General anaesthesia

Isaiah had three chemotherapy treatments on Monday: IV Vincristine, IV methotrexate and Intrathecal methotrexate (chemo in the spinal fluid).  Since diagnosis, they've been using the drug ketamine when doing the chemo in the spinal fluid.  It helps to keep him still during the procedure.  Unfortunately, it also makes him very frightened.  He screams out and cries.  It also prevents him from blinking and causes his eyeballs to shift back and forth rapidly.  He seems to get very bad nightmares following the procedure which is not uncommon with this drug.

They decided on Monday to start using general anaesthesia as an alternative.  Although I don't like the idea of him being put to sleep, the only other option was Fentanyl mixed with something else.  This works very well, however, the dose needs to be increased each time because the body becomes desensitized to it.  It's also highly addictive.  Most of the teenagers ask to bring some home.

After a whole hour, he finally woke up!  I think he transitioned from general anaesthesia to nap time. 

After a morning of chemo, he's ready for the day!

The general anaesthesia went very well.  He slept through the night with no nightmares and woke up with a big smile on his face!  Praise God!