Today we had a visit from a couple of sweet ladies from the local Palliative Care* organization.  They are another resource for us to use, as needed, to help with Amber’s care or for the rest of the family (ranging from pain management to family social work).  After some very positive discussion with them, we are going to hold off for now and wait until a potential future time where we feel we need it more, so that we don’t unnecessarily exhaust what insurance will cover.  But it is very comforting to know we have another local resource available to us.

Amber had her first radiation treatment today at Backus Hospital in Norwich.  The team there had a little stuffed animal friend named Tasha waiting for her when she first arrived that kept her safe and did the therapy with her.  Amber did great – she wore the mask, held real still, and was smiling (nervously) the whole time.

One down, 29 more to go . . .

* Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.