The Countdown Begins...

Dear Family and Friends,

The countdown to the end of radiation has begun!  Zac has five treatments left.  Woohoo!!!  The end of radiation cannot come soon enough for him and for our family.  For the past three weeks, he’s been battling almost constant nausea, occasional vomiting, muscle soreness, and fatigue.  Zac reports that he feels like he has the flu, especially in the evenings and most especially on Friday nights.  As the effects of the radiation are cumulative, it makes sense that his worst days are Fridays.  He spends the weekend recovering, then just when he’s starting to feel better, it’s back to treatment.  Not a fun cycle.  His skin is a little burned as well.  Looking at his back, it is easy to tell exactly where the radiation is going.  He has an oval shaped burn from the top of his scar to the top of his sacrum.  It is warm to the touch and he says it itches like crazy.  We are putting aloe on it for comfort.  I’ve been giving Zac some tips to help battle the nausea from my experiences with morning sickness.  So far most of them have worked!  I try to be very sympathetic with how he is feeling but I’ve also made a few comments about how he’s getting a taste of what it’s like to be pregnant ;-)  

Being tied to treatment everyday has been hard for Zac.  He feels trapped and confined.  Add to that that he doesn’t feel like himself and can’t do the things he wants to do, he just feels like so much of life is a big tease.  Having him less mobile, less able to help, plus working more has put a lot of pressure on me.  Zac’s doing his best but there’s just a lot to be done.  So I’m looking forward to radiation ending too so that life can get back to something closer to normal.  

Zac’s physical therapy continues to go well.  He’s developing and defining muscles that he lost while in the hospital.  He is very motivated to keep the weight he’s lost off and he’s really committed to working out and strengthening himself.  I’m proud of how hard he’s working.  He will continue physical therapy until he’s scheduled to return to work in early August.

His final treatment day is Wednesday, July 8th.  I’ve started a countdown calendar to help keep his eye on the prize.  Thank you all for continuing to pray and check in with our family.  We are always so humbled by the love you have for us and our children.  We’ve learned so much through this experience…mainly that we are surrounded by some pretty amazing people!

Love,

The Bollinger Family