Save Jace

We just got back in the room from Jace receiving his 4th and final (for this session) treatment of methotrexate.  This is the chemo that is administered directly into his head via Needle into his Ommaya Reservoir.  This is the thing that was put into his head surgically thsi past Thursday!  It is working fine.  The Oncologist is Happy and I actually saw him crack a smile and the Neurologist was happy with the CAT Scan that Jace had on Friday as far as his placement of the Reservoir.

This has been an interesting 8 days!  Not so many ups and downs as the first time around, but I think Jace is getting used to everything that he is having to go through from the Blood Pressure check, to having a needle stuck in his head!

Last week was really neat also as you know from the photos with the Sea World Animals, Corpus Christi Hooks Players and Rusty, as well as photo with Miss Rodeo Texas 2006, and he also got to meet Izzy the Islander Mascot but wouldn’t take a photo with him!

As I sat here typing, the Oncologist came in one last time and said that he was very very pleased with this admission!  The other day he even said “I am now slightly Optimistic… I shouldn’t be saying that, but I am” as he smiles! 

So all in all, Things are going very well.  The visit was great (long, but great) and things went as planned.  We will go home and watch the usual things (blood counts, fever, etc.) and then we will prepare ourselves for the 3rd session!

As usual THANK YOU THANK YOU for ALL THOSE POWERFUL PRAYERS!!!!  He’s doing as Great as can Be and is actually doing better than the doctor expected, so we can’t ask for much more!

Jace and I are gonna make like Hippies and Blow This Joint!  WE’RE GOING HOME!!!!!!  Thank you all again for everything that you do!

 Joshua

Well, I talked to Jamie and she said that I was lucky and that we picked a good week to be here!!!  Well, you all saw the photos with the Hooks Players from Wednesday and the Sea World Animals from Tuesday…  well today Jace got to meet Joanna “Miss Rodeo Texas 2006″ and a Rodeo Clown and a Cowboy!  He froze up and didn’t say a thing, but as soon as they left, he started yelling YEEHAW YEEHAW!!!

Also Yesterday evening, Jace’s “Head” Twin was here so we took photos!  His “Head” Twin is Uncle Nick for those of you that were curious!  Anyways, enjoy these photos!!!  Cause I enjoy sending them…  it gives me something to do!

PS - Jace wanted nothing to do with Miss Rodeo Texas 2006 but Daddy wanted a photo!!! hahaha!

Joshua

Well, here we are at the Hospital going through our 2nd session of chemo! 

Well, we are still  on a High from the News that we found out on Monday and we are full steam ahead!

(Tell me he is not amazing!!!)

Yesterday (tues) Jace and some of the other patients were visited by some friends from Seas World!  (Some of you might have caught it on the News) with Jace’s Mug plain as day on the TV!!!  Well he pet a Red Tail Boa (made Mama proud) and he also pet an Alligator!  Neither of these which made Daddy proud much less comfortable! hahaha….and then just a few minutes ago Jace was visited by “Rusty” Hook and 4 of the Corpus Christi Hooks Baseball Players!  He was cool until daddy walked away to take the photo!  So you’ll see!  It was funny!  I told them all that he was now hitting left and they all said KEEP THAT UP BUDDY!!!!!!  hahaha…

Anyways, we have surgery tommorow to have a reservoir put into his head to help administer chemo directly into that area!  A simple process, needless to say, it’s surgery of the brain!  All is well and Jace is ALL OVER THE PLACE!  and Doing a WHOLE LOT BETTER than the last time he was receiving Chemo!

Love and God Bless, 
Joshua

They are going to put Jace under again on Thursday for a different type of brain surgery.  This time they are going to insert a Ommaya Reservoir so that they can directly put chemo into the tumor area.  The reason they didn’t do this sooner was becuz of the gliadel wafers he had inserted after the second resection.  The methatrexate that he will be getting is a cousin of the gliadel wafers that kept the tumor from growing back in the area it did twice.

Of course we are nervous for this surgery, but at the same time still way up in the clouds over what is happening right now.  It can only get better and we can only think of how well he did through both actual brain surgeries.  The same Dr will be doing the procedure and we have a lot of faith in him.

I don’t know the details of the schedule yet, but will post as soon as I know.

Love to all, God Bless!
Jamie

I fall to my knees and thank the Lord above for the news we heard today. The GOOD news that we have been waiting on since January 31. Walking down the hallway with a paper in hand, the Dr presents it to Josh and says…”Someone must really be praying…”

If he only knew.

But the MRI doesn’t lie. There are no new tumors, no new growths and the tumor that resides currently has shrunk 25%.

The CHEMO is working!!!! We are elated. There are no words to tell you the emotions I am feeling. I want to just explode and be greatful and throw my arms up in the air and give thanks to God for this good news. And I do. And I squeeze my baby and thank him for being so strong. Now my hopes soar even higher.

And I hugged the Dr. And I thanked the Lord.

And now we press on. WE are going to beat this!!!

