day 1

We are well into our first week of Health Camp - and the campers are surviving. We are even doing well. We thank you for your prayers because WE HAVE FELT THEM. Day One was difficult. The stress of the unknown looms large. Making it through the first day was a big accomplishment.

I heard Mike say to his sister on the drive home: "It's freaky. It kind of freaked me out. I had to have them unsnap the mask a couple times to cut a hole to make it bearable." The photo above shows how tight the mask over his face and head is - the marks show for a good 10 minutes after he comes out. I got a little freaked out when I went into the room before he started to bring him a CD and could see a figure on the table covered with a blanket wearing Mike's shoes with his head attached to the table via a white mask. It is unsettling, especially when they make me leave the room and I could not see that he is comfortable.

Within minutes after his treatment started I did feel a blanket of peace that I can only attribute to the prayers of the saints. As I prayed, God gave me words to ask for Warrior Angels to stand beside Mike and filter any harmful thing away from him. When I heard that the mechanisms on the machine that direct the dosage of radiation are called "feathers", I got even more encouraged to pray that the feathered wings of the Mighty Spiritual Warriors would filter and protect Mike from any harmful radiation.For the first week Mike has a CT scan in addition to the radiation (to confirm that everything is lined up correctly) so he is masked for about 30 minutes. It will be slightly less time in the mask starting the second week without the scan. On the first day (and every Monday) we meet with Dr. Zhen. This Monday he reviewed images of Mike's treatment plan with us. The top photo shows that every time a radiation dose is given, it is in five different gradations from heavy (darkest) to light (lightest.) The middle photo shows the location of the radiation dosage from one angle. Believe me, your understanding of all this is about the same as ours. We are comforted that they attempt to be very precise.

Thanks for journeying with us. The encouragement and prayer support are palatable.