My Wild and Sweet Husband

I am positive that no matter how well you know Vernon Thomas Brady, this is a side of him you haven't seen! This is his Wild Man look and the photo was taken two weeks ago, 9/13, when we were sitting in our love seat recliner at home. One of the radiation side effects is the loss of hair on the right side of his head. He'd been pulling out the loose hair and left the hair 'styled' this way. The documentor that I am took this photo to show him (and you). If you look carefully, you might distinguish the horizontal line that starts an inch or so below his ear across the lower part of his cheek. That line is where the radiation stops. Do you see the difference in coloring?
One benefit of the loss of hair on his right side is that he doesn't have to shave that side because the whiskers don't grow where the radiation does it's work. Since he doesn't shave every day, that cheek is always smooth and kissable :-)

I took this next picture last night while we sat outside at Panera's. If you look closely, maybe you can see the whiskers on the lower part of his face. This photo is his Sweet Husband look. He has lost about 10 pounds the last month or so because most food has no taste (another side effect). So if his face looks thinner to you, you are seeing correctly and that is the explanation. Strawberry milkshakes have been a taste treat he has enjoyed nearly daily.
I do have his permission to post these photos and I'm glad that he isn't too embarrassed to let you see what the March 31 surgery and radiation have done to give him a more distinctive expression. He calls them battle scars.

Perhaps you have been keeping track and think the 30 treatments are finished. Because he had a two day trip to New Hampshire for Lockheed this past week, he didn't have radiation those two days. Monday, Sept. 29, is the last one, I am delighted to tell you.

We have a GREAT PRAISE to share with you. Thursday after treatment, Vernon's radiation oncologist, Dr. Jenkins, examined him and said he was surprised and very pleased that Vernon's face isn't blistered with open places. In fact, about two weeks ago when Dr. Jenkins examined the skin, he told Vernon that the skin near his eye might "break down" because the skin is so thin there. If it broke down, radiation would stop so that the skin could heal. I had not imagined that his face could blister and open up because of the x-rays burning his skin.

I know that many have been praying that the radiation treatment would do the job of killing any cancer cells that were missed in the surgery and also praying the side effects would be minimal and tolerable. We aren't always aware of the difficulty or accident we have escaped. So when Dr. Jenkins told Vernon he was surprise there is no blistering, that told us what we'd escaped! I believe God in His great mercy spared Vernon's face from blistering and opening. That is our GREAT PRAISE! You may do a 'happy dance' now if you like. We are!

Please join us in thanking God and also asking for Vernon's sense of taste return quickly. He isn't as concerned about his hair growing back but would really like to enjoy the taste of food once again.