Radiation starts today
Dr. Yan called Monday morning and said they could move Mike’s radiation up to Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Which we were actually thankful for because he is having constant headaches, more eyesight issues, and some back and leg pain.
He had to stop the Cabozantanib last week because it was causing his eye pressures to go high just like they did when he was on Retevmo and Gavreto. This is not the path we would have chosen, but we are praying it will give Mike more time and hopefully alleviate his head/backaches!
Proton beam whole brain and spine radiation starts tonight at 6pm and he will have 10 rounds of treatment 1x daily for 1 hour at a time, with weekends off. Unfortunately they have so many patients that they schedule until midnight!!!
Thankfully none of Mikes are that late but he is scheduled at 10:45 tomorrow, which is way past our bedtime!
I walked over to the Jacobsen building this morning to see where it was because that is one building we have never been to here at Mayo. Since most of his appointments are after hours, we can’t use the skywalks, but we can use the hotel shuttle which will be nice in this nasty mid-March weather!
This is by far the hardest thing we have ever been through! I can see Mike declining a little every day and he of course can feel it! It is so hard to watch the person you love most in pain all of the time!
He sleeps a lot and even when not sleeping he likes to have his eyes closed, because then he isn’t dizzy and his eyesight doesn’t bother him. Things have gone downhill so fast in the last few months. Mike has lost a significant amount of weight and hasn’t been able to really walk around much, when he could walk a couple miles without a problem not long ago.
So many why’s and what if’s… Why did the cancer mutate to his brain? Why did it go to his spine (LMD)? What could we have done differently? Is there something else we should have tried? Did we not believe enough.. pray enough? The truth is we may never know! Right now we just want more time… more summers… more memories… but more time feeling good and not in pain, because this isn’t living… it’s just existing!
We have had family visits, as well as friends , and it seems to help Mike to be more “himself”. Our new motto is: “Don’t leave anything left unsaid”. I am also working on not doing, but just being… being present without having to always be doing something.
We aren’t giving up and we continue to trust God. James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The good news is that on St. Patrick’s day Jack and Chelsea welcomed our newest grandson into the world, ”Maverick Michael Molstead” weighed in at 7 pounds 6.9 ounces and was 20” long. He is perfect and we couldn’t love him more!
Be Blessed,
Paula