Thank you God!

God Bless!!
Jamie

Hope you had a Great Weekend!  We sure did as well as Jace!  His Birthday was a Blast and he had SOOOO MUCH FUN!

It is 1:15pm and he is in the pre-op holding room, fixing to go into his MRI!  For the next 2 hours is the tiem to pray for a good MRI reading! I will update on that MRI as soon as I get the results!  The Dr. is hopeful and so are we! 
God Bless You All,

PS… a friend of mine sent me an email last night I wanted to share it with all of you! She and her husband are fixing to have a Baby.  It’s a Boy and they were looking through a book of Boy names and ran across Jace… this is what she wrote:

Name: Jace
Gender: Boy
Meaning: Healer

Joshua

Today he is 2.  And he knows it.  And its the cutest thing ever. “Jace, how old are you?” “I TWOOOOOOO!”  It sounds more like ACHOOO…but you know. 

This morning I sang Happy Birthday to him about 5 times before I had to leave for work.  I even had him say hap-py birth-day to himself.  He liked it.  He kept saying Again. Again.  Now I don’t know if he liked my morning singing or the fact that I touched his belly every sylable and then his chin and nose on the last two.   But either way…his smile this morning was my light of the day.

I can’t believe he is 2.  It seems like only yesterday when I was anticipating his birth.  I can remember details, oddly.  Since I dont usually remember details at all.  I remember that every 6 months was my favorite age.  And again this is my favorite age. I remember laying in bed with him and cooing to his sounds.  I remember when he learned to crawl across the living room floor.  I used the toy piano and he couldnt resist.  I remember when he learned to walk to his mailbox.  I think it was the butterfly that buzzed instead of my words, but I can dream.  I remember his first words and everytime he learned and learns a new one.  I love how he says things randomly now and they make absolutely perfect sense.

I love how he knows things.  I love that we taught him everything he knows.

I love how he randomly says i love you momma but it sounds like LUH U MOMMA. Out of no where.  And when he can’t see me…MOMMA ARE U? in five different pitches.  I love his hair, as thin as it is now. 

I love his eyes - alive and curious.  And looking at everything.  And soaking it all up.  My little sponge.

I love his hugs.  He has two kinds.  Give momma a hug and he leans his head in and puts it on my shoulder.  Give momma a squeeze and he wraps both arms around my neck and squeezes so tight that you can barely feel it, but to me it feels like the world.

Today he is 2.  And it doesnt even seem like it.  I want to wrap him up in a blanket and hold him close to me, though that doesnt work anymore becuz he is so long.  I want to guard him from the world but at the same time I am sooo anxious to see it again through his eyes.  When he stands in the backyward and notices every single bird that flies overhead and he talks to them…tweet tweet tweet.  And every airplane and every siren and every dog bark has its own place in the world and Jace notices them.  And at night, every star is so exciting. “Momma tar (star)” followed by “Up above the world so high.” but sounds more like “up abuba ba ba ba bigh” 

I love 2.  Excited for lollipops and putting his shoes on, brushing his teeth and taking a bath.  Sidewalk Chalk writing and blowing bubbles is the highlight of our Saturday. And he still needs me to be at the bottom of the slide. Naked butts and fake cries. All wonderful occassions.

Happy Birthday Jace.  I Love you!
Mommy

Its been awhile.  The last week has been another great up week!  Jace’s spirits are back and his personality beams at me with every word he says.  Aside from the rapid hair loss, you couldnt tell anything was wrong with this little guy!  I don’t think I have ever been on a more jilting rollar coaster in life than this one. The difference in just days is so drastic that my emotions and mind is on overload.  It just goes to show you though how truly amazing children are.  I know mine is!

So we are ending the first cycle of chemotherapy now.  He bounced up pretty quickly from that first round.  He got the last shot of Vincristine last Monday and it didn’t seem to affect him much at all.

Daddy is staying at home with Jace now, so that eases a little of my mind.  It makes it easier to be at work, but still hard to be away.  I guess on the face of the planet, if its not me taking care of my baby, who better than his dad, right?

His blood counts are way back up to almost normal this week.  We got the clearance to take him out but the excellent news is we get to have a birthday party!!!  I’m so excited for this as we were really worried that it would either be in the hospital or it wouldnt be at all.  But the doc says no go ahead.  We are planning it for the 21st.

The schedule right now is back in the hospital for round 2 on April 23rd.  My assumption is that they will do another MRI that morning before they start the chemo so they can get a picture of where we stand.  PRAY BIG and PRAY HARD that the first round of chemo shrunk this thing.  We are ready for some POSITIVE news.

I’m so hopeful and I pray that I am not setting myself up for a let-down.  I will try to write more, as I have been really busy trying to get back in the swign of work, catch up on home stuff, and keep going with all the things I’m supposed to be on top of.  I think some of my sanity is…well I wouldnt say back to normal…I would just say….I guess its more organized.

Thank you God for toddler tummy laughs!!!
God Bless!
Jamie