Last week, we sat down with April, mom of Leukemia patient Kendric. She shared with us a little about what makes Kendric so special, and how her family has adjusted to the coronavirus crisis.
1. What’s your favorite thing about Kendric’s personality?
Kendric is my laid back little guy. He goes with the flow. Kendric has the sweetest little heart, he is so soft and so caring. Also Kendric is extremely silly at times. He loves running in circles till he can’t stand anymore.
2. What is Kendric’s favorite thing to do in his spare time?
Kendric’s favorite thing to do is playing with vehicles, trucks, cars, tractors, trains. If there are tracks for them, even better. Most recently his go to has been LEGOs.
3. What does a typical day of treatment look like for you?
A typical day of treatment for Kendric starts once Kendric’s up for the day. Typically we are leaving for the University of Iowa Hospital around 7 am. Before we leave the house we place numbing cream on his port. We then have a hour drive to the hospital. Kendric will watch his tablet during the drive and have some breakfast and milk if not NPO for a procedure.
Once arriving at the clinic we will check in, get vitals, go to the infusion room for port access. The nurse will draw blood for labs. While the labs are being ran, the doctor or nurse practitioner will come in for a check up. Kendric will then receive his chemotherapy and any other meds he may need, this typically takes from 1 to 4 hours. Once treatment is complete, Kendric’s port is deaccessed and we head home.
Just recently Kendric began high dose methotrexate. This treatment requires Kendric to be inpatient until the methotrexate levels drop back down, typically a few days. With this new phase he starts receiving fluids once at clinic. Kendric had a check up with the doctor then we are moved to the inpatient side to begin his chemo. That runs for 24 hours, diaper changes every two hours checking ph level and weighing to track output.
4. What has the hardest part of treatment been for Kendric?
Kendric has handled treatment like a champ. Our go with the flow toddler has embraced the changes. That being said, it’s hard on him when we are cooped up in a room for hours or days for treatment. He misses Daddy and brother, Kayden, while there. He has had a few bouts of nausea but overall Kendric is a typical toddler while at home.
5. Has the coronavirus impacted your treatment plan?
Kendric’s treatment is considered essential so his treatment plan went on as scheduled. However the changes in protocol at the hospital and clinic make it difficult. We take extra precautions when going to visits. We both wear masks at the hospital. Hand sanitizer is the new norm when we get into the car after visits and we change clothes as soon as we get home and wash up. Only one parent is allowed to accompany Kendric to appointments, making long days feel longer.
6. How did you find out Kendric had cancer?
The day after Christmas our world as we knew it would change forever. Kendric had been battling an ear infection and had sounded congested for a little over a week. So we decided to take him to the walk in clinic at our pediatrician. The on call doctor there sent us to the Trinity Terrace Park ER to have some lab work done. Never in our wildest dreams would we think it might be for cancer. Thank goodness the staff at our pediatrician noticed the signs. Kendric sounded very congested but also was bruising very easily for no apparent reason. The staff at the ER was great, getting a chest X-ray, an IV (that lasted over a week), and CT scan done before sending us by ambulance to Iowa City.
We arrived right to the oncology floor at the Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa’s City. Kendric immediately received a platelet transfusion and had an EKG done. The oncologist was very informative and gave us as much information as she could.
Kendric had a mass, made up of white blood cells, that filled close to 80% of his entire chest cavity. The mass was so large that it was putting excessive pressure on his heart, lungs and airways. We were transferred down to the PICU so he could have oxygen and constant observation. That night they did a lumbar puncture and Kendric received his first dose of chemotherapy. The next evening a central line was put into his neck so the IV chemotherapy could begin. In the four days we were in PICU, the chemotherapy and steroids were able to shrink that mass.
Kendric was moved back up to oncology four days after arriving in Iowa City. In total Kendric spent two weeks in the hospital.
7. How did Compass to Care affect your cancer journey?
Compass to Care has been so helpful relieving the worries of transportation cost. Having the help to pay for the gas back and forth to the hospital had been amazing. Beside the insurance costs for treatment, one does not always think of the other costs you incur. We can’t thank Compass to Care enough for helping to eliminate the worry of paying for these out of pocket items.
Thank you, April, for sharing with us!