Ghost-writing for Max

June 29th - OKC
Patty here at the keyboard...Today was "Graduation Day" for little Grayson at ProCure. Grayson is a 3-year old boy who is staying at Staybridge Suites with his family while undergoing proton treatments. (More on Staybridge Suites later in this blog.) Since Max's treatment was scheduled at the same time of this luncheon for Grayson, Max missed the graduation ceremony, so he asked me to do the blogging today. Grayson was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the end of January, 2016...started chemo immediately which did not shrink the tumor. His parents were advised to go to America (they talk as if they are Aussies, but we are not sure where they are from) for proton therapy and that is how they arrived here. All of the gray-haired prostate patients in the crowd at the luncheon took on a humbled demeanor with a tear in their eye when this little 3 year old's mother told the story of their journey to ProCure and their appreciation of what was done for Grayson the last 8 weeks. With Grayson's mother is his father and his older sister...all pulled from their normal lives to come to a strange country, live in a little hotel suite for 8 weeks and hope. I am not going to complain about our 5.5 hours of windshield time to come back home to our family every weekend ever again. Tonight at the complimentary evening meal that Staybridge Suites so graciously offers three nights during the week and at which time all the cancer patients and their families seem to gravitate together to have a beer and exchange journey stories, I met a 15-year old boy from the UK who will start proton treatment next week. He & his mom came here after two years of chemo did not shrink his brain tumor. There is no proton treatment center in Europe. Happy birthday, America and thank you for being the great nation that you are where excellent medical care is available right here. Now, a little about where we are calling home for the next 8 weeks. Staybridge Suites is located straight down the road from ProCure and many of the ProCure patients stay here...we have come to know why. They provide great accommodations at a fair price, the staff is great and really cater to the needs of these families that come here for treatment. It is located in a very nice area of OKC and shopping, restaurants, etc are in walking distance for those who come here with no car. This has been a blessing to us since we spend a lot of time here. Max is doing well and counting down his treatments to that number zero. Today...37!