1 ZAP down 29 ZAPS to go..

Braeden had his first radiation today. Overall, I think Braeden was pleased at how fast "the zapping"  was over. (Braeden is not one to lay still in confined spaces for long, so I know he is happy that it went fairly quickly.  His future appointments should be even shorter.)

I recall from when I had radiation, the longest part of it all was the actually positioning me on the table, and lining up my medical tattoos and the radiation machine.   I told him before he went back,  that if they mentioned anything about having to give him medical tattoos to "mark" the spot, that he should considered asking them while they had the tattoo gun out, getting the "classic tattoo" of a heart with the word Mom going across on his arm, lol.    He agreed that it would be classy, but definitely would not be happening today.  I love his sense of humor, even when he is facing something new and has no idea of what to expect.

We are also thankful that Duke was able to accommodate our appointment time request. We asked them this morning to schedule his appointments between 9:30 and 11:00.   We have been scheduled one odd ball appointment at 2 pm, otherwise Braeden's appointments will work perfectly with our schedules.  Radiation is time consuming, between now and 4/3/2020 he will be expected at Duke 5 days a week.

(For us, it's important that one parent is able to handle all the kids and getting them all where they need to be when they are with us that day.  It allows for us to work when we don't have the boys, and when we do have them, we are able to focus on them and getting them where they need to go.  Braeden to radiation, without having to fight the traffic daily, and to have time for the Duke tutor, and just another small request of being able to get the other boys from carpool, and then on to their respective school/sports activities.) 

We don't expect any immediate side effects or changes from the radiation for at least 2 to 3 weeks.  This is a small blessing.  The side effects from the Avastin are enough for him to handle.  (He is exhausted, having stomach pains, insomnia, and continued overall body aches, etc)  He took a lot of  naps over the weekend.

The kids typically come to my room when they wake up,  and we "plan our day".  We also plan our breakfast and chat in general. Yesterday, they were giving me grief, because I was watching Hoarders.  I told them it made me feel better about their messiness.   Chase walked into the room and says "I have a temp of 101.5."   I have never seen the twins run out of my room so fast.  They both were like, WE ARE OUT.   With that being said, the twins went to Dad's yesterday, and Chase was quarantined here to keep Braeden away from any germs.  (I took Chase to Urgent Care and he tested negative for the flu and strep.)    Good news....

Lastly, Braeden and I went to the bowling alley this past Friday, and unfortunately he is not going to be able to bowl for a while.   He was unable to "hold on to the ball".  I have pulled him from all of his tournaments.  As hard as it is for Braeden to give up something he loves so much, he is already thinking ahead to the future.  When he is done with this health crisis, he is thinking of giving two hand bowling a try.

I want to say thank you to the ones that have sent us cards and well wishes.  They really do brighten his day.

Until next time..

#BraedenBrave
#MrUnlucky