It’s been a little over 6 months since Jude finished his brain radiation. In spite of 2 brain surgeries and brain radiation, he is doing really well. He’s just a month away from his 6th birthday. I would have never guessed on the day we learned he had a brain tumor at age 3 that he would ever celebrate his 6th birthday. And, I certainly never would have guessed he’d be thriving.
- He continues to excel academically and is on pace to finish 1st grade Math, Language Arts, Phonics and Spelling, along with Kindergarten History.
- His hair has mostly come back, but the 6 inch x 3/4 inch scar across his head from the 2 surgeries is and will stay bald. There is also a mostly bald patch where he must have gotten the biggest dose of radiation. I’m not sure if that will fill in at some point.
- He complains about occasional double vision, which they think is neurological, not optical, I believe. Not sure what that really means. But, I think it means that it may correct itself and he’s supposed to wear an eye patch to strengthen the weakened muscle of the bad eye when it acts up.
- Jude also had some short term memory impairment from the radiation and he is enrolled in a music therapy program to attempt to correct that. He enjoys his “music classes” as I call them. No need for him to know he has a memory problem.
- I enrolled him in karate to combat a doctor’s prediction that after brain radiation he “wouldn’t be the best athlete or the most coordinated person.” He certainly isn’t a stand out, but I firmly believe that if he sticks with it, he could be.
- He is still on anti-seizure medication. One of the main side effects is “irritability.” It makes him wilder than he already is. If the MRI next month shows no evidence of disease then we will do some testing where they will try to induce a seizure and if he doesn’t have one, we’ll be able to start weaning him off the medicaiton. That would be great since often I wonder who the real Jude is. When he is mean or crazy, I wonder if that is who my little boy is or if it’s the medicine that is taking hold of him.