CENTRAL LINE IS GONE!!!

We have a very happy boy with us today. Yesterday, Seth had his Central Line taken OUT!!!! He is a bit sore, but nothing can dampen his cheer today. We were asked to get to hospital at 1:30pm for a blood test so they could find out how his counts were going. They are very low, with his neutrophils at 0. Then we were to make our way up to the day surgery at 2:30pm. Poor little boy didn't get taken into theatre until after 5pm. He hadn't eaten since 8am that morning and he hardly complained at all. The whole thing from go to woe only lasted about half an hour and the procedure was flawless. Incredibly, he has no stitches, as the hole is round, they just tape it up and put a waterproof bandaide over it. He has part of his central line in a jar to take to school for news which he is really looking forward to. He is unable to shower for 2 days, unable to attend school for 3-4 days and is to take panadol for the pain. He must be gentle with his arm as there is no stitches and his platelet counts are quite low, he could cause the wound to bleed quite easily. He needed panadol this morning and has found having his arm in a sling is helping ease the pain around his shoulder and chest.
Seth will begin maintenance as soon as his counts are up high enough. This consists of tablets every day. He has mercaptapurin 6 days a week and methotrexate 1 day a week. This is to be balanced so that the dosage keeps his counts well down. If they drop too far, they stop for a week, if they are not dropping low enough, they will have to increase his dose. This is to be continued for 1 and a half years which I am sure will stretch out a bit longer if they have to keep skipping weeks here and there to wait for his counts to come back up. At this stage, until they get a decent balance on his counts, he will be required to have weekly blood tests. This will now be a bit more painful as they don't have the central line to take the blood from. The good news is that we are able to take Seth to Campbelltown for most check up's now which will enable us to have more of a normal life around hospital time.
They have discussed what signs to look out for if a relapse occurs. These include, enlarged liver and spleen, aching bones, enlarged glands and similar symptoms to what we saw when he was first diagnosed. The doctors also can see a difference inside his eyes which means that it has gone to the brain, they can also see a drop in his counts that won't climb even when chemo is stopped. So, the doctors should pick up any abnormality before we see any signs physically.
I have attached a photo of the big day yesterday plus a couple of others of our very happy little boy.
WORLDS GREATEST SHAVE is coming up this weekend, and Seth's Aunty Danielle is shaving her hair for this great cause. She is hoping to raise $15,000. I have attached a link to her personal page so if you want to donate you can, or you can just have a look at some pictures and read her very special message of what this cause means to her. THANK YOU VERY MUCH DAN!!! http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=370330