THINGS COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE, RIGHT?

Kristin had her clinic appointment today. Since she was having an LP (lumbar puncture with chemo injected into the spinal fluid, drawing off fluid for testing, and vincristine injected intravenously...yucky day) she needed to be NPO.(nothing by mouth) So, after a very light dinner last night, she was a very good girl and did not eat or drink in anticipation of the procedure. She was scheduled to be there at 12:00 for her physical. Around 3:00 they tried starting her iv's. Unfortunately she was quite dehydrated by this point making it very difficult to successfully start the iv. After a few unsuccessful, painful attempts, she passed out in my arms. They moved her to another room and tried to start an iv in her arm. Once again, after more tearful pokes, they got one started. While trying to inject the anesthesia, Kristin did not go to sleep, she they gave her more. This is usually a quick acting anesthesia, but we were getting no where. She was at the end of her rope and desperately wanted to get it over. Sandy Payne, nurse, noticed her arm getting hard. The meds had infiltrated into the surrounding tissue and muscle and had not gone into the vein. At this point exhaustion had set in. It had been about an hours worth of futile attempts. I asked to reschedule for another day and the doctors were happy to agree. Worried that she could become too sedated as the meds were absorbed, she needed to stay for a few hours to be observed to make sure she continued breathing and her heart did not stop! She had received 350 mg of propaphol. (grammatically incorrect) Needless to say, she left without any chemo and plans to come back Monday for another attempt. Although this could have ended much worse, we were grateful to bring her home, tuck her in bed, and hold her in our arms. Please remember all these children who have suffered and are still suffering in your faithful and sincere prayers.