So Radiation today was mentally and visually crushing.......but Hunter pulled through like a stud.......as usual. He's hanging tough after 3 days of chemotherapy and 2 sessions of radiation. The doc came in and we told him how wonderful Hunter was doing and he said, "that's great", however, he also said, in a round-a-bout way, that the shit doesn't start to hit the fan until about 7 days from now. So I guess we are cruising on easy street at the moment.
He has to be sedated for the radiation and it takes about a 1/2 hour by the time they radiate one side of his body and then flip him to do the other. Pretty intense stuff and the room and the equipment inside is very intimidating. Definitely NOT a good party room.......well actually maybe....the electric green laser beams could be a hit - then I guess all you'd need is a good disco ball. However, I could tell some of the technicians were getting annoyed by all the photography.......so.....no disco for them.
His skin on his hands is peeling, he's got a bit of a diaper rash and his legs are still swollen. They don't seem to be causing him much pain, but he still hasn't walked on them or wanted to walk on them now for the last 33 days. He is also still being fed through his IV and will probably continue that for the next 2-3 weeks or so.....he's only consumed about 2 ounces of food through his mouth over the last month.
He was transfused with Platelets last night at 4am and will continue to get blood products quite frequently throughout this whole process. YAY for the Red Cross!
Hunter doing his own research on the side effects of radiation the night before. He seems to be OK with everything. He courageously stated that the benefits outweigh the risks.
Hunter casually laying around waiting for the radiation to begin.
Nicely put to sleep.
These are the crystals that they place on his body to monitor the radiation dosage throughout the treatment.
This is when they kick us out of the room. He's all prepped and ready to go. We must have kissed his little head a thousand times.
Waiting for him to wake up out of his deep sleep.
Hunter Getting Prepped for Total Body Irradiation.
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What a champ.
3 comments:
Thinking of and praying for Hunter and you guys....
Lenore, We here at DCH are all pulling for Hunter as he gets ready for the BMT. Angela K and the rest of the DCH sedation team
I was up at Doernbecher visiting some friends and saw the pictures on your door. Decided to stop by your blog and pay a visit. Your son is beautiful as is your family. My prayers are with you tonight.
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