HERES ANNES LATEST POST ON CARINGBRIDGE.ORG. WHAT AN AMAZING KID AND AN AMAZING FAMILY. PLEASE KEEP THE PRAYERS AND POSITIVE THOUGHTS COMING! Homestretch... By Anne Abbott — Dec 1, 2014 3:52pm 23 down...7 to go! Woohoo!! Its been a while since I posted because the last couple of weeks were kind of a whirlwind. Last Sunday, the proton machine went down and remained down through Tuesday evening. It was quite an emotional week for all of us parents because the machine failure meant we had to make some decisions about treatment. We had already made our choice for Coopers treatment plan after lots of agonizing, so to be put back in the position of making choices was unexpected and emotional. After two days of the machine being down, we had to choose whether we wanted to let another day pass without any treatment or allow him to receive photon radiation. We traveled to FL for proton radiation therapy because research has proven it to be less damaging to healthy tissue while equally effective at killing cancer cells. Of course, this is what we want for Cooper! After speaking to his oncologist here in FL as well as his oncologist at St. Jude, we had felt the answer was clear....he needed that treatment! Another missed day could render the whole treatment ineffective. We couldnt risk that, so we went with the photon fall-back and we hope and pray that the side effects, both immediate and long term are minimal. We would be so grateful if you sent some prayers up as well. On Tuesday, our luck changed when I received a 6pm call from Coopers amazing Nurse Practitioner with the news the machine was back up and ready in time for Coopers treatment. I cried...literally! And, later thought how strange my world is when a call about a radiation machine reduces me to tears! :) I wasnt the only one around here crying happy tears though! Tuesday was also Coopers first day of non-sedated treatment. The machine fiasco pushed his appointment so far back that the Child Life specialist who normally goes back with the kids on their first day was long gone. In spite of that....Cooper NAILED it! Went right back and did that treatment awake all by himself! Could not have been any prouder of him then....more happy tears after that one! He had a great visit from Daddy for Thanksgiving and even made it to the beach. We have so much to be grateful for this year...we are reminded each day that we are truly blessed that so many people care about Cooper and his health and well-being. Our friends and family never let a day pass without letting us know that they care and offering their help. Not everyone has it so lucky...plenty of people are facing this journey with their children on their own...no help from anyone. Alex and I feel so blessed by everyone who has shown their support throughout this journey....it really means the world to us. So, thank you, thank you, thank you and we hope all of you felt just as blessed and loved this Thanksgiving as we did! The countdown is on now so keep the prayers coming that Cooper keeps feeling and doing so well for the remaining treatments and that they continue to be effective at killing cancer while doing minimal damage to his sweet little body and mind! Alex and Anne
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:57:07 +0000
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