Radiation done!

Madeleine’s Blog

March 19, 2012

Today was Madeleine's final day of radiation! The side effects have been fairly minimal so far, and we are really thankful that she is finished with this stage of her treatment.

Madeleine's hi-tech radiation mask

Wondering what the strange looking picture to the left is? Well, it's the custom-made mask that Madeleine had to wear during her precision radiation. (The mask actually snaps onto the radiation table at the back and helps hold you in just the right place during the treatment.) It may look a little "medieval," but the whole process has actually been pretty high-tech.

Having made it through radiation is really an accomplishment. It means that she has overcome another challenge on this journey. Once again, she has had to face some fears, and push through them. Having the support of family and friends (like all of you) has definitely helped.
 

Madeleine does have some additional treatment coming up soon (Interferon), but it hasn't been scheduled yet. For now, she is enjoying swim competitions and practices, and all the other things she is involved in during her senior year.   

With teammates - Madeleine is on the far right

Swim meet - go Vikings!

Madeleine’s Blog

March 11, 2012

 

With friends before Friday's swim meet

Madeleine has now made it half-way through her radiation treatments, and is doing amazingly well so far.

So well, in fact, that her swim coach asked her to swim in four events (!) at the swim meet Montgomery High had last Friday against Cardinal Newman. As many of you know, Madeleine has recently started physical therapy to help with "range of motion" difficulties in her left arm (as well as discomfort with turning her head) as a result of the surgery she had back in January. In addition, she has had to miss a lot of practice because of back-to-back surgeries. 

Madeleine leading the team cheer (in center, making a splash!)

We were proud to watch her press through the challenges of competing under those conditions as she swam freestyle in the 50 meter and 100 meter races, as well as the 4 x 50 relay and the 4 x 100 relay. While Madeleine may not have broken any "personal best" records, she did demonstrate an amazing ability to overcome obstacles, adapt, and persevere.

By the way, Montgomery's Varsity & JV women ended up winning the swim meet - go Vikings!

Radiation update

Madeleine’s Blog 

March 5, 2012

Madeleine had her first radiation treatment on Thursday morning, and then her second one this afternoon. She had some soreness after the first treatment, but overall seemed to be doing well. She was even able to have the swim team over to our house for an after-practice dinner and get-together!

She now has 2 radiation treatments down, and 4 to go - 2 each week (Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings). The radiation treatments themselves actually are pretty short appointments. The doctors say that the side effects tend to build up as you go...of course, we are hoping that the main effects will be on any remaining melanoma! :)

As always, thanks for your prayers.