They Have The Same Hair or Lack Of

This week was uneventful for grandpa. Nani watched the kids, and Grandma Elaine and I took Megan to her treatment. They met with the Dr. and all seems to be on track. Megan has started to lose some hair on the left side of her head. The Dr. said some of it might not come back, but we are not receiving that. We are praying it comes back the same if not thicker and curly. Megan is starting to feel a little bit of the fatigue that they say she would feel. We are praying for her to have strength, and keep her strong attitude. She met with Dr. Pudivalie yesterday. He ran the standard tests and said Megan looks great!!! He checked to see if there was any pressure behind her eyes, there was none. Her next MRI is on March 31st. They don't expect to see much change, but we are expecting the tumor to be gone. Lets keep praying for a total healing.

Better Look At Megan's Mask

All Is Well

Megan and I spent some time with the Dr. during her visit on Tuesday. The Dr. thought I was Megan's husband. This tells me two things. That I am still looking very young for my age. I told the Dr. when she was surprised that I was her father, "I am just very young looking and extremely handsome". She agreed!!! The second thing that it tells me is that the Dr. thinks Megan has some pretty low standards for men (sorry Felix). Oh well win some you lose some. Because I didn't have the girls with me this week, (Thanks Nani) I was able to push my way into all sorts of places. The young lady that helps Megan with her treatments was very surprised to see me walking in the back halls of the hospital like I owned the place. She was nice, but really did wonder who I thought I was just walking around the treatment center. After a little glad handing, and some Stork charm, she allowed me to go into the treatment vault. I am not sure that is what they call it, but that is a great name for it. Megan & I were taken down a long hall way into a room. They lay her on a table and fix a soft plastic fish net mask to her face, and then bolt it to a table. They then take a laser and align the radiation machine. They pressed a button and told me, "we need to leave now". As I continue to ask questions they cup their hands under my armpit and are pushing me back down the long hall. When I look up, I realize why they seem to be in such a hurry. The door at the end of the hallway is about a foot thick, and it's closing!! Once out of the room, I asked if I can stay and watch from the camera room. They politely, but firmly tell me NO!! "You must go back to the waiting area". A little more of the old Stork charm only produced another, but more stern NO!! "Now go so we can get our work done". I have a picture attached that shows the lasers used to aligning the machine as Megan is bolted to the table. It's not the best picture so I am working on getting a better photo. Please continue to pray for Megan, as the end of this week will mark the 1/2 way point of her treatment. The visit with the Dr. was fun. She asked Megan all kinds of questions, which Megan replied NO!! to most of them. Very few side effects if any have shown up. She has started to experience a little thinning of the hair, but that is about it. Please keep praying because it is working. I would also like you to pray for Brian O'Neill, and his wife Angie. They are friends through the blog & friends of my family. Brian is fighting a tumor also. You can visit his blog at aboneill.blogspot.com. Please do so and send his blog to all and anyone you know who will pray for him. We would like to have people all over the world pray for his total recovery.

Should Not See Any Side Effects

This was Megan's first full week of treatments. The Dr. she met with on Tuesday said they don't expect to see much in the way of side effects from the radiation. Megan is young and has lots of energy. She is starting to feel a little bit of a burn on her scalp. She has been instructed to keep her head covered at all times when she is out side. They have also given her some cream to keep the scalp moist and help with the burn. She has not felt much in the way of fatigue, and the Dr.s don't expect her to. I think she looks great in a dew rag. The biker chick look does her well. Please continue to pray for Megan. I think I over heard the two little ones plotting to do grandpa harm next Tuesday. I am not sure because I can't understand a word they say. We are expecting God to do some great things. Please ask anyone you know to pray for her also.

Don't Let Her Fool You

Treatment Has Begun

Megan started radiation treatment on Monday. Marion took her and the girls for round one of the 6 weeks. She was told that Monday (the first day) would be the longest day due to getting everything set up. They were there for about 45 minutes. The process only takes 5 minutes, so she can get in and out in a short period of time. The reason it took a little longer on Monday is due to the initial set up process. They made more markings on the mask, and reviewed the plan as to how they are going to zap the rest of the tumor. The report on the latest MRI was that there was NO CHANGE!!! in the growth of the tumor. This is great news!! The treatment is a series of 5 different angles that the tumor is hit from. Megan is positioned on a table which moves. In addition to the table moving, the machine also moves to get just the right spot and angle of radiation beam to kill the remaining tumor cells. The radiation will tend to burn the scalp, so she is instructed to keep her head covered at all times, when she is out side. TUESDAY!!! Grandpa volunteered to take Megan to the hospital on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are my days off. Marion has agreed to watch the girls while I take Megan. We were informed that Tuesdays would be the day that Megan gets to meet with the Dr. He wants to meet to make sure all is going according to plan. This is great news because I like lots of detail, and there is nothing better than getting the information first hand. This Tuesday the wheels seemed to fall off the wagon. Marion had a Dr.s appointment so grandpa had to take the girls, and watch them in the VERY small waiting area. I figured what the heck, Megan will be in and out in 15 minutes, how much can go wrong in 15 minutes. Well all I can say is, more than you can ever imagine!!!! Not only was I not suppose to have teh girls, but I had them for over an hour. What went wrong? I thought the first day would be the longest. How did this happen?? Watching little girls is like trying to herd cats. A boy you can turn lose and not have to much to worry about. Girls are very needy, they need snacks & toys & bottles & diapers changed, and they love to bother other people in the waiting area. They fight like cats and dogs and can even get there fingers caught in doors when your not looking. They ran around that hospital like a bunch of wild Indians. They scream at each other, and its just lots of noise coming out. You really can't desifer much of what they are saying. They even had one old man circling his wagons. At least that's the look he had on his face. He finally got up, and walked out of the waiting room. If any of you would like to venture out and help with taking Megan to her treatments or watching the wild Indians please call Marion. I have retired at this point.