Goodbye Week 4!

The end of week 4 brings a welcome change to Forester's daily treatment. For the next 2 weeks, instead of receiving radiation to his entire brain and spine, Forester will only receive radiation to the area of his brain where the tumor was. This will cut the daily radiation to about 15 minutes. Yay!!! As a result of this, his nausea should also improve. Please pray that he notices a significant decrease in nausea!

Because his white blood cell count was down to 690 yesterday, he had the GCSF shot yesterday and will have it today and tomorrow too. He REALLY hates the shots. Please pray that they're not too traumatic for him.

At the end of 6 weeks, Forester and the family will have a much needed (major understatement) 6 week break from treatment before the next phase of treatment starts. Hopefully, the Make A Wish Foundation will grant his wish for a family trip to Disney World during this time. Yes, the Make A Wish Foundation visited the Bradburns at their home yesterday to hear Forester's wish. In a way, this is exciting, especially for Forester, and in a way, it's devastating. It's so hard to hear, know, comprehend that Forester qualifies for Make A Wish. I know Whitney is grieving about this. Please continue to pray for Pete & Whitney in this area too.

It seems like Forester has had some improvement in his appetite and vomiting this week. Please pray that he's hungry and that everything he eats stays down! Unfortunately, he's really having trouble settling down at night and sleeping because of leg pain. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Vincristine has triggered this pain, and unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse. Even with a STRONG prescription benadryl and pain killers, his sleep is being disrupted. Please pray for relief for Forester from this pain and sweet, deep sleep.

On Thursday, Forester cut Miss Michelle's hair off to donate to Locks of Love and at least several of his friends have shaved their heads to support him. Thank you all for showing love to Forester and the Bradburns in this way! :o)

I know the Bradburns have established an account at Wachovia for the Forester Fund to handle the donations they've received to date. This account will also be linked to paypal for bracelet purchases made on ebay. If you're interested, I'm sure you can make donations for medical expenses directly to the account. As soon as I have more info, I will let you know.

Please pray for another peaceful, drama-free weekend for the Bradburns.

Thank you!
April