We met with the doctor today for our weekly scheduled appointment to check on Travis’ progress and we discussed the various side effects of the radiation treatment.  She said that what we are experiencing is normal and most people are pretty run down by the end of the week.  She said that his jaw is hurting due to the radiation affecting his salivary gland and recommended some sour treats to keep exercising things.  She said that he should recharge over the weekend and bounce back by Monday to start Week 2.

After having a little lunch and a big cup of pudding, we went to the school at MD Anderson today after therapy.  Travis was a little tired and his jaw was hurting but he powered through and worked on his school work there.  It is good to have distractions for him after the treatment to keep him from focusing on the pot holes in his road to recovery.  We received a nice card from Clarkesville Academy in the mail today when we got back home.  Thank you!

Tony’s flight was delayed but he made it!  Thanks Saul for a ride to the airport!  Tyler, Grandma and Cisco are holding down the home front for several days and have some plans for the weekend.  Thanks to the Nielson family for a wonderful dinner.  Tyler sent us a picture of the dinner table.  Wow!  We really don’t have any plans in Houston right now other than Travis wants to sleep in on Saturday so we will do that and then see what the weekend brings.

Week 1 is Done!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

We had our therapy this morning Travis was a little reluctant to go.  His stomach is still hurting a little bit. During the treatment, he smells Clorox and sees flashing lights, which is the brain playing tricks on him.  From what we are told, this is normal. I try to keep things positive saying that every day we get closer to the end of treatment.  The technician reminded him of how great he is doing, since most kids need sedation.  They joke around with him and play rock music, but it is what it is, a grind. They are so nice here, but it’s just a cruddy thing to have to go through.  We were going to visit the school at MD Anderson (big hospital) today after therapy, but he was just too tired and his jaw is starting to hurt.  We came home and he took a 2 hour nap. My little guy is such a warrior! The technician told me that he is one of the nicest kids. Hopefully this weekend, we can do something fun when Tony gets here to take his mind off of things.  Almost done with Week 1!

Thanks,

Lynne

We have been so busy that we have fallen behind on our picture uploads.  Sorry!  We hope you can understand…There are some more new pictures as of yesterday and today.

Distance to Empty = 3 Miles

Some have asked about the picture that shows part of our dashboard so I will try to explain.  When driving across the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, there are many times that there will be signs indicating that there are “No Services” for the next 40, 50 or 60 miles.  This is usually a good time to double check your Gas, Food, and Bathroom situations and proceed if all will last that distance.  We were driving in Texas between El Paso and San Antonio and found ourselves coasting into the next available gas station with our dashboard reading “Distance to Empty 3 Miles”  and the AC Off.  Normally we paid attention to these signs very carefully and had plenty of buffer, in all accounts, to make it to the next small town.  However, in this case, there was no sign indicating that there would be ~50 miles between towns and we kept expecting to see an exit in the next mile or two.  Well, the exit never came in 50 miles and we just barely made it to the gas station with only 3 miles to spare.  Someone must have been looking out for us!

Thanks,

Tony

We are getting into the swing of things.  Travis had a good day and only said that his stomach was a little off but he was still eating.  He is talking about all the things he wants to do and food he wants to eat when Tony gets here on Friday.  That is a good sign!  Even though we talk all the time, we had a Skype video call with Tony, Tyler, Grandma and Cisco.  There is something about that face to face, you know?  Where would we be without our communication and information today?

Tony had soccer practice and everyone was asking how we are doing.  It is nice to have the support from everyone and Travis can’t wait until he can get back to play soccer with the boys.  One of the hotel staff has connections to both the Houston Hurricanes (semi-pro soccer team) and Houston Dynamos (MLS team) and said that he will check into tickets for one of the upcoming games.  That will be cool!

Travis built one of his Lego sets and he calls it physical therapy.  He may be working the system a little but we are glad that he is keeping occupied.  He also worked on his homework this afternoon.  Mrs. Roberts has been so good about keeping us included and providing work for him to do.  Travis’ table group received extra table points (reward system) since Travis wore his 4^th grade t-shirt and we emailed a picture of him in it.  We plan to do this every week so that we are still connected.  We are going to try and stop by the school classroom over on the MD Anderson campus tomorrow after our treatment.  Last week, we met the Education Director and Teacher and they are so nice.  They are willing to help Travis in any way (questions, work, tutoring, etc.) and they are very flexible in their schedule.

One of the little girls here “Banged the Gong” today which signals the end of their treatment.  Can’t wait for that day but we will take things one step at a time.

Thanks to everyone for all of your positive thoughts, prayers, texts, emails, calls and words of encouragement.  You really help keep us going!  Also, thanks to the Williams family for a delicious meal!

May God bless Aunt Mary Anne and her family and hopefully her surgery went well today!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

We started out the day the same as yesterday after the treatment (not feeling well with the same side effects). We made it to our 7:00 am appointment at MD Anderson. When they were taking vitals and accessing his port, I informed them of the problems Travis had right after the therapy yesterday. They passed it along to the nurse practitioner and doctor so that when we met with them, they already knew the situation. I told them that I have to have the meds that I need for side effects before I leave the hospital so that I don’t have to go out during the side effects. They said no problem. I also wanted him to get Zofran (for nausea) through his port, before we left. If they gave him the dissolving pill, he would have thrown it up within an hour and we would not be making any progress. They agreed.

