Save Jace

There is a little girl here from Corpus who we have been paralleling a bunch of things lately.  There have been news reports of both children and benefits around the same time.  Most recently a benefit was planned out in Ingleside at the Moose Lodge.  This benefit was setup for 3 different families.  One being ours, and one being Morgans.  Morgan Thomas!  A brave little girl fighting the same fight with Jace and living so close to us.

We went to meet Morgan and her family today and the kids had a blast.  They bowled and played and smiled and got along, it was a wonderful night for us.

Morgan, her mom Misty, and her dad Curtis are in our prayers daily along with Jace and all the Drs and nurses and caregivers helping along our journeys.

God Bless these Angels!!!

This is Jace laughing at Tia Irma while we were on Vacation…Thought everyone would enjoy it.  I will post a couple of other videos that you will all probably get a kick out of.

Jace Laughing

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So here we are once again in the hosptial… We started the morning out in the Clinic at 9:00am and finally got into a room around 1:30.  Interesting turn of events from what we were told by the Dr.

We are now in the 5th Session and according to The Clinical Study that we are on.  2 Agents are dropped, 1 is added, and some of the chemo is administered on different days than before.

We are still receiving the Cisplatin now on day 1 instead of 4…  still receiving the Methotrexate (through omaya reservoir) still on day 1,2,3,4… and still receiving the Vincristine on days 1,8,and 15.  They also have now introduced an agent referred to as CCNU which is administered on day 1. Also we are now on a 42 day cycle instead of a 28 day cycle!

We were told today that we are now eligible for yet another option.  There is a specific kind of Radiation machine at MD Anderson in Houston that is called a Focal Proton Radiation Machine.  The Dr. here discussed Jace yet again with the Dr.s there and he said that Jace would probably be a candidate to receive radiation from that special machine. 

It is just something that the Dr. wanted to make us aware of.  Which we really like about him.  If something comes up or changes he never hesitates to tell us or give us a heads up!!!

We also discussed the other options we have…  and according to the Pilot Study, there were patients that only received ONLY Chemo and made it.  We decided between the two of us to wait to see what shows on the next MRI before going up to MD Anderson and having that meeting.

So many things to think about…  Do we continue with Chemo only?  Will ONLY Chemo work?  Will he need Chemo and Radiation?  Should we do Radiation now?  We are possibly gonna wait a couple more treatments which means a couple more MRI’s as well and see what may happen!  The Dr offers us options, but continues to tell us how pleased he is with all the results!!!

We know that God will lead us in  the right direction on any decision that we need to make!  He has done so thus far!  It is now 11:00pm and we are officially into 5 hours of Chemo and so far he seems to be taking things well!!!  Hasn’t gotten sick yet… Thank God…  and is still in High Spirits!  Very Active, Talktative, and Humorous… Typical Jace!!!
We continue to pray for the best and we appreciate everyone that has been praying for Little Jace!!!

God Bless,
Joshua, Jamie, and Jace

It is 3:40 in the afternoon on July 26.  Jamie just got a call from the Oncologists Office… NO SURGERY!!!  The Doctors talked it over and the contrast enhanced MRI showed the tumor  so small and still shrinking impressivley that they might not be able to find it if they were to open everything up.

And now we have learned that according to protocal, a surgery is to be done after the 4th session of Chemotherapy and that 2 agents that make up the Anthracycline are to be dropped!

So as we stand right now… The Surgery will NOT be needed.   And they are going to DROP 2 Chemo Agents that make up Anthracycline - the Doxorubicin and the Dactinomyocin.  Jace is now scheduled to go into the Hospital on Monday  July 30th to start his 5th session of chemo which will only constist of 3 agents instead of 5!!! 

We will however continue with the plan of going till he is 3!  The Oncologist has said that we are going to keep a very close eye on any activity by performing MRI’s once a month.  They will do another MRI before the next (6th) treatment to make sure that nothing pops up by dropping the 2 agents.

Great News!  We are Happy Beyond Words!  The Power of Prayer is Amazing!!!

GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERYONE!
Joshua, Jamie, and Jace

Ok, so the new plan of attack was to have an MRI done, have the Neurosurgeon look at the results, evaluate Jace, and have another Surgery to take out any mass that might be in there!

