A radiation day. Tim was throwing up a lot, today.
Tim's oncology doctor has scheduled a MRI of Tim's head on August 1. She doesn't think he should be throwing up this much and wants to check and see how things look. (CL)
Sunday July 23, 2000
Timothy has had a really good weekend. I think he appreciates the time when he is feeling well. This weekend he played tug-of-war with his dog, visited the mall to get a new "stress ball" (yes he wore the other one out!), Rode up the sidewalk a ways on a new Razor scooter, and went to Church today. That was a blessing for us all. Timothy is loosing all of his hair this weekend. He has a good attitude about it and was even joking with his friends. Big day tomorrow - Simulation at 9:00 (long appointment where they map out the new areas they will be radiating and making a new mask) then radiation at 11:30. BUT, Dad has rented a Mustang Convertible to "cruise the coast" in between appointments. (GS)
Monday 7/24/00
May I take a moment on behalf of Ed and myself to thank all of you who have been so helpful and supportive to us throughout this time. Your prayer, encouraging words and notes have meant so much to us. People have brought meals, entertained Trenton, watered our plants, walked our dog and just sat and held us... we appreciate you all! Many of you have asked "When is a good time to come and visit Timothy?" We would love for you to come, but probably the best thing to do would be to call when it is convenient for you and we can let you know how Timothy is doing. We really can't be sure from one hour to the next how Timothy will be feeling. Now about Timothy - he really enjoyed the ride in the convertible. He hasn't had one of his better days today - getting sick more often, but his attitude is good and he even asked his cousin to spend the night. Love, Ginny
Wednesday 7/26/00
We have calculated the days - Timothy's last radiation treatment should be Aug. 10th and the last Chemo treatment Aug. 14th. Then Timothy gets one month off!! Radiation will be complete, but he will start back with Chemo, once every 3 weeks. Watch the website for a new picture. Our friends and website experts have taken a new picture of Timothy. Today was another difficult day for Timothy. Lots of nausea and "I don't want to feel like this anymore." But now at 9:p.m. he's perked up a little and even asked for some popcorn. Timothy meets with his Neurosurgeon tomorrow a.m. Thank you for praying. Love, Ginny
Saturday 7/29/00
Timothy's appointment with his Neurosurgeon went very well. He said Timothy is doing great. He did not know of any physiological reason why Timothy is having so much trouble with being sick to his stomach, but did say he had one other patient that had similar problems all the way through the radiation period. Timothy saw a movie yesterday (The Kid). Laughter is good medicine. Today he got some sunshine. We took a 2 hour walk (well Timothy got wheeled) around the park, stop for breakfast at Jon's Place (took Dog Diedra so we ate outside), and took the long way home. Timothy was then ready to relax and cool off. Please continue to pray for Tuesday MRI scheduled at 2:45 at Hoag. We pray that it would be clear and show no problems. Also, Timothy is anxious about the MRI itself. He still gets dizzy when laying flat and that's part of it, but I think he is also anxious because the "MRI" is what revealed the tumor in the first place and started all this. The doctors are prepared to put him under anesthesia if necessary, but of course we would prefer he not need it.
Love, Ginny
Monday 7/31/00
Today turned out to be a big day. Timothy had Chemo this a.m. and his Oncologist said he needed a blood transfusion because he was anemic. She was also concerned about his cough (over the weekened) and wanted a chest and sinus X-ray. After Chemo at CHOC, we went to radiation at Hoag, then back to CHOC to be admitted for Transfusion and tests. Timothy also had some type of breathing treatment (under a tent for about 20 min.) that is supposed to help prevent pneumonia. He has had trouble taking his prophylactic antibiotic by mouth because it makes him sick to his stomach - which he already has a problem with. The doctor described this treatment as something that could be done once a month, rather than making sure the antibiotics stayed down 3 x a week. We got home just after 10:00 p.m. Timothy's color looks much better. No results from X-rays yet. Tomorrows MRI has been moved to 11:00 a.m. They will be putting Timothy under anesthesia so we will be there to check in at 9:00. I guess that means no radiation tomorrow.....I'll have to check in the a.m. Thank you for praying.
Love, Ginny
Wednesday 8/2/00
Everything went really well yesterday. Timothy was not too nervous since he got to "go to sleep" for the MRI. He came out of the anesthesia easily and felt well enough to got downstairs and get his radiation treatment. We heard from the doctors that Timothy's chest and sinus x-rays were negative for any type of infection. Timothy's Neurosurgeon got a copy of the MRI report and his office called today to let us know that everything is perfectly normal. There is some residual fluid at the site of surgery, which is expected and normal. We are counting our blessings!
For those of you who have asked, and would consider donating blood, this would truely be an act of love. I didn't realize until recently that California's blood bank is really low. CHOC hospital has a center that you can donate, and the blood goes specifically for the children of CHOC. They will make appointments M-F from 9-6. With paperwork and preparation, appointments usually take about 45 min. (15 min. of that time giving blood). If you are interested, you can call 714-532-8339 and let them know you are donating in Timothy Salas's name. Any child may receive the blood, but they would like to know how the person was referred.
Much love, Ginny