So, today was a lot better. By the time we were back at the Proton Center for our 10:30 am therapy, Travis was already feeling a little better. The therapy lasted for 40 minutes and he was feeling even better after that. No headache. His stomach did hurt a little, but not like yesterday. We came home and took a two hour nap. He ate some pretzels and felt like having a little mashed potatoes for dinner. Yea! So we are doing Zofran three times a day, the steroid three times a day and Pepcid AC twice a day. They are starting him on an antibiotic, taken Saturdays and Sundays only. They also said that I could give him Benedril alternating with Zofran if the nausea won’t stop. So at least I feel better about being able to take care of what might come our way. I almost forgot, he had the chemo (vincristine) today and had no problems with that. The only side effect is constipation but we know how to deal with that.  Travis is watching TV now and talking about what he wants to eat when he feels 100%.  I can’t wait. It’s music to my ears!

We had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered thanks to our new friend in Houston, Christyn (Cara’s sister) and her family!  We also had a great care package from Clint’s cousins, Stacy, Brian, Evan, Alec and their wonderful friend Jack (from the “Little Hands Make a Big Difference” foundation).  Travis had a big Texas smile on his face.  ;o)  Thanks everyone so much for your support!

Thanks,

Lynne

Week 1!

We had our first proton treatment today.  Our day started with breakfast in the hotel and then we left for the Proton Center.  Since we were not sure about the traffic, we left early and ended up getting there an hour early.  We were given a quick tour of the actual treatment area and then they took Travis back to get started. When he was done, he had a headache.  It just got worse as the day went on.  There were side effects (nausea, etc.) from that, but he is resting now.  The doctor prescribed a steroid to try and help.  The nurse said that the treatment is a shock to the body in the beginning.  Tomorrow they are adding chemo (vincristine) along with the Proton therapy.  We are praying that tomorrow will be better for him.  He is such a sweetie.

After a slight delay in LA, Grandma arrived today and we are happy to have her help!  She is going to be in Carlsbad for at least 6 weeks but says she can stay as long as we need which is a huge help so that we can keep things normal while we focus on the treatment.

We have been introduced to yet another great contact in the Houston area.  As it turns out, Cara’s sister, Christyn, moved to Houston about a year ago and in fact, lives about 10 minutes away from where we are.  She contacted us today and has offered to help with anything.  Chrisyn said that last Wednesday they hosted a St Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving event at their elementary school.  19 kids and 3 adults shaved their heads to support children with cancer.  She said that kids like Travis are why they do it!  Wow!

Thanks for a great dinner from the Galli family for Tony, Tyler and Grandma!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

After getting settled, we had a good night’s sleep in our new Home away from Home.  We woke up and had breakfast which is provided by the hotel every day.  We decided to go to mass at the church across the street before heading to the airport.  The church turns out to be quite diverse and each mass has a different theme.  The 9AM mass is described as: “Contemporary worship music is provided by the St. Cyril Singers, a large adult folk choir.  Music is accompanied by piano and guitar.  Ambiance is uplifting and folksy.”  Father Mario is a good speaker and mixes in some humor along the way.  Next weekend, we will have to try the 5PM mass since it is described as: “Intense contemporary praise and worship music.  Very lively, focused mainly on the young and young at heart (Definitely not for the traditionalist or ‘faint of heart’). Ambiance is loud and electric!”  We have to see what that is all about!

After church, we had a little time to hang out and then drove out to the airport so Tony and Tyler could head home to Carlsbad.  It is hard to believe 10 days have gone by so fast and hopefully the next few weeks will too.

Upgraded to First Class!

It wasn’t easy to part ways but Tony will be back on Friday.

We left the airport and drove to Trader Joe’s.  Yes, we found Trader Joe’s and stocked up which makes us feel even more at home.  Back at the hotel, Travis played basketball, kicked the soccer ball around and tried out the treadmill in the gym.  Tony and Tyler made it home.  Thanks to the entire Garman family for picking up the boys from the airport.  What a great welcome home!

Thank goodness for Trader Joes!

The Cutest Girls!

Cisco was glad to see Tony and Tyler and followed them around all night.  Thanks Maggie for taking such good care of our little boy!  It is time to get some rest for our first day of treatment tomorrow.

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

We are very fortunate to have such loving family and friends!  We can’t say “Thank You” enough for all that everyone is doing for us.  This one is hard to describe in words and even hard to write.  Travis’ 16 year old cousin, Bryan, decided he was going to shave his head in support of Travis for when he will eventually lose his hair from the radiation/chemotherapy treatments.  He talked his dad, Uncle Clint, into doing the same thing, although Clint didn’t really need any persuading.  WOW!!!  So, we set up a Skype session with Aunt Karen, Uncle Clint, Bryan and Grandma so Travis could watch the events unfold.  Their friend, who is also a barber in addition to his many talents, came over with his clippers and went to work on a work of love. Brian went first of course and since his hair WAS so thick, they had to cut it in two steps.  Before you knew it, he was done.  Then Uncle Clint’s turn came.  As a retired Army Blackhawk pilot, he was used to keeping his hair shorter so his turn was done in one step.  WOW…You guys are some good looking dudes! Just think about all the cost you will save on shampoo and the time you save getting ready in the mornings.

Travis is in awe that someone would do this for him and frankly, so are we.  We really appreciate you guys and your very open act of love!

Love,

Tony, Lynne, Tyler, Travis and Cisco