Radioactive Superhero

He did it again. Ollie has shocked me with his courage and strength. Praise to God for making my son so determined and capable of doing such hard things.

Today was his first of thirteen sessions of radiation to his head and spine.

He was surprisingly calm getting ready to go this morning. I knew he was a bit scared because we talked about it, but he didn't panic and fight us as he normally would when afraid. 

He took his medications willingly and calmly before we left (Ondanzatron to avoid possible nausea and Lorazepam to make him calm, but not totally sedated). This was Plan A and we were giving it a good old college try.

We met the very kind and dedicated Manon, a child life specialist from CHEO's Medical Day Unit (MDU) at the Cancer Centre and as always she was so helpful. I felt in control and her presence made me feel stronger and like we weren't in this alone. With COVID-19 only one caregiver is able to accompany him to the hospital, and this is really hard as Mario has always been there for the really big stuff and all of the firsts that are such milestones on this road. 

I know Mario was nervous too, because he began texting me wondering how we were not long after dropping us off at the Cancer Centre.

I'll admit that I used incentives (bribes by any other name...) to try to get Ollie to cooperate. A ring pop made the first part of getting him into the scanner and allowing the technicians to fiddle with his position to line up with the marks they had made with permanent marker on his body last week a lot easier. 

So with a bit of coaxing and a ring pop he got into position. Only issue was getting him to relinquish the ring pop. He was certain he could keep it in his mouth during the treatment. The technician had to let him feel that the mask didn't have a hole for the mouth and would be too tight. 

The mask was a work of art. One of the technicians is an artist and decorates the kids masks with whatever character they like. Ollie chose Johnny Test as he is currently a bit obsessed with the cartoon. It's partly that he has watched every episode multiple times so he can see it in his head even if he can't see it with his eyes. 

The technicians had also taken the liberty of queuing up a few episodes to play for him in the machine. We had also downloaded episodes and movies on tablet just in case.

I also find that getting Ollie to focus on something highly technical like   Beyblades when he's nervous takes his mind off of the stress. So he began telling me which rare Beyblades he didn't yet have and I made a list while they put the mask on him and strapped him to the table. 

In each hand he held a little stuffed friend. In one his trusty companion, Llama Llama Blue Pajamas (the Second) and in the other, Quickly Koala who was a gift from his friends Henry, Dylan, Erin and Ben. 

We did it in three short bursts of about 8 minutes each. He called for me after each of the first two and I was allowed in the room to talk to him and calm him. Funny part was he was completely calm, he just wanted to tell me about another Beyblade he had thought of. 

The technicians were great at keeping him calm, too, talking to him from the booth and telling him how great he was doing and how many more minutes he had before it was done. Manon stayed with me and kept me calm, talking to me, too. 

Before we knew it he was all done and I was bursting with relief and pride. We texted daddy right away so he would know how great it went and come to get us. 

Ollie said it was really sweaty, but not bad and he didn't even really notice it because he was just thinking about Beyblades. Thank God for 7 year old silly obsessions!

He was even chipper leaving the Cancer Centre and told the incredibly patient technician Ben to have a positive day! Manon and I were almost in disbelief at this kid!

When he got home he was at first a bit tired and had a power nap. I expected to see him spend most of the afternoon napping, but no, he wanted to sit up (he even got himself into an upright and seated position a handful of times today and he's not done that in months!) and even walked upstairs and helped Abby and I organize her room and get rid of some stuff. 

Abby slept very poorly last night because she was so worried about the possible side effects of radiation for Ollie, so she was thrilled and so relieved to see him doing well.

Our oncology coordinator, Virginia called to say how pleased she was that everything went well and to cancel plans B and C. Ollie also got emails from our oncologists congratulating him on how well he did and telling him how proud they were! What an incredibly supportive team! Easy to see why we love CHEO.

One radiation day down, 12 to go and this is going to work...watch us!