The night before the laryngectomy.

Don't let the smile fool you, she hated the trach tube.

Ready to go in for surgery. The smile is one of lack of brain function as we had gone to bed late and woken up at 3:30 AM to be in Richmond by 5:30AM.

Ready to come home. In good spirits despite having a tube in her nose. The parade of family seeing her in the hospital was non-stop.

Am I happy to be home from the hospital with my family? Yes!

How about the feeding tube? Not so much.

Me and my prayer shawl

Dad got his own dose of hospital time when 2 year old went to the same ER at 2 AM the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Diagnosis was bronchitis.

First meal after getting the feeding tube out.

Mushroom and rice soup and smiles all around.

Libby with her custom- made mask that keeps her in exact position to get radiated.

Getting positioned on the table with the radiation machine.

For those interested, the machine is made by Varian medical systems.

Another shot of the mask after the eyes were cut out. The technicians did not appreciate my joke that she looks like a horror flick villain

On the table (it is definitely not a bed).

The "pillow" is a piece of shaped plastic with no cushioning.

6 year old taking all this in stride. She is definitely a Marine kid.

Camera feeds from the room to the radiation station. The rubber doughnut she is holding is there to keep her from fidgeting and messing up the setup.

Using an X-Ray to double check that all the equipment is aiming at the right spot.

Computer setup to triple-check that the patient is exactly lined up with where the treatment setup says they need to be.

A picture of the station that controls the Varian.

You can also see an inquisitive 6 year old.

Rather underwhelming, but this is the control for turning the dose on and off.

wow.

Motto for the cancer center. The hospital had centers think about what animal they represent. Warms this Linux crusader's heart to see the penguins.