Radiation Treatment #3

Alan slept pretty well last night, out cold from about 8 PM to 1 AM and just one more dose of Ativan. He was asking for juice and water when he was awake which he couldn't have after 1 AM due to anesthesia restrictions. He was not happy about that.

The radiation therapy itself was a little later today, allowing everyone to sleep in a bit. It was uneventful, and we confirmed and met some of the weekend staff who will be here for his treatments on Saturday and Sunday. There was some minor confusion about the foley catheter today. An order came down as we were setting up for his treatment to remove it. However, we hadn't heard there was a change from yesterday, when the most of the docs agreed to keep it in. However, after talking to Doc H2 and getting clarification, we had it removed. Hurray, one less tube in Alan!

We definitely have noticed a difference in how Alan is acting today. More feisty and willing to move around (he yanked his pillow from behind his head at one point), but also far calmer and more willing to sleep. He's already needing less morphine, and his heart rate is steady below 100 BPM. We haven't seen that in days.

Doc HJ stopped by and was much happier in how his belly feels. She has authorized for him to be back on a clear liquid diet and the switched the NG tube to gravity. She talked about taking the NG out in the next few days since the rectal tube has been doing such a good job getting rid of the distension in his belly, but we decided to keep it in to make the administration of the oral chemo easier.

Doc H2 also stopped by a couple of times, just to see how he was doing overall. With all the confusion over all the options for Alan's treatment and competing specialists and their opinions, Daddy wanted to clarify who is the chief doctor in Alan's case. Doc H2 confirmed that since he is the one having to come up with an overall game plan, he is the doctor has the final say.

Also, Doc H2 had gave us a briefing because Alan is a high risk patient. There are two major concerns with Alan's type and location of tumor: bowel perforation or abdominal hemorrhaging. If either of those events happen, there is really no recovery for a patient in Alan's condition (and in fact a perfectly healthy child could die from a bowel perforation), and he would not authorize any extraordinary measures. Now, he said right up front that Alan appears to be improving and heading away from those dangers, so he doesn't expect anything. We are already doing everything to avoid these problems and improve Alan's condition.

Finally, Doc M came by just to check on Alan and confirm that he is on track for radiation treatment on Saturday and Sunday. She also told us the x-rays he's had for the last two days have shown decreases in the size of the kidneys, bladder and colon areas... all good signs that the various pressures are being relieved!
On to the weekend...


Contemplating Super Hero stickers while waiting for the radiation treatment room.


Alan decided to put the Iron Man sticker on his IV fluids


The machine set up with Alan's template.