First treatments

Kol had his first radiation treatment today, and it turned out that he had his first chemo today, too.  We knew there would be chemo at the same time as the radiation but we didn't know exactly when the chemo would start until the last minute. 

The radiation went well.  They had painted Kol's helmet with a picture of Super Mario, which made him happy.  The radiation technicians were great. They had made a chart with pictures of Star Wars characters and squares for each treatment.  He'll get to put up a sticker each day he comes for treatments.  He had the helmet on for so long that it left a waffle pattern on his face.  It kind of looked like bubble wrap, or spiderman.

 After the radiation we went upstairs, and Kol got his first dose of vincristine.  It is supposed to have fewer side effects than many of the other chemo drugs.  It was given through an IV over 15 minutes, and he also got saline for a few minutes before and a few minutes after.  He really doesn't like the needles, even with the numbing cream.  It went well, though, and while we were talking with the nurse after Kol was done, Kol got to play on the very cool Wii.  It is pre-loaded with tons of games. 

When we got home to grandma & grandpa's house, Ulla was there with the other kids.  She had told them that Kol might not feel well, and that it might be a good idea to keep things quiet and calm for him.  Kol surprised them all by charging into the house and pretending to attack them with his light saber. 

Kol did start to feel nauseous about 30 minutes after we got back, and was sick about every half hour after that.  Gravol helped finally around 9:00, and he is sleeping well now.

Kirk and I are starting to feel really tired - maybe we are starting to crash after all that has been going on.  I'd love to be able to hide, to bury my head in the sand, to sleep for a week.  Seeing Kol sick from the milder drug gave us our first glimpse into what we may be facing.  It won't be easy.