Back Home to Detox

Everything went well with Chase’s ANP treatment today and they ratcheted it up again, now to 130 ml per dose x 6. He’s doing great, other than a bit tired occasionally (probably not a bad thing for us given his level of energy). We continued with our training at the clinic and made a video that we can refer back to when we get home. I’ve always been a bit queezy around this kind of stuff and wouldn’t you know it, just as Carol is videotaping me drawing blood and changing the IV bags, something goes awry (the blood draw just wasn’t working and something seemed to be wrong with the port). The nurse stepped in to get it straightened out and I just took a walk to ward off the nausea. Anyhow, it all worked out and now we have our home-made training video to look back on. I’m sure hoping we’re able to find a good homecare nurse who will help take care of most of this stuff when we get home – we’re trained and ready to step in, but I’d prefer that as the back-up plan and not the primary resource.

After the appointment, Barbara and I head to the Houston airport and back home for the next few days. Although they were saddened with the separation once again, we know it’s only temporary and as long as Chase continues to do well, he’ll be home next week. My next assignment is to “detox” the household. After reading about all the potential contributors to brain tumors, and getting several strong recommendations, we’ll have to remove all the cleaners, chemicals, and anything that could induce contamination, including the non-stick cookware. We’re planning to have the carpet in Chase’s room removed and refinish the hardwood floor. We’ll be getting new air purifiers, as well as a new whole house water filtration system (apparently there’s even more exposure through the skin from showers or bathing as drinking). Now that we’re getting Chase’s system as detoxified as possible, mainly through the diet improvements, we want to eliminate as many other potential contributors as possible.

So far, he’s going along with the increased vitamins and supplements, which we’re slowly introducing to him one at a time over 24-48 hrs so as to not inundate him and to identify if he should have an adverse reaction to any of them. Today we started the Boswellia (inflammation reducer) and this was a big milestone because it’s essentially a “horse pill”. We weren’t sure how he would react, but Carol showed it to him and explained that he should just swallow with a spoon of yogurt like he’s been doing with some of the others without thinking about it, and sure enough he got it down. That was a relief, because we were told that emptying the contents into just about anything would make it taste miserable. Now that we know he can take “horse pills”, we’re thinking of using that medium vs. the liquids for other supplements (like the potassium booster that he’s on) – it saves the huge hassle / struggle of having to make sure he drinks the whole glass of “slimy stuff” which is getting harder and harder to disguise.

The number of vitamins and supplements is getting quite cumbersome to keep track of – I’m starting to layout a spreadsheet by time of day and customizing it with updates as we go so Carol can simply check boxes to ensure she’s on top of the program, as well as the target number of fruits and veggies by category and meal. I think she’s finally agreed to let me try to organize it this way (despite the fact that she doesn’t want to be micro-managed or to become a “geek engineer”) – there just doesn’t appear to be any other simple way of keeping track of this stuff. As I get out of her way for the next few days, she’ll probably be liking the breathing room and maybe will warm up to these ideas (i.e. taking my intensity in small doses and coming back up for air).

Thanks again for all the support and prayers! We truly felt the warmth and serenity of the prayer network over the weekend and we’re having a good start to the week.

With lots of love and gratitude,
John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann