Radiation Completed

After (1) trying every medication known to help decrease saliva production; (2) ligating (tying off) the lower salivary glands; and (3) completing a year and a half of botox injections with limited results, and almost two years after we first met with a radiation oncologist to discuss radiating Jack's salivary glands ... Jack finally had the radiation treatment today. Radiation is a treatment of last resort other than surgically removing the glands (which is a heck of a lot more painful than radiation). Jack was a trooper through the whole thing. He had to be in the room alone for about a half hour. They had a camera in the room and we could see him on a monitor, but I wasn't comfortable with him being in there by himself and not being able to see his face - so I requested a pulse-ox, which they quickly provided. Being able to see his numbers throughout the treatment made me feel better. Everyone treated Jack well and they even gave me a little gift when we finished (I guess they felt bad for the scheduling snafu a couple weeks ago). We should see maximum results within two weeks. Wish us luck!

Here are some pictures post treatment (after the radiation mask was removed):

Happy to have the mask off!

Tomorrow morning Eric has a well-check with the pediatrician. Eric hasn't had a well check since he was a year old (who's got time for well-checks?) I'm only taking him in because he needs vaccinations for school. There are several vaccines I won't agree to give him -- a couple of the newer ones. However, I'm okay with the ones that have been around since I was a kid. When we explained to Eric what vaccines he needed and why, he - naturally - wanted all the details about the diseases that he could get if he didn't get the vaccine. I suppose he wanted to weigh the pros and cons before he agreed to this! Tomorrow should be interesting .........