Day 1

Not really sure what to say about today.  We have been waiting for so long for this day, (not in a good way like Christmas or a birthday), but more a day you just want to get to because the quicker it comes the quicker it is dealt with.  So as much as we thought we were ready for it, having had to wait the almost 6 weeks and in our own minds preparing for it, how wrong we were.  Nothing like being bitch slapped by reality to bring you to your senses in the here and now.

With Nate being looked after by Mum, we drove into the RAH.  Parked in the Wilson's car park.  Yes we have free parking for the next 6 weeks.  Thank goodness, as based on today if we were to pay we calculated that we would be out of pocket by around $400 by the end of the treatment.  Everyone at the RAH was so friendly and helpful.  That would be a hard gig to do day in, day out given the patients I saw wondering around.  Potentially a morbid place, but that was not the case.  After the necessary initial paperwork and confirmation at reception we then had a one on one with a nurse who, again just went through the process and what we were to expect short term and long term.  This was then followed by the treatment.  This involved Karen getting into her face mould, which was then anchored to the table which she was lying on.  They then proceeded to take and confirm measurements to ensure she was positioned correctly.  Everyone then left the room while the dosage was administered.  This took all of about 10 minutes and we were all done.  This will be our routine until after Christmas.  We were advised today that the therapy had been extended by a further week to take us through until the 28th of December.  

I have included a number of photos.  One is a front on face shot of Karen, which we will take weekly so we can record any skin reactions or burns over the period.  The other 2 were of the mask and radiotherapy machine used.  I will say as a side note that I was not very comfortable taking the photos.  Karen wanted it to keep a record.  It felt quite macabre to be taking photos of Karen like this.

I pray that each day it might become a little easier as we progress through this time.  I pray that we might not burden Ryan, Matthew and Nate's hearts any more than we need to.  I pray that as the head of my house, I might be a comfort to Karen and the boys and God will give me the right words to say and prompt me to take the right actions in his perfect timing.  Ultimately, I pray that this treatment would be completely successful and rid this cancer from Karen.  Amen.