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Journal entries from 12/27/05 - 01/18/06

01/18/06

Jackson has been on a physical and mental rollercoaster for the last couple of weeks. After he got out of the hospital for staff infection in his blood he has been feeling good half the time and terrible half the time. He has had a rough time with his stomach pains and throwing up and has been on constant medication for it. When he isn't sick, which is most of the day, he is doing really well and even thinks he is pretty funny. We are constantly trying to battle his not being hungry lately and keeping him from throwing up what he does eat. On a bright side, he has gone to school two days in a row and that hasn't happened since before Christmas. He has shed a lot of tears lately in the down times, but finds a way to be happy most of the time. We will be going to Spokane next Monday and have a CAT Scan to see what we are looking at right now. We know that his counts are having trouble rebounding and he is getting less than half as much chemo as he is needing to shrink the tumors.

01/09/06

Jackson was in the hospital Wednesday thru Saturday with a staff infection in his blood. It looks like they caught it early and he is now getting I-V treatment at home. Staci knows a lot about all of this nursing stuff now. They are both heading to Spokane this morning for a meeting with his Doctor and possibly chemo. We hope that he can get it as his neck stopped hurting after two days of chemo. His attitude isn't what it has been, but we think it is getting better. When we got home on Saturday some very good friends were at our house replacing our bath tub and inserting a new one. The old one no longer worked for us and they were putting in a shower/bath combo that will work much better when Jackson is having rougher times or if his chest is accessed for treatment. We are very lucky to have such friends.

01/05/06

The last five days have been tough for Jackson and they just got worse. His neck had been hurting him from the tumor growing rapidly in his neck. Monday he started chemo and he has been sick to his stomach ever since. Yesterday he was admitted into the hospital for two units of blood and chemo, but his counts were too low to give the chemo. They were also concerned that he was so tired lately and sick to his stomach and found out that he had a staff infection. He will most likely be there for up to a week to administer antibiotics and he isn't very happy about it. He has been so strong for so long, but lately is getting very tired of all of this and for the first time he needs a lot of help to keep up his spirits. The thing that worries us the most is that he had two weeks off of chemo and then received it for two days and already his counts are too low to give it to him on the third day. His tumors need the chemo to shrink but the body can't take it. We are looking at alternative medicines and had hoped to not have to use this method. We could sure use your prayers for Jackson. Please pray for his spirits to stay strong, for him to get out of the hospital soon, and for his body to withstand all of this abuse. Thank you all so much and God Bless.

01/03/06

We had a great time with friends and family over the holidays. For most of it Jackson felt pretty good, but his tumor in his neck has grown considerably and is causing a lot of pain. He started chemo again yesterday and will have it for most of the next two weeks. We are really hoping that it takes effect and does its job. The pain medicine makes him very emotional and it's all we can do to keep him from crying when he is on it. The feelings that he has about his cancer in general are usually kept inside, but with the additional medicine it puts him over the edge and voices his feelings and frustrations. It looks like chemo the rest of the week will be in Lewiston and then next week will all be in Spokane. This weekend we were again with friends and family most of the time and that seems to help him in the rough times. He even played some Texas Hold-em poker and? I am afraid we are creating a monster. He won more money than the rest of us and is really turning into a good player. It may not be the best for him, but it sure keeps his mind off of everything else.

12/27/05

We find out today if Jackson gets his cast off or not. He sure wants to so that he can shoot his bow, he said. We were truly blessed by God to have a wonderful Christmas. Everyone's health was good and we had a wonderful weekend. Jackson and Wyatt have made another haul in gifts and can't decide what to play with next. Wyatt is most impressed with his new real life sword (thanks Pat!). Jackson is most excited about his back pack with a water bag in it that he can drink while he hunts or rides 4-wheelers. We have been so blessed by so many and we are very thankful for that. As we look back on the past year we have definitely been on a roller coaster ride. Jackson has been physically very low and had times of strength, but rarely have his spirits faded. The compassion and generosity that has been given to us has been a true blessing. As parents, we are so thankful with the way Jackson and our family has been treated, complete strangers have done so much for us. A silver lining in all of this, is that we have grown to realize how special life is and how special people are. We are not so quick to judge others and much more aware of others going through tough times. We thank all of you for that. May God bless all of you in the New Year.