Day 38 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Tyler had his potassium check on Friday morning and we did not get a call from the nurses, so I expect that the test didn't show an increase. We had to run from SCCA to the University of Washington to make Tyler's lumbar puncture (LP) appointment, so we didn't a chance to wait for the results.

Tyler will be getting 4 LP's spaced about 2 weeks apart. They will be watching for signs of leukemia in the spinal fluid, as well as injecting chemo in to make sure no disease can take hold in there.

This first one was one of the bad tests. Most of the time, they have to poke Tyler multiple times to be able to get a good flow of the spinal fluid. With yesterday's LP they had to poke him 3 times with only some lidocaine to numb the skin. They seem to think no major drugs are necessary, but it's always been painful for Tyler. With all of the hard work he has done as a landscaper and athlete, he has good strong bones to poke through.

Added to that, they didn't allow him to eat for 6 hours before the procedure. He was hungry and weak and feeling nauseous by the time we were are our doctor's appointments. I can't understand why they schedule tests that require fasting for 2pm!? Do you think that would qualify as cruel and unusual punishment? I think that after factoring in the poking into your lower back, the injection of chemo, and the headaches that occur with the change in spinal fluid pressure... We've got a winning case!