First Day in the Hospital! busy with tests

Well didn't sleep to well Thursday into Friday I think it had something to do with finding out when I would start treatment!!! First thing I need to say is as a nurse I am in love with this hospital it is HUGE and there is so much stuff here im in love with a hospital. I keep telling mom that once I am all done with treatment I am going to come work here! (this isn't a joke I am in love with a hospital) the staff is amazing BTW oh and someone told me there is a robot whose sole purpose is to carry the medications from the pharmacy to the nursing stations BY HIMSELF!!! ok so on to the details of the long day. First thing I met with the head of the department who took my case immediately. He came in explained what everything was all about, did a physical exam that he was pleasantly pleased with because I really had no signs or symptoms of this disease. My platelets were really low so im having allot of bruising but not bad. but back to Dr. Ward the head of the department he is a fun guy great spirits and did allot to put me at ease. The case with my type of Leukemia  (ALL) is that its best treated in children so they try and treat anyone under the age of 31 as a pediatric patient for the best results. this is what they want to do with me after a few tests to make sure that I am a good candidate. first thing they did was insert something called a PICC line into my left arm and its basically an IV that runs up my arm into my chest into the Vena Cava ( major vein into the heart) making it a better access for administration of certain medications it has three different Ports (access points) one is used for IV the other for blood draws and another is used for IV nutrition in case it gets to a point that I can't stomach food or drink because of the harshness of the chemo. This whole process wasn"t very pleasant but it was alright. The lady stuck me about 6 times trying to get a good line in but I guess I have allot of valves which prevent the line from extending throughout the vein. The next process when she found an ok vein was too but something called an inductor* about 5 inches into the vein and basically holds the vein open giving a better opening to induce the catheter this was the part I disliked the most, a little painful pressure but it didnt last long and it was very tolerable. then they sent me down to do a chest x-ray to make sure that the line was placed properly and wasnt coiled in my chest. after I came back up I ran into Dr. Ward who had good news he spoke to the pediatric team and they were excited to have me on there service. oh some other interesting news two days before this I guess doctor ward admitted another young guy 19 years old whose name is Dylan as well. I ran into his mother and she was asking how I was doing, she seemed ok considering. I asked how they found out and she said that he was having allot of bruising. When I came back into the my room I got a visit from Dr Ramdas the pediatric oncologist who would be taking on my care. I liked him he was another upbeat guy and informed me that he would be putting me under general anesthesia to take some bone marrow from my hip and do a spinal tap. I got a visit from my buddy Travis who drove the 3 hours to come and see me and that helped put me at ease because before I knew it they were rolling me down to the procedure room. Mom came with me and they informed me that they would be giving me platelets to help my blood clot because my levels were so low (it was a chilly sensation kind of cool though). the procedure started a little late but the nurse anesthetist that was on my case put me at ease and I was very relaxed because of her (anyone who knows my nerves should know that me being relaxed during a procedure is a surprise). She had a student with her who was going to be doing allot and I was impressed by his abilities. My aunt and godmother came and seen me right before going in and it was a nice feeling before going under. they wheeled me in put a mask on my face, and  then remember waving goodnight and then I was waking up (a little agitated as I usually do when coming out of anesthesia i always try to fight it) I had quiet the sore throat and I guess they had to try a few times to get the tube in but im not concerned students need to learn to! I came back up about 4:30 and I had the best welcoming committee ever Travis waited all afternoon for me to get done and my other friends Tommy, Dylan and Dylan's girlfriend Kelly came to visit me I had an awesome time considering I was a little sore and my head had a slight headache that felt very heavy. the Dr. came in when they were all here to tell me that it was in fact ALL and brought my treatment schedule with a bunch of different treatment drugs and things like that. This is going to be a long hall ill be here for around 7-10 days and the most intense phase of treatment will last about a month then every few weeks then once a month after 6 months for about 2 years.