May 14th, 2022

     So it's been a few weeks since we've posted a a decent amount has happened. Exactly a month ago on April 14th, 2022, Nate had another seizure. Nate was home with Sean Tully (one of the boys that used to work for him that has taken a night in the rotation) while Sharon was working and according to Sean the seizure had lasted about 20 minutes before he made the decision to call Sharon and tell her he was taking him to the ER. Nate had told Sean Anna Jaques, a local hospital in Newburyport, MA about 20 minutes away. After calling Sharon the plan changed, she advised Sean that he needed to go to Lahey in danvers as they have an ER and that's were Nate was receiving his radiation.  Sean left ipswich and Sharon left North Andover. Once at the ER Nate underwent several tests and the doctor informed them that Nates seizure was due to Edema, (swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in your body tissue), AKA swelling in his head. The team at Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute has recently reduced his steroid which had allowed the swelling due to radiation to increase. At the ER they gave him a bolus dose of steroids and sent him home with instructions for a larger daily dose. So as scary as that situation was it was not worst case scenario. Since then Nate has had a few visitors, Including his dad, John, and his brother, Ethan, who made his way out from Chicago, Illinois to see his brother. Ethan spent 3 days with Sharon and Nate enjoying the flashbacks of his youth being back on the north shore. Ethan expressed that it eases his mind seeing how in love Sharon and Nate are and how well she takes care of him. Nate keeps himself busy when he has no visitors by doing projects around the house. So far they have, built raised vegetable beds around the house, touched up some paint, put the numbers back on the house (long story), repainting the outdoor table frame and will be giving it a new top surface, as well as cleaning the basement and both closets down stairs. He also loves going for walks wether it be a nature path or just the road at Bradley Palmer.  Jazz is in the process of planning her next trip out to enjoy the family and Kenzie is busy planning her wedding for next spring.

    Now we wait, Nate has finished his first round of chemotherapy and radiation. May 31st Nate and Sharon will venture their way in for a day in Boston as the Dana Farber team runs test and do a progress MRI. Only then will we find out how well the treatment is working if at all. This appointment will also give us some long term answers, what the future looks like for us, which frankly has us all spinning. We know he's in good hands but the doctors can't write his fate, they can only do their best to fight the battle in front of them. 

     Kenzie went for a walk with Dad Wednesday afternoon at Bradley Palmer and we talked a lot about life and death and the choices we make throughout. He explained this whole situation would almost be easier if there was a cause, if they were to say you did X that was bad and now you have this horrible disease, but there isn't. There is nothing he did that caused this, it's purely random, which proves almost harder to accept. He's expressed a lot, that he isn't grateful for the cancer but he is grateful for the time it has provided us, the conversations it's forced us to have and that we've seen Jazz so much the past 2 years. It's horrific that this is what it took but it feels like we are all taking the time for one another. Obviously we all have our issues, our moments of absolute disarray but we're trying to survive and we will together. The only way to survive something like this is together, as a family. 

Signing off for today,  

The Cotton Family.