S + D + d + p + d: January 2021

From Sam:

The process for, and the actual procedure for the radiation treatment was really easy. The week prior to the procedure, I went in and had my plastic mesh mask made for my head. This mask is worn during the treatment and holds the patient’s head very, very still to ensure that the radiation goes to the exact spot on the brain--the resection cavity--rather than targeting the healthy parts of the brain. The making of the mask took about 15-20 minutes and there were 3-4 people helping to mold the mask to my face.

For the actual procedure, I laid on a table, and the mask was put on, or I should say, clamped on. My head was not going to move. I am not claustrophobic, so the mask didn’t bother me. I just closed my eyes, helped the technicians adjust my mask so that it fit tightly, and then took a little nap. I was able to breath normally with the mask on. At one point, I could feel the bed I was laying on being rotated, so I lost my sense of direction and orientation. Also, similar to when you get an MRI you can listen to music. The Huntsman Center has access to Spotify so you can literally listen to anything you want to help you stay relaxed. I had to take out my hearing aids, so I couldn’t hear the music too well, but they had calm, piano music playing.

The actual radiation procedure took about 15 minutes. Pretty easy. They let me take my mask so that I could show Daniel and the kids. About 30-45 minutes before my treatment I was given some steroids to help with the swelling the radiation would cause. The steroids are great at reducing inflammation, but they make it so you can’t sleep. In my case, it makes me feel like I have more energy than I really do. About two days after my treatment the steroid must have worn off because I started to feel really tired, more so than usual. On Friday I had to get another infusion (maintenance treatment) which makes me tired anyway, so between those two treatments I have felt really tired. Hopefully by the end of next week I won’t feel so wiped out. Also, there is the possibility that my hair will fall out in the spot where I received the radiation, but that is a delayed response, so it may be another week before I can tell if I will have some hair loss.

After my radiation treatment, I had a visit with my neurosurgeon, Dr. Randy Jensen. He was very pleased with how I am healing and was asking about my vision and if I was seeing (ha! “seeing”) any improvement. I explained to him what I could see and what I couldn’t see. He looked at me and said, “I am shocked!” He didn’t think that I would be seeing so well out of my periphery, and was prepared to tell me to wait 3 months. He explained that the vision loss I am still experiencing is usually the last to improve, but because of how well my vision has already improved, he is very, very hopeful that in 2-6 months I will be able to see just fine again. That conversation made me hopeful. It is still hard to read and I don’t drive anywhere, but it gave me hope to know that for where I am at in my recovery I am doing better than what is expected.

The mask Sam wore for her radiation treatment.

Sam also underwent another CT scan and bone scan the same day she received the radiation. For the first time since her diagnoses, neither scan detected any cancer in her body. Great news! The treatments are working. We are hoping for a nice, quiet, boring 2021 during which Sam will "only" have to complete her routine maintenance infusions once every three weeks, as well as a few MRIs and other routine visits with the docs scattered throughout the year. We don't want any more surprises! 😀

I tried out Sam's mask.

Batman

Grandma took care of the children while Sam and I were at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) on the 19th. Penny drew this picture of Sam.

Sam and I spent the entire day at the HCI on the 19th. We had lots of time to talk while waiting for the various appointments (the radiation treatment and scans). During one of our conversations - we were talking about drugs - I said, "It's against my religion." At that exact moment an elderly woman walked by, lowered her mask a bit and sternly said, "It's against my religion, too." She took a few more steps, turned and said, " . . . if you're talking about masks." 😁 Old people, they make me laugh.

A few random photos from the past two weeks:

One of the recent mottos of our church leaders is "reduce and simplify." In order to follow their example, I decided to reduce and simplify our 2020 Christmas tree and I told the children that we can use our new tree for Christmas 2021. 😀

Douglas enjoyed this Christmas video for a while. He got the girls hooked on it and now they ask to watch it almost on a daily basis during our morning scripture study.