So Relaxed, He Fell Asleep

Sorry it's taken a while for me to write another update. This last week has been so, so busy, and our computer was out of commission for a few days. So far, Nathan is feeling well and having no trouble with the radiation except feeling nauseous now and then. Today halfway through the treatment he fell asleep. I think it's pretty amazing that he could be so relaxed that he could just drift off. As I sit there watching him on the screen and praying for him, it's comforting to know that others are praying too.

Father's Day Fun

We all survived the first week of radiation. Nathan finds the 20 minute procedure "short" and goes through it without any nervousness that I can see. On Fridays he gets to pick a toy from the treasure chest, and he had in mind that he wanted to get a transformer for his friend who likes transformers. It made us happy to see him thinking of others, and it turned out that it was just the one his friend had been wanting.
It's nice to have the weekend off from the two hours of driving to and from the hospital. The children have been enjoying having their Papa here for a visit, and doing things with him like going to the rodeo, shooting BB guns, and going for ATV rides.

day 1

The first day of radiation is behind us, and six weeks are ahead of us.

Nathan bravely handled this new experience. He lay still with the plastic mask pinning him down to the table - this is to hold him in the same position for every treatment. We bring CD books for him to listen to during the 20 minutes, and his request was HOMER PRICE, a story that makes all of us smile.

Most children don't feel any different during the first week or so. Nathan came home and played cowboys and Indians with the neighbors and his sisters.

We took in this sunset last night.

Pray For Nathan Today

Today at 2:30 Mountain Time, Nathan will have his first radiation treatment. Then it will be every day, Mon - Fri for the next six weeks at 2:00. Please pray for him and for us.

Nathan has not spent the last few days sitting around worrying. As I write this, before we head out, he is happily riding a toy ATV around outside.

Here are some pictures from this morning, and from this weekend, when some people from our church came over to our house for a work day. Lots of big jobs got done, including building the chicken run.

Testing Day

First, we want to thank you for all the sweet encouraging emails, calls and messages. This is a heavy time for us, and knowing that people are caring and praying makes it easier to bear.
Nathan was a trooper and a very brave boy yesterday. In the morning for almost two hours he had I.Q. testing done, to establish a baseline before radiation begins on the 14th. In the afternoon we met with his oncologist. Nathan had asked the day before, "What if the radiation doesn't work?" Aaron asked him if he was worried about that. He replied that he didn't want to worry about it. And we are seeing that he is purposely choosing not to. When asked the same question the good doctor got teary and said that he would move heaven and earth to find something that would help him.

At the end of the day we met with the doctor who will be doing the radiation. Nathan got teary and then so did we when the doctor told him that his vision might get damaged and that he might have a harder time learning because of the radiation. Then he had to lie still while they put hot plastic mesh on his face and shoulders, and wait for it to cool down and harden. This will be the mask he will wear for every treatment to keep him in the same position. Not the easiest procedure, let me tell you, but he handled it so well.

If you could remember us on Tuesday the 14th at 2:30 for his first treatment, we would appreciate it.

Here are some photos from this last weekend. The kids had fun chasing chickens, and Nathan had his first experience riding the neighbor's horse.

Distressing Turn of Events

It's been two months since Nathan's seemingly successful brain surgery. We breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was spared from having to have radiation. But the tumor has grown with a vengeance and his life will be in danger if it continues to grow at this rate.

On the 8th he will have a "mask" made so that he will be in the same position during the treatments, which will be for 6 weeks, Monday thru Fri. Treatments start on June 14th. We would be thankful if you would pray especially on those days and during the six weeks.

The risks from the treatment are that he will most likely lose endocrine/pituitary function and will have to take hormones all his life. His vision could be damaged, and his learning ability. He will be at a higher risk of developing a cancerous brain tumor later in life.

Nathan is facing this bravely and with trust in God. He is a precious boy and teaches me daily. Our family has been trying to memorize the first chapter of James, and this is where it becomes real. This is what Nathan and his sisters have memorized so far, complete with hand motions- (you ought to see them):

"Consider it all joy, my bretheren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man unstable in all his ways." (vs. 1-8)......."Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." (vs. 12)