::Matthew's First Year of Treatment::
December 13, 1999 through October 16, 2000
::SCROLL OVER THE PICTURES FOR A CAPTION::
Diagnosed at 25 months old, Matthew enjoyed being cuddled in his favorite blankie while inpatient.Lane was 4-1/2 when Matthew was diagnosed with ALL. He stayed with his grandparents while we were inpatient with Matthew. He got to come visit for a little while every day.




Prednisone sure makes his cheeks puffy! Picture taken on December 31, 1999. He was still recovering from being inpatient. He looks great in this picture, but he could hardly walk for a month after being inpatient. He'd have to crawl to get anywhere.He loved to color and he still does. He spent hours upon hours in the car and waiting for doctors, and he would most likely spend that time coloring and drawing his own pictures.




::TAKING CARE OF HIS "TUBIE"::
His central line was called a Broviac. It required lots of maintenance including flushing and dressing changes. I am cleaning it off getting ready to flush it with saline and heparin. I did this every morning. Matthew liked calling it a 'tubie,' and he also called the flush 'giving the tubie a drink.''Giving the tubie a drink.' That is what Matthew liked to call the saline and heparin flush.We had to change the bandage 2 times a week. If it got wet then it had to be changed immediately.




Matthew and Lane on Lane's 5th birthday. This same day Matthew had a blood transfusion at PCMC.July 2000. Yum Yum! The boys love ice cream! (Lane had already eaten all of his ice cream cone.)




::THIS FIRST YEAR WAS REALLY TOUGH ON ALL OF US WITH ALL THE CHANGES IN OUR LIVES::
We were ready to move on to the next 2-1/2 years of
chemotherapy called the long-term maintenance phase.
We chose to have his Broviac replaced with a Port-A-Cath
which would allow him to be able to go swimming, take a submerged bath,
and not worry about it getting pulled out. Also the risk of
infection decreases greatly with a port.
Yeah for long-term maintenance! Picture shows him with no more Broviac! The center bandage is where the Broviac entered his body and the bandage on the left is where the surgeon placed the port. Picture may be slow to load. It is a scanned scrapbook page.



::THIS IS MATTHEW'S PORT--IT WAS REMOVED IN FEBRUARY 2003::
When he ended his 3-1/2 years of chemotherapy, he had his port
taken out. The surgeon let us keep it. The needle goes in the
area in the center that is clear and rubber looking.
Matthew's port from his first treatment of leukemia. He had another port placed in August 2003 when he relapsed, and I have since learned how to access it. See our 'Reasons' (link on the home page) for why I learned how to access his port if you have more questions on this.



| Graphic Garden | Mary's Little Lamb |

Page created on April 6, 2004