Well Today (Tuesday) we went and met with the Neurosurgeon and he had received the MRI Photos from yesterday.  He proceeds to tell us, that he is not sure about doing another surgery.  The reason being, is cause he is not sure even if he opened everything up, that he would be able to cut out what is shown on the MRI photos, cause it is SO Small!!!  We asked if he had seen last months MRI Photos to compare on and he told us… “I did and the mass has shrunk even more in comparison to last months MRI!”

He said that he will discuss the latest MRI with the Oncologist and then they will decide what the next course of action is!  So as we sit right now, we are looking at an even smaller mass than before.  If we understood correctly it is roughly the size of a Sunflower Seed (the seed, not shell)

So we sit and wait patiently to find out what will happen next!  We know that A LOT of prayers have been answered and that God has worked a Miracle through what he has done with Jace so far.  But, I received a message from a friend and he was correct.  One of the things that neither Jamie nor I have done in past messages was Praise and Thank the Doctors, Nurses, and Staff at Driscoll Childrens Hospital!!!  They all have had a Big Part in the Miracle we have been witnessing.

We Thank God everyday for what he does for Jace and Us, we also want to Thank the Doctors, Nurses, and Staff at the Hospital, and A Big Thank You to each and everyone of our Family and Friends that have been and are still praying for Jace!

Love and God Bless,
Joshua, Jamie, and Jace

We were scheduled to go in for regular round 5 chemotherapy on Monday, however the Oncologist called us and they want to do another MRI that morning instead.  He has been talking to MDAnderson and the head of the study Jace is on in Germany and they all agree with this decision.

The neurologist will look over the MRI and we have an appointment for him to see Jace Tuesday afternoon.  We will then discuss the plan to go ahead with another brain surgery to remove the rest of the tumor that is in his brain.

The Drs want to remove the mass so that the chemotherapy can focus more onthe cancer cells than shrinking the mass.  We’re not sure even sure what it looks like since last month the MRI results were so drastically wonderful.

But they do want to check.  If Jace is a candidate for surgery again, they will schedule it Tuesday and we will let everyone know.  If they dont go ahead with surgery then we will start round 5 chemo on Wednesday as scheduled.

Though we stand behind our Dr 100%, and we know that Jace will recover great from yet another brain surgery, my secret hope is that the tumor has shrunk so much that they dont need to go in there again and we just proceed as is.  Either way, we want what is best for him and do whatever they say.

I’ll let you know more later next week.
Have a great weekend.
Jamie

We went on a much need, Dr approved vacation this last week.  We spent the first couple of days at the frio river. It was nice to get away and be with friends and family, just relaxing. 

After that we went to Houston where we went to an Astros game.  Jace thought this wa the BEST part of the vacation by far.

We had a great time!!!

While we were gone there was a benefit for Jace done by Los Paisanos. They did their first annual Butterfly Run out of Ingleside. I am currently trying to get pictures from them from the benefit but once I do I will post them. They had a very successful day and raised over $4000 for Jaces fund.

We cannot thank them enough for what they did and continue to do to help us through this time. They are greatly appreciated more than they know….

Thank you Los Paisanos!!

PRAISE GOD!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!

When we last spoke with the Dr., he tells us “If I hadn’t seen the Reservoir in the MRI, I would have thought I was looking at a different patient!” He wasn’t Kidding!!!

We were just visited by the Dr. and he handed us the “Official” Results of Yesterdays MRI! He also brought us the Results from 2 Months ago for Comparison. 

So what we started with 3 Months Ago was a Tumor roughly the size of a Baseball about 3 inches by 3 inches.  As of March 23, we were dealing with:  A Mass that measured .98in x 1.81in x 1.22 in. Also described as “having considerable vasogenic edema surrounding the extending into the corpus callosum.”

As of June 21, we are now dealing with “a Small amount of enhancement in the region which measures .66in x .5in x .62in”  Also described as “The Previously right frontal mass with Vasogenic edema has significantly decreased.  There is currently no significant edema”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!  My draw dropped.  That is smaller than a “standard size” Marble.  I was speechless!  As the tears fell down my face, I stopped and thanked God for this Miracle!  Once again by the power of God we surprised the Dr., cause he wasn’t expecting this kind of result this early!  He is almighty and incredible!  The Dr. is very happy with Jace’s Effort through all this and is actually suprised and how Jace has handled all of this! 

We are truely blessed…  Blessed for the Miracles that we see everyday, Blessed for Having Jace in Our Lives, Blessed For Having Each Other, and Blessed for having such supporting Friends and Family!!!  

