As I said in the blog last week, I met with Dr. Dean last Thursday where he outlined how he would be approaching my treatments. I went to their other office last Friday and got the other CT scan he wanted from the perspective he wanted to treat me. I laid face down on the machine bed surface, which was more like a table top with a sheet covering it. They had a wedged shape piece of foam that I laid on and rested my forehead on another piece of foam so they could take the scan and finalize the treatment plan. I was expecting them to call Monday morning to get me in Monday afternoon to begin the treatment, but they didn't call until about 3:30 Monday afternoon and set the first treatment appointment up for 10:30 this morning (Tuesday 4/14). I went to the appointment and they came out to get me. I honestly didn't know what to expect the treatment equipment to be or look like. When I got in the treatment room, It looked like a very large X-ray type machine where the head can rotate around you while you lay on a bed (table) that is very much like the bed on a CT machine. They had a wedged shaped foam piece just like the scanner and also another foam piece to put my forehead on just like on the scanner. They told be to lay very still and they two Radiation Therapists went to their control panel and looked at some pictures they were getting from the machine to set the treatment angles that Dr. Dean wanted. When they had adjusted the machine and ran some practice runs, they called Dr. Dean into the room to get his OK on how they had me set up. He looked at how I was placed and the machine was placed, gave them a couple of suggestions and then they proceeded to tape me down in that position to make sure I didn't move. I had the feeling as they first put Saran Wrap over my head, then a little tape, then some cloth then a lot more tape, anyway I had the feeling that I would have looked like one of those people that get "duct" taped to the ceiling or a wall, I couldn't really move at all. So then they went back to their control panel and started the actual treatment, it took less than 10 minutes, I didn't really feel anything. They let me up when it finished, put my shirt on and left. The other 19 treatments should take less time and right now I have a standing appointment for 10:30 am, Monday - Friday. I still don't know what the side effects on me will be, I guess time will tell for that one.
Nearly anyone that would read this blog already knows, but our family had quite a weekend. On Saturday night at 10:55 pm, our father Fred Dalley Dalton passed away in the care center in Parowan, Utah. Dad had only been in the care center since the end of March, mom made the decision to place him there because his condition became to hard for her to handle alone. I am very grateful to Mike and Beverly and to Bruce and Cara for helping her as much as possible, Dad passed very peacefully with much of his family around him. We are all very grateful that his suffering was minimal. I am not saying this very well, but I am very grateful for both our parents, they taught all of us to be be good reliable people. I love them both and I am grateful I could have parents like them. On a side note, dad passed away on his mother's birthday. We all think she had a good birthday as she passed away when I was just a baby.
The funeral will be this Saturday at 11:00 am in Parowan. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of family this weekend that we haven't seen in quite some time, but it's kind of a shame that we all don't make the effort to get together more often under better circumstances.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for all of us. We wish you all well and hope that your family is well and happy. Until next time.
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