him sitting up until he had finished his business but he was completely unconscious. He was pretty heavy but adrenaline kicked in and I was able to move him to the floor to lay down until he woke up. It was pretty scary. If I was alone I definitely would have called 911. But thankfully I was just able to run upstairs and grab Jackie and Rusty. He had come around by the time we got back down. He was pale but said he was feeling okay. He was able to walk out the the car with help and we rushed to the hospital. He was able to be seen with in an hour of getting there (it was a pretty busy place). They ran blood work, did a chest X-ray and tested his urine. All came back fine. We were thinking that maybe he was dehydrated again but he wasn't as disoriented as the last time he had passed out, so we weren't surprised when it was showing he wasn't dehydrated. It's a little frustrating to not have any answers though. I know he has been through a lot and he started out sick by being born at only 26 weeks. So we are at a little disadvantage. I guess we just have to work a little harder to get him better. Really slow things down. No more parties! Hopefully we will be able to find a balance. I think this is going to be one of the hardest things for us all over the next 6 months... but we can do it! A little blessing we had last night was the boys were sleeping at their Aunt Ciana's. Things would have been a bit more complicated had they been here. I am glad I was able to go to the hospital with Layne to be there for him. It really makes us thankful we made the decision to move out here.

Layne getting an ECG last night 

Layne is worried about starting chemo this week while he is feeling so crappy. We have a learning day at the cancer clinic tomorrow and will see what they say about all of this. On a positive note, I was still able to get the boys to church this morning. Blake was able to feel the baby kick for the first time and he got his part in primary for his primary presentation (all the children get to sing all the songs they learned this year and each have a speaking part) in a few weeks and is very excited for it and starting pre-school tomorrow. Also a few of Layne's Aunt's and Uncle's are here this weekend and we had a nice sunday dinner!