We had a semi rough night last night, but so far this morning it has been pretty good!  I woke up to Jace yelling… “DADDA… WAKE UP!!! DADDA DADDA… WAKE UP!!!”  We then proceeded to play, take medicine, eat a little breakfast, visit with some visitors, and now (10:45) he just went down for a nap.  I sit here watching him in amazement!!!  From a Baseball to smaller then a Marble………..  I can’t even explain it!  I am numb with happiness!!!

Thank You All and God Bless,

PRELIMINARY UPDATE:

So in our last update, I mentioned the story of the 2 Farmers praying for Rain… well I couldn’t see it more fitting as we were driving up this morning to the hospital, that it was raining!  I saw it as a sign from God, that he was sending the rain for the fields that we have been preparing!

We met with the Dr. at about 5:00 and he told us that he wouldn’t have the “official” results of Jace’s MRI till tommorow.  I asked him if he had seen anything or heard anything from the MRI.  He proceeds to tell us, and I quote “If I hadn’t seen the Omaya Reservoir in the MRI Slides, than I wouldn’t have known that I was looking at the same patient!!!”  We were ecstatic to hear this!!!  He then proceeded to tell us that “the results from the MRI was exceptional and was a whole lot better than he anticapted… even more so than his anticipation from the First Session MRI!!!”

God is the Worker of Miracles and it is showing in this Miracle we call Jace!

God Bless Each and Everyone of you and Thank You from the bottom of our hearts for the Prayers, Love, and Support!!!

God Bless,
Joshua Jamie & Jace

We go into the hospital tomorrow.  We are very anxious for the MRI results this time.  We have been anticipating this for a few months now and its finally here.  The MRI is scheduled for 10AM and Jace will be admitted after recovery to the 4th floor for Chemo round 4.  Send him up in your prayers tonight and tomorrow. 

God Bless!!!

Daddy and I went to the Clinic to get my Day 15 dose “last dose” of my 3rd session of Chemotherapy. I got to visit with the Doctor as I do at every visit and he was very happy. He told Daddy that he was very very happy with the results thus far. Results referring to the 25% Shrinkage after the first dose of Chemo, my bodies reaction to the chemo thus far, how my blood levels are looking on certain days of my recovery time, and how my body has bounced back after these 3 sessions. He has scheduled the MRI for right before the 4th session and we are all looking forward to seeing if there has been anymore progress! It’s all in Gods Hands and We Pray everyday for more positive results like we got after the last MRI! This past visit my blood counts were a bit low so I got a transfusion, it was expected, so all in all everything is still going ectremely well! The Doctor also told Daddy that he is amazed at how active I am and how happy I act even when right now I shouldn’t be acting this way! We now prepare for the 4th session of Chemotherapy which will probably start on June 18. We are anxious to see the New MRI and are preparing everyday for the next session. It’s a day to day process, but it’s what we do to prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically!

As Mommy and Daddy saw in a movie this is something that they see complete truth in and believe, “There were 2 Farmers that desperately needed rain and both of them prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it… which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?… God will send the rain when he is ready!”

We are Preparing Our Field To Recieve It!!!
God Bless Each and Everyone of You!

Well so far this round has taken a little longer to recover from.  It was completely to be expected though.  They said the more he has the chemo, the longer it will take to recover.  We are doing good.  Jace started to eat a little more over the weekend which brings up his spirits and his mood. 

Yesterday we went to First Presbyterian Church where they held a BBQ lunch benefit in Jaces honor.  It was really nice.  Jace got to go and people were really pleased at that.  They got to see him and stuff.  It was fun.  All he wanted to eat was cake and cookies…lol.

http://www.kiiitv.com/home/7814877.html

Tomorrow we have a Drs appt where we will schedule the next MRI and the 4th round of chemo.  They will be doing an MRI before this round, so we can see what is going on again.  We’re both anxious and excited to see that it is shrinking still

God Bless!

So here we are and it’s the 3rd Morning of the 3rd Session of Chemotherapy.  The Dr. chose to go ahead and wait till the beginning of the 4th session of chemotherapy to do another MRI, so as far as progress on the Tumor itself, we don’t know yet, but we as well as the Dr. are all Optimistic that it is going very well! 

