Radiation Eli finished his radiation Wednesday, October 13th. He had some increasing pain in his back, so he had previously been unable to lay down on the table long enough for the radiation. So, I gave him all the pain meds at my disposal (maybe 5 or 6?) and he was able to finish. Eli …
For the longest time, when asked how he was doing, Eli's response was "Same as always". In his mind, this response made perfect sense since he felt generally well and that was the same as he always felt. It bugged him to always be asked the same question by every medical person who rotated in …
View as we drove away from radiation treatment As Eli and I were driving home from the couple of appointments he had today, we were greeted by pouring rain, pounding hail, thundering lightning, glowing sunshine, and a stunning rainbow. As I pondered the visits with doctors and staff, I realized the weather was a perfect …
I shouldn't be surprised by the complexity of getting some prescriptions filled, but even so, it shouldn't be as difficult as it is. When we were trying to get Eli discharged from the hospital last Friday, July 30th, the only thing holding us up was getting a prescription filled. We had been transitioning from a …
I have thought about this question off and on for a long time. There are a couple definitions I found that apply here: 1. the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure 2. the emotional or mental qualities necessary in dealing with situations or events that are distressing or difficult …
Unfortunately, I'm writing this post while in the emergency department with Eli while he struggles to breathe. On Tuesday, we began celebrating his (then) upcoming 13th birthday by taking a group of his friends and siblings to a fun center. My friend Amy did they scheduling and planning, including designing and printing the Dungeons & …
How do you find "measurable disease" when there isn't any? I had postponed writing this post, not trusting my interpretation of Eli's latest scans. There's pretty much always something on his scans that raise questions about whether something indicates the cancer is being active or not. The long and short of it is: There is …
That is Eli's typical response when asked how he's doing. What does it mean? It usually means that he's doing fine and is in a good mood. Today, we are starting a different treatment. We are back to trying chemo, a different regimen, but chemo just the same. Same as always. We're easing back into …
We usually think of being photogenic as looking good on camera. What do you call someone who looks good on scans? Eli is having his MRI now and negotiated with the nurse when she would put in his IV for the contrast. During said negotiations, she mentioned how good he is at getting his MRIs. …
Coming out of anesthesia Even though there is no intent to cure, there are still treatment options that may help keep the cancer at bay or slow progression. In order to determine what options may help, Eli's arm tumor is being sent for genetic testing. It will probably have the same genetic makeup as his …
Eli The Boss 