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Journal entries from 01/12/05 - 03/03/05

03/03/2005

Jackson's bone marrow results came back clear and we are very glad to see that. We hold our breath every time that he gets tests done and this is a big one. He is now on a protocol of taking retinoic acid, in the form of a pill. He will do this for a while and we are going to keep testing him and pray that his leg heals. He still doesn't know that he has cancer in his leg as we don't want him to favor it or give us false information about it hurting if it is only in his mind. Jackson does worry about things and we think that he would worry about this nonstop. We will cross that bridge if we have to. Both the boys are ready for baseball to start and they can't wait to go fishing. They both talk about it all of the time. It won't be long and I will be giving all of you the reports.

02/23/2005

Today Jackson is in Spokane getting a bone marrow aspiration. They are checking it again to see if it is still good. The doctor will put him out and take a small sample of his bone marrow. They use a device that resembles a cork screw. We will let you know the results when we get them. Jackson is coming off a cold, but so is the rest of the family. We had a great weekend with family and we got to see our first hockey match. The boys loved it, and of course Wyatt said his favorite part was the fighting. We also went on a sleigh ride where they feed elk in the winter. We had elk eating hay off of the hay bails that we were sitting on. One very large bull even came and ate off of the sleigh. One of the cow elk was even nudging Jackson's butt as she was trying to get the hay he was sitting on. The boys were both pretty surprised that the elk were coming that close to us. The boys are both wrapping up basketball and getting ready for baseball. Jackson will move to live arm pitching and Wyatt will have his first year of Tee-Ball, he missed last year when he broke his arm.

02/10/2005

Last night there was a "Relay for Life" kickoff for the American Cancer Society and many people showed up. At the event, Darci, Jackson's aunt, and Jackson spoke. It was rough watching clips about others and listening to both of them speak. Sometimes we forget what we have been through, but most of all the pain and suffereing that Jackson has been through. Last night brought that back and was very hard on all of us. It also brought back the memory and realization of all of those that have helped us. Without the growth in our faith and all of the support of family and friends, I don't know how we could have gotten where we are today.

01/31/2005

Sorry it has been so long since the last update, we just wanted more results from the tests before we reported. Jackson was retested last week. They didn't retest his bone marrow as it came back clean recently, but they did look hard at the thigh and how it was doing. One of the scans, the MIBG scan, didn't show anything. The other scan, which is the bone scan, showed that it was larger than last time. The doctors are talking with others about it in Seattle to get their interpretation, but they are hoping that it is looking bigger because it is trying to repair itself, we pray every day that they are right in their assumption. Jackson's hair is getting longer and he is getting more energy. His counts are still down, he even woke up in the night with a bloody nose, but he had already cleaned it up and came in our room just to let us know. He really likes basketball this year and Wyatt is already looking forward to soccer, which I hope he grows out of someday, we have never been much of a fan.

01/20/2005

Jackson's counts are very low again from the chemo, but he is still rolling ahead full steam. Wyatt is also doing very well. We continually try to make sure that we don't let Wyatt stand in the shadow of all that is going on in Jackson's world. Wyatt has been very concerned for his brother all along and recently asked us, after we prayed together, how we will know when Jackson's cancer is gone. He also often offers to hold Jackson's hand when he gets the painful Neupogen shots. We are very lucky to have the two boys we have.

01/12/2005

Jackson had his first basketball game on Monday and did great. With chemo all week last week, we were worried about his stamina, but he did great and even scored a couple points. He said he had a great time and I know that we did too. Each time he gets to do something like this we step back and give thanks. Going forward, we are retesting Jackson at the end of the month and we will get another look at how he is doing and the doctor will decide from there. With the bone marrow clear now, we need to concentrate on the cancer in his thigh and find a way to get rid of it., Lord willing it will be a thing of the past soon. Thank you so much for your prayers and please continue.