This has been kind of a Blah week as far as “Cool” Visitors.  No Rusty and the Hooks, No Miss Rodeo Texas, No Sea World Animals… But we still have today, tommorow, and possibly Thursday, so there is no telling who might happen to stop by! 

Jace has been  doing well so far with this 3rd Session.  Same ol Same ol… A little Nausea, a little tired…  but he seems to be eating a little better than the first 2 sessions.  The Funniest thing was Last night (2nd Day).  The Night Nurse comes in and asks, “so what has he had to eat for dinner?”  Well usually Jace on Chemo, we are lucky for him to eat maybe a slice of cheese on the evening of the 2nd day, well I proceed to tell her… “He has had about a third of his Rice Crispie Treat and about 2 cups of Popcorn”  she proceeds to head to the front door to leave. “WAIT, that’s not it…”  she says “really?  that’s good, what else”  so I tell her “also a couple chicken nuggets”  she replies “GREAT!” and then starts to leave… “WAIT!”…  “There’s More?” ”Yes Ma’am… he also had 2 1/2 pieces of medium pizza”  “WHAT?!?!?!?!?”  “Yeah he was hungry” I told her.

But all and all, so far this has been a Good Visit.  Things are going extremely well and The Doctor is Very Happy!  We did have a little scare last night though.  Jace pulled out the needle from his Mediport while he was getting chemo, which can be very dangerous!  But we seem to be doing alright.  They have been keeping on eye on it!

We pray every night now and we pray for all those who have been praying for us!  It’s those prayers that have helped us through this!  We are extremely blessed to have y’all in our lives!  We Love You!!!

God Bless,

Joshua

Well this has been a pretty busy week.  We call this week “house arrest” since we are not aloud to go anywhere in public with Jace.  His counts drop after the week in the hospital from the chemo and there is alot of risk in infections and illnesses.  So we just stayed home.  He got sores in his mouth again, this time they went down his throat and it caused lots of pain.  You could tell when he swallowed.  He would either cry or just let the drool fall out of his mouth.  Poor thing. But we gave him his meds and yesterday he started showing signs of feeling better.  Talking more and eating some.   

We went to the Dr today and Jaces counts are coming back up.  His platelets are still really low, but the Dr said nothing to be too worried about that they should come back on their own.  If we go in next Monday and they are still really low, then he will consider another platelet transfusion, but as for now he is not worried.  Jace has lost 1 1/2 pounds since last weigh in, but we are pretty sure its from this week not eating too much since his mouth hurt.  Everything is going still as planned.  His hair is thinning everyday and I think we are just going to shave it off here pretty soon.  Its getting too many patches for my liking.

 We went this weekend and met with the La Paisanos out of Ingleside.  They are going to have a Benefit Lunch Run in honor of one of their own Sherry Martin who was lost to cancer last year, but  benefiting to Jace.  I will post the flyer as soon as I get it scanned. 

Also I have heard that First Presbyterian Church is doing a benefit lunch after church on Sunday, June 3rd. 

I will let you know more about those as I hear them.
Keep praying and God Bless!!
Jamie

Here we are, it’s Monday May 7th and Jace just got back from the Hospital. He had a Blood test as well as his “final dose” of Chemo “Vincristine” that now completes his 2nd Session. Doctor is Happy with the way things are going and the way his Blood Counts looked. Platelets were a tad low, but not Low enough to need a tranfusion.

We are looking at this week and next and then back in for his 3rd round. This time we will not be doing an MRI before Chemo. Doctor wants to wait till the start of his 4th round to do an MRI.

Things are going well and as expected and he is still happy with Jace’s Progress.

I have attached a couple of photos that were just taken today! For those of you that know, I played Snare in High School and the sound of me practicing drove my parents crazy and Mom always told me, “your day will come!” well I didn’t know that it would be when my child was 2!!! Enjoy! Johnny (cuz) you’ll really appreciate these photos!!! Thanks to Michelle for this wonderful Birthday Present for Jace…..

Love and God Bless,
Joshua

PS - Jamie and I watched a movie this past weekend based on a recommendation from a good friend of mine Kevin B. I am telling you now… I can firmly say that this is now my favorite movie of ALL TIME! It is such an Incredible movie and I suggest to all of you to watch it! Great Family Movie and just hands down the Best Movie I have ever watched!!! It’s a MUST SEE!!! It’s called “Facing The Giants” Please if you get a chance, watch this movie, I promise you’ll Love It!!!

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