Thank you all for your comments. They lift me up like little wings!
Glen was taking Todd to radiation today, so I was going in to work early, only I got there at 11:00 am! I came back home after dropping off the boy carpool at WCI and Todd was not feeling well. He had vomited right after his first meds of the morning at 6:45 am. I left him rest, then washed and dried his face and put lotion on his face and neck. His neck is bright red from the radiation. The sides of his neck look dry and flaky and he has some slight scabbing at the front and sides of his collar area. I doused them with the "Udderly Smooth" lotion, which can't be applied closer than 3 hours before radiation. I combed his hair, which he is definitely shedding a bit. He just lay there, propped up on 6 pillows like a doll, the poor guy! He did drink a little gatorade and a little fortified Instant Breakfast while I showered. We finally got ahold of the radiation department and they told me to have him there "One-ish" instead of noon. Glen picked him up for the trip to UCSF after I had left.

I asked Glen to drop him off at Kaiser for his IV hydration and 3:20 appointment with the medical oncologist there. When I arrived at 3:20, the infusion nurse was poking him for the IV. After she tried again, unsuccessfully, I asked her if someone else could try. Donna's first try failed as well, and I suggested the heating pad process they had used over the weekend. After warming his arm for a few minutes, they finally got a vein to cooperate. It's tough when you're getting fluids bcause you're dehydrated, but too dehydrated to make it work.

Once he was hooked up, we all walked over to the doctor's office for his appointment. I went over his list of meds with her so she could refill a prescription and give us advice on dealing with the vomiting. She said that more antiemetic drugs were not the answer, as the vomiting now is a result of the radiation -- the thick mucus brings on the vomiting reflex (gross!). She suggested lots and lots of rinsing with the salt/baking soda/water solution and spitting, and using the Biotene mouthwash. Tomorrow Todd will try that before he takes any meds. I've fashioned a pretty good spittoon out of a 2.5 gallon plastic bottle. I left him to get his prescription filled and run home to check on the kids. Carolyn cheered me by playing some Christmas carols on her keyboard (she was practicing for her piano lesson) as I slumped on the sofa.
When I got back, the front of Todd's navy sweatshirt was covered in little bits of what? Dandruff? No, they were his whiskers! He had been rubbing his chin, and they were just fallling out like rain! He still has plenty left, but I guess he really doesn't have to shave if he doesn't want to. We finally got home at 6:30 pm and Todd climbed in bed, feeling cold. I wrapped him in 3 blankets and found Dash's knit hat to keep him cozy.