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Journal entries from 03/14/03 - 02/14/03

03/14/03

Bob's surgery went very well, I talked to his dad last night and Bob was still out, but it went well. The surgery took over eight hours and they removed around 85% of the tumor. The surgeon said it went very well and the tumor was even bigger than they had thought. Bob should lose most of his hearing on one side, but they are hoping for the best on the final outcome. We thank you so much for putting him in your prayers, they're still working. I should know more soon.

03/10/03

Jackson got his hearing aides and is very excited about them. He is in on every conversation now and that's the way the little gossip wants it. He has always wanted to know exactly what we were talking about, and the past several months have been driving him nuts. Soon he will start retinoic acid to help fight any possible growth of neuroblastoma cells. He will be taking this for several months and it's a very strong drug that can have some side effects that we will monitor closely. His schooling is going great and he is excited to read to us now and doing very well at it. His counts are coming back slowly, but not yet to the level where Jackson can go out very much. Bob Toothaker has his surgery on Thursday and could certainly use your prayers. He has been having a fairly rough couple of weeks with the pain of the tumor and is ready to get it over with. He is not one to complain, but we know he is having a tough time.

03/03/03

Jackson had a good day Friday, his MRI results came back negative and so did his blood test that was sent to L.A.  We were very worried about this and the doctor doesn't think it is anything, but plans to monitor it closely. She did give us the awful reminder that Jackson has a 50-50 chance of a relapse in the next five years. Those aren't the odds we want, but we will do our best to keep him as healthy as we can and prepare to fight the day we pray will never come. Jackson is getting shots again to help raise his white blood cell count and he is not real big on that, but his immunity is very low and the doctor was surprised he hasn't been sick yet. He also should be getting the tube out of his chest at the end of the month. That will be nice, especially since he and Wyatt want to wrestle all of the time.

02/26/03

Jackson is doing well and enjoying being home. He is starting to get hair on his head and his eyebrows and eyelashes are almost back to normal. He has an MRI on Friday and we still don't have the blood results back from L.A. yet. The doctors are optimistic that it isn't anything but we are all hoping and praying for the best. Sunday we went up to Winchester to see Bob and his family and go sledding. Jackson can't sled yet because his platelets are still too low, but he rode his four-wheeler for a couple hours in about 5 inches of snow and had a great time. Wyatt, as usual, had a great time playing and sledding. Staci has been helping and getting geared up for the "Relay for Life" American Cancer Society fund raiser. It's another way to say thank you to all of those that have helped us and a way to help the many others that we don't even know about. Bob Toothaker had his meeting in Portland yesterday with his doctor and the surgery will be on March 13th. The doctor is confident and said that the size is a little bigger than an egg and has been growing for probably 10 years. He also said that there will probably be two surgeries, one to take out most of the mass and the other to do the more meticulous last ten percent. The doctor said the first surgery will last around eight hours and he hates to keep him out much longer than that. Bob and Anjee are heading back home today and will go back in a couple weeks. Bob sounded very positive and ready to tackle this head on. If you know Bob, that wouldn't surprise you at all.

02/20/03

Jackson had another hearing test today and it went about the same, except the doctor said that he could wear the smaller in the ear hearing aides. I guess the Daniels ears are paying off. The doctor said that for a six year old he had very large ears, as if we hadn't noticed. As for the other tests we are still waiting for results. We are just enjoying our time together and getting things as back to normal as we can. As for Bob Toothaker, he is heading for Portland on Monday and meeting the doctor on Tuesday. He hopefully will have surgery later in that week. Bob and Anjee are getting ready for the unknown and I can only imagine their emotions and realize how different their situation is. Bob is and has been like a big brother to me since I was eight years old, from countless hunting and fishing trips with my family to more recent years of friendship. We have so many mutual friends that we plan to update all of you on Jackson's progress and Bob's as well. Please include both Jackson and Bob in your prayers. We have all seen the power of prayer in the last eight months.

02/14/03

Yesterday we got a phone call that Jackson had a spot on his adrenal gland and they needed him in Spokane right away. So we went up and the spot was still there, but the doctors think that it is ok, but took blood and sent it to L.A. and plan on retesting in three weeks to a month. So our one day of completion and celebration was quickly stopped, but now we just monitor this spot and pray for the best. We also found out yesterday that Bob Toothaker, one of my family's life long friends, has a brain tumor. Bob is only thirty-six so this came as an unpleasant surprise. He is getting more tests today to find out the severity of the tumor and we ask that you also pray for Bob and Anjee and their two boys for a speedy recovery and comfort in the Lord.