Day 6: The dreaded subcutaneous Asparanginase

Saturday, September 15, 2007 - While most of Mady's chemotherapy drugs are given intravenously or orally, one is given as a shot (subcutaneous) into her thigh. In fact, the dose of Asparaginase is so large that it must be given as three simultaneous (and big) shots. Two hours before, they put some numbing cream on each injection location--two on one thigh, one on the other. Does Mady have a preference which leg gets the two shots? Um, no... not really. Dad's maybe?

She truly does not like shots, and this is the atomic bomb of hypodermics. The three nurses surround the bed, raise it to counter height, and pull out what look like elephant syringes. I hold Mady's hands and I hug her, trying to block her view of her legs. She involuntarily flexes into a fetal position, and the nurses firmly let her know that she must keep her legs flat on the bed--which she now does.

The needles go in, and it seems to take several minutes for them to empty. Actually, it's over in a matter of seconds, but apparently Asparaginase has the power to slow down time. And then it's done, and the nurses assure us that this medicine is only given periodically. Whew! (Wait, couldn't periodically mean any period of time?)

So far, I believe that this is her least favorite part of chemotherapy.