Fight Like Nate

So here's what's been going on since we we found out that Nathan was diagnosed with a Grade 4 Glioblastoma brain tumor: Because his tumor is very aggressive, they want to start treatment (chemo and radiation) as soon as possible. However, we still have to wait a few weeks so his body can fully recover from his brain surgery. So, for the past two days, we've been in Nashville meeting with a Neuro Oncologist (Dr. Moots) to talk about Chemo treatment and a Radiation Oncologist (Dr. Cmelak) to talk about Radiation treatment. It's definitely been an exhausting two days going from appointment to appointment to appointment, and so on...

Here's an extremely summarized version of our appointments:

Wednesday-

We had a great meeting with Dr. Moots. He is the doctor who is in charge of Nathan's chemo treatment. Basically, Nathan will be on Temodar. He'll take this pill during his radiation treatment and continue it after radiation. I'll explain more about this in a bit.

Thursday-

We met with Dr. Cmelak and Dr. Cameron to talk about Radiation treatment. Basically, they're advising Nathan to have 6 weeks of Radiation treatment (which he can possibly do in Chattanooga - yay!). He'll have to go every single day (5 days a week). Apparently, the actual radiation session only takes about 15-20 minutes to do. So, first, they'll create a mold of Nathan's face that looks like this:

During radiation treatment, they obviously want to keep his head in the exact same spot each time-- so this mask will help to ensure that.

So, for the visual learners like me, here's a vague schedule of what Nathan will be going through for the next little while:

1.  Six weeks of radiation and chemo

       -Radiation treatment is 5 days a week (Mon-Fri)

       -Chemo Temodar pill every single day for 6 weeks (7 days a week)

2. 1 month off to recover & a MRI scan to check on things

3. After the month of recovery, Nathan will go back on Temodar - but will take it a little differently than before...

       -Once a month, for 5 consecutive days in a row, Nathan will take Temodar, and his dosage will be doubled. He'll only have to take it for those 5 days, and then he will give his body a break until the next round. He'll continue this cycle for (more than likely) 12 months. He'll also have MRI scans every 2-3 months to make sure there's not any regrowth. During this time, he should be feeling a bit better and go back to everyday life.

-IF there is any regrowth, that's when we'll start looking into clinical trials around the country. As of right now, because Nathan's tumor has been removed, he isn't a candidate for clinical trials. It's only if his tumor comes back. Dr. Thompson did an amazing job removing 95% of his tumor. There are only microcells left, and hopefully chemo and radiation will take care of them. We've definitely been doing our homework with all of the clinical trials out there. They're fascinating!

So, we've caught wind of the AMAZING bracelets that have been made for Nathan. We are so excited about them, and we genuinely want to thank Blair Webber, Paul Dickenson, and everyone at Bellhops that made this happen. 

For all of you Knoxvillians, you can grab one at Obligato, Elle, Neighborhood Barre, and TN FLY CO (which will be available online, for anyone else interested). These will all be available on Monday. Thank you in advance for your support. We hope that these bracelets will be a simple reminder to not only Fight Like Nate-- but to live life to the fullest, too. We love you all and greatly appreciate your support in joining us in this fight. 

We are returning to Chattanooga tomorrow, after being away from our home for an entire month. We've been staying at Nathan's dad and step mom's house - which has been wonderful. Seriously, we've been calling it Resort de Sexton. Debbie, Gretchen, and Buddy have been catering to our every need, and we can't thank them enough. It's truly been a blessing. Nathan and I have kind of gone back in time and reverted to "teenager mode". We eat all of their food, we sleep in, they've been doing some of our laundry, and when we leave messes, they let us leave it and clean up after us. So, it's going to a bit of a shock coming back into real life and making us "adult" now. So, THANK YOU Debbie, Gretchen, and Buddy for being wonderful parents to us and literally taking so much weight off of our shoulders.  We love you!

So, since we've been living in Knoxville for the past month, our sweet Jack has been living with my parents, Buddy and Beth, in Chattanooga. This has definitely been the hardest part about our current situation. We miss seeing Jack daily, but it's been very necessary for Jack to stay with my parents as Nathan is recovering. Nathan has been very sensitive to loud noises, and who else does "loud" better than a 19 month old? My parents bring him up at least once a week, so we have been cherishing those long-awaited moments with him. We are SO excited about seeing him when we get home. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for taking care of him. You all have no idea how much you helped me get through this month knowing that Jack was safe and sound with his Meepsie and Bud!

One more member of our family that we can't forget - Yeti! Our friends have been AWESOME about taking him in as one of their own. Thank you Jenna and Adam Shearer and Emily Glascock for taking care of our sweet boy. You all have no idea how much stress you all have lifted off of us. Yeti is our other baby, so we can't thank you enough for not only taking care of him -- but taking him to daycare, taking him to the lake to swim, and just making him a part of your family. 

To all of our friends who have cleaned our house, stocked our fridge, mowed our yard, gotten our mail, done laundry, and whatever else needed to be taken care of in Chattanooga while we were away: THANK YOU. We have the most amazing group of friends who have surrounded us with love and support. We love you all so much. 

All I can say is thank you - again, and again, and again... I am humbled daily by every one's generosity and kindness to my family. You all are giving us more strength and encouragement than you can possibly imagine. We are forever grateful.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." -2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Much love and many thanks,

Elizabeth