Fever...

Since Thursday night, Ben has been in the hospital with a high fever. He has been on antibiotics for three days. We are hoping he will be coming home soon. There is still his birthday cake in the fridge of which he only had one piece.

Ben has a central line with a hidden “port” under his skin on the right side of his chest. The tube, which is under his skin, is directly connected to his aorta. Through this line, chemo is administered. If chemo were given through a smaller vein or artery, it would weaken this vein or artery as the chemo would eat away at the walls. The aorta is

much wider and the chemo has little or at least less of an effect on the artery.

On Thursday, the nurses were not able to retrieve blood from his central line. It was “clogged”. This is the second time in 5 years that this has happened. He had to have it cleaned out which is a 3 hour process using a certain chemical called TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator - it unclots central line occlusion caused by drug build up in the

line...) Once this was completed, his central line (VAD) worked great and blood can easily bow through it when retrieving blood. Chemo can now more easily be administered through the line. Never a dull moment.

Ben is in ok spirits today but wants to go home and relax, as any kid would. We’re hoping to get that news today or at least tomorrow.