Ports are a go!

The surgery today was a success. Jared is back in his room and fast asleep. He has had a long day of no food, ear examinations, doctors,an ecocardiogram and finally the surgery to place the port in his chest for chemotherapy and a feeding tube to his stomach. We really are proud of how he has handled things. He has had his moments of being fed up with the poking and prodding, but overall he is a real champion at how he has dealt with all of this.

I just want to briefly describe the ports that are inserted into his chest. The IV port is called a portacath and is inserted beneath the skin so as to give Jared the ability to swim, bath and so forth. It is nothing more than a small drum like cavity that is connected to a small catheter which is directly linked to one of the main veins to his heart. It is amazing to see all of these little devices which make life a little better on people with these types of issues. The gastrointestinal port is a button type which will eliminate any tube hanging from his stomach. It looks just like one of those air snaps on an inflatable beach ball. They pull open a little flap and connect a tube and load his stomach up with whatever they need. It really makes everying quite convenient for the circumstances.

Now that the surgery was successful, he will go at 6:00am in the morning for a series of 4 CT scans. These will be followed by a PET scan at 10:45. Both of these scans combined, will provide the physicians with a detailed image of any spread of the tumor throughout the body. The CT scan will provide a good anatomic view of what lies beneath, while the PET scan will highlight the metabolic activity of the cells. If the tumor does in fact exist outside of the areas previously explained, it will be highlighted and pinpointed to its respective location.

The medical oncologist informed us today that with the port in place she will begin administering the chemotherapy drugs tomorrow. It is a very anxious, but apprehensive feeling to have all of this starting tomorrow. On the one hand we want them to begin now, but on the other hand we don't want this little guy to have to experience any more. We are so grateful to be here in Boston. Jaime and I are very grateful to be able to be by Jareds side through all of this. We feel he is being given the best possible chance of overcoming the odds. Many of you have made this possible. Thank you from the bottom of our heart.