Silvadene

Here Jonah is with one of the therapy dogs that visit Ronald McDonald House.  To say that Jonah loves dogs is somehow an understatement.  He chooses therapy dogs over everything else he loves them so much. 

I'm tired of side-effects.  We have perhaps grown numb to the side effect of vomiting and hardly count that one anymore and because of that, I'd say we've been relatively side-effect free since Jonah started recovering from the stem cell transplant back in February.  That is, until this week.  We have been vigilant with Jonah's skin care during radiation - slathering him nightly with enough coconut oil to make him glisten- as prevention really is the best medicine.  It's not enough for his sensitive skin though, and this week a few burn spots have broken through.  Because of that we're stepping up our game and will be changing the skin care routine to mirror that of a mild burn patient.  There is a drying soak that we need to use twice a day, moisturizing 3-5 times a day and silvadene which is a burn repair cream.  We're doing all of this to try and keep things from getting worse.  Jonah has 9 treatments left and the skin effects of radiation can continue to worsen for up to 2 weeks after completion.  That means we have a little more than 3 weeks left where things can get worse before they get better.  In addition to all the other things you might be praying for for us and Jonah, please add skin resilience to that list.  These burn spots are painful and the pre-burn spots are itchy.  Treatment won't change because of these skin issues, but we feel about treatment might.

In keeping with the spirit of gray in May, since I'm talking about short term radiation issues, here's a little fact about long term radiation issues.........

Fact:

Radiation to a child's brain can significantly damage cognitive function, or if radiation is given at a very young age, limiting the ability to read, do basic math, tell time or even talk.  Because of that, doctors will only conceded to radiation in children under 3 in the most dire of circumstances.
Physical and neurocognitive disabilities resulting from treatment may prevent childhood cancer survivors from fully participating in school and various social activities which can lead to difficulty getting married and obtaining work (making it difficult to obtain health and life insurance).