Another Hurdle Down

The good news is what we hope will be Tom's last radiation treatment was Thursday, December 13. Of course, like everything else, this was not an easy accomplishment. Tom came down with the flu on Wednesday night but a team of wild horses could not keep him away from his last treatment. There were two other patients that had a numerous amount of treatments along with Tom. One patient completed last Friday. The other patient was done on the same day as Tom. As Tom was getting his last dose this patient came out of the changing room with a graduation cap on her head. This brought a bunch of cheers in the waiting room. The other patient surprisingly came in with flowers for her. I think when he presented them to her there was not a dry eye in that room. Tom entered at that time with his certificate of completion and there were hugs all around! It's hard to explain, but there is a special bond when people go through this together. Total strangers become friends.

Now we enter the final phase of healing. Tom goes back to Dr. Buth on Thursday, December 27 for a recheck and a scan. He will meet with the surgeon, Dr. Teknos at the U of M on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. Tom is very anxious to get back to life as usual now. The reality is he has a lot of healing ahead of him yet. His back and face are still burnt with new skin coming through. His neck and face is still very swollen and his voice continues to be a little above a whisper. As we are getting closer to Christmas we are touched with so many generous Christmas cars and wishes. Thanks again for supporting us each step of the way. Prayer warriors: Pray that the scans come back with good news and that Tom heals quickly.