Just one more day of TBI left. The doctors have added an additional anti-nausea med, which seems to work well. She's been awake and happy for hours now!
Radiation affects the body in interesting ways. First it nukes[sic] bone marrow, then epithelial membranes (the gut), then the brain, finally it causes massive organ failure. Naturally, K's only getting a dose high enough to affect the bone marrow with any significance. However somewhere between marrow and gut doses the lungs become susceptible to damage. To reduce this risk, Kristi was fitted with a chest shield. It's a custom set of thick steel plates in the shape of her lungs. It's so heavy that it isn't attached to her, it hangs from the ceiling. She and it are positioned relative to each other via registration marks. Kristi's can be seen here. She will receive a total of about 1.3Gy in several 200cGy doses. In contrast a full pelvic CT scan delivers 30mGy or .030Gy
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