Beginning Radiation
I gotta be honest. I don't like this at all. In fact, I hate it.
As a parent you would gladly exchange places with your child in a situation like this. If there were a way I could trade places with Kyler, I would do it in a heartbeat. But it doesn't work that way. Sandie and I have to watch as our little boy is forced to endure being cut, poked, tested, filled with all sorts of drugs, and subjected to a protocol of treatment designed to heal him by taking him closer to death's door than I am comfortable.
Today was Kyler’s first radiation treatment. I have to remember that it is just the first one. Things can change. God can intervene. But if today was an indicator of how things are going to look in the future, I'm not looking forward to it.
As many of you know, Kyler cannot eat for eight hours prior to his 2:00 PM appointment at the radiation oncology center due to the fact that he will be under general anesthesia for each of his daily treatments over the next six weeks. It's hard for a five year old to go all day without eating. Our hope was that he would be able to eat well after his treatment so he would lose as little weight as possible. The doctors tell us that 50% of children have to get a feeding tube put in because they aren’t able to eat well enough after the treatments.
Well, the anesthesia they are using does not agree with Kyler. He's not allergic to it, but one the typical side effects of any general anesthesia is nausea. The other side effect of this particular anesthesia is that it makes you ‘irritable’ as you are coming out. That is a terrific understatement in Kyler’s case. As he comes out of anesthesia he screams, thrashes, kicks, and yells at everyone around him. The word demon-posessed came to mind. It was very difficult to drive home with Kyler in the back seat pounding my seat with his feet, screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to hit Sandie, and telling her that he hates her. It was very difficult not to get angry with him. But those of you who know Kyler know that is not who he is. He is compassionate, self-less, and generous. It was so hard for me to hear him say in between sobs, “I can’t control my grumpy feelings!”
He wasn’t able to keep anything down tonight, unfortunately. We continue to pray that he is able to eat in the evening after his treatments. If he loses more than 10% of his body weight, they will have to put in the feeding tube. He only weighs 35 pounds right now. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out he can’t lose a lot of weight.
In all this, I echo the Psalmist’s cry that he raised up toward the end of many a lament over difficult circumstance, “Yet I will praise you.”
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
As a parent you would gladly exchange places with your child in a situation like this. If there were a way I could trade places with Kyler, I would do it in a heartbeat. But it doesn't work that way. Sandie and I have to watch as our little boy is forced to endure being cut, poked, tested, filled with all sorts of drugs, and subjected to a protocol of treatment designed to heal him by taking him closer to death's door than I am comfortable.
Today was Kyler’s first radiation treatment. I have to remember that it is just the first one. Things can change. God can intervene. But if today was an indicator of how things are going to look in the future, I'm not looking forward to it.
As many of you know, Kyler cannot eat for eight hours prior to his 2:00 PM appointment at the radiation oncology center due to the fact that he will be under general anesthesia for each of his daily treatments over the next six weeks. It's hard for a five year old to go all day without eating. Our hope was that he would be able to eat well after his treatment so he would lose as little weight as possible. The doctors tell us that 50% of children have to get a feeding tube put in because they aren’t able to eat well enough after the treatments.
Well, the anesthesia they are using does not agree with Kyler. He's not allergic to it, but one the typical side effects of any general anesthesia is nausea. The other side effect of this particular anesthesia is that it makes you ‘irritable’ as you are coming out. That is a terrific understatement in Kyler’s case. As he comes out of anesthesia he screams, thrashes, kicks, and yells at everyone around him. The word demon-posessed came to mind. It was very difficult to drive home with Kyler in the back seat pounding my seat with his feet, screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to hit Sandie, and telling her that he hates her. It was very difficult not to get angry with him. But those of you who know Kyler know that is not who he is. He is compassionate, self-less, and generous. It was so hard for me to hear him say in between sobs, “I can’t control my grumpy feelings!”
He wasn’t able to keep anything down tonight, unfortunately. We continue to pray that he is able to eat in the evening after his treatments. If he loses more than 10% of his body weight, they will have to put in the feeding tube. He only weighs 35 pounds right now. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out he can’t lose a lot of weight.
In all this, I echo the Psalmist’s cry that he raised up toward the end of many a lament over difficult circumstance, “Yet I will praise you.”
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
| 8:13 PM
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