looking ahead to the weekend

Hi all,

I have a feeling Heaven's freezer & ice cream departments are working overtime to keep up with Jack, as Atlanta was covered in snow Sunday night, and is still frozen solid.  We are hoping they catch up soon, so everyone trying to come in town this weekend will make it safely. :)

Friday services
We will have a short time during the prayer service on Friday night for those of you who would like to say a few words about Jack, share a moment you had with Jack or even tell a joke that he will laugh at from upstairs. If you feel led to do this, please contact our good friend, Beth Patrick (770-653-3960), as she will be helping to coordinate this part of the service for us.

Saturday's reception
The location of the reception is still to be determined, but we are hoping once offices re-open around Marietta tomorrow, we will be able to finalize.  It will be immediately following the service and we would love all who can to join us.

We, as a family, are very excited about both Friday and Saturday, as we know Jack will have an overwhelming presence there between all of you, our families, the music, the prayers, the stories and the laughter.

Love to you all, travel safe, and stay warm-
April

A celebration of Jack

We invite all those who are able to join us in celebrating Jack's life on Friday night, January 14th at one of Jack's favorite places, Transfiguration Catholic Church.

Visitation with the family will be at 7pm, with a prayer service following at 8pm to share stories and memories of Jack's 16 years.

The memorial service to help us celebrate Jack's new life will be held Saturday, January 15th at 11am, also at Transfiguration. An uplifting, full-of-laughter, love-infused reception will follow with details to come.

Transfiguration Catholic Church

1815 Blackwell Road, NE 

Marietta, Georgia 30066

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Jack's honor to: 

Brain Tumor Foundation for Children

6065 Roswell Road, Suite #505

Atlanta, GA 30328

www.braintumorkids.org

Thank you so much for all the words of encouragement, support and love.

-The Gardners

Jack says 'goodbye'... for now.

This morning, somewhere around 2am, Jack quietly, peacefully, gently slipped away to be with God and a host of other family and friends.  He did it the same way he did when he was with us; one minute he was here, the next he was gone. Only this time we know where he went.

Jack was a warrior. A brave soldier. In every way possible. He was a terrific son, brother, nephew, cousin, friend and ambassador for Jesus Christ.

We share our heavy hearts with those who were blessed enough to know him, and even those who didn't, as they shared in our journey some way.

He will be missed greatly, every day, but never forgotten.

We will post arrangements as soon as we have them finalized.  Thank you for letting us share Jack's life with you.

God Bless.
Jack's family - Bob, Mary, Tiffany, April & Charlie

Our new room!

Hi everyone,

Just an update that we are now in Room #197 in the Aflac Cancer Center.  Jack must have good connections here in the hospital, as we are in the 'penthouse suite' as we are calling it.  Lots of space, and very quiet.  They are taking great care of us so far, and in a strange way, it is already more comfortable for us all.

His heart rate and blood counts are still high, but they are keeping a close eye on him and making sure he stays comfortable.

Thanks for all the thoughts sent our way today, it was a quiet day here and we have all spent great time with Jack.

XO
April

Granny went out in style, Jack-o-Baby is moving

Hi everyone,

I know there was a short break in blogging, and I have to admit it is only because I personally was drained from Monday, and we were preparing as a family to be away in Birmingham for Granny's services. Monday was a very emotional day for us all, but as God usually works in times like this, we have all become more dependent & trusting in Him.  Not to mention, closer as a family.

The celebration that took place of Granny's life was incredible.  Tiffany and I missed Tuesday night, but we got the full report that it was a night filled with music from the grandkids, memories of Granny from Charlie (he's so strong!), cousin Costello & a couple of sisters, lots of laughter, even more food, prayers & tears, (red wine), and overwhelming love.

Yesterday's service was beautiful.  So many great friends and family came to say goodbye and wish Granny well in her new life with God.  Mary read a letter from all the sisters to her, and there wasn't a dry eye in the church, other than Mary's (Thank you Lord for giving her that strength to get through!).  It was perfect, other than Jack wasn't there in person, and it ran exactly how Granny would have wanted it.

Jack is having a hard time this morning.  His heart rate and blood pressure were both trending a little high last night, but this morning decided to sky rocket.  They are giving him some medicines to try to bring both down, but Jack is playing one heck of a "chase the numbers" game with the docs.

Mary, Dad, Tiffany and I are all here, and we are planning to stay until we feel he has calmed down.

Why are his counts fluctuating so much?
The doctor's think Jack's body is simply getting tired.  He has been through so much, and we all believe  Jack and the Man upstairs have a plan that is beyond ours, or the doctors, control.

To make sure Jack is the most comfortable he can be right now, he is moving back to Aflac.
We met with the ICU and Alfac doctors this morning, and decided it will be best for Jack to move to the Aflac Cancer Center, where all the nurses adore him (and have known him for years) and they can manage Jack in a different, more comfortable way.  I will post a new room number once we have it, but we should be in our new home later this afternoon.

Please continue praying.  We will be here as a family, and always feel the comfort of everyone thinking and praying for us.

We love you all,
April

Jack did great!

The removal or the respirator went very smooth... PRAISE THE LORD!

They have him on an oxygen mask as the next step, which is helping him continue to breathe strongly.

They won't be making any changes until at least Thursday.

Thank you for praying so hard!
Love you all,
April

please pray!

Hi dear friends and family,

The doctors here are prepared to take the vent out in the next couple hours. We, as a family, feel it's best for us to spend this time together the 5 of us. We are certainly praying for the best, but are prepared for the possibility of God takin this into his hands.

Please continue to pray where you are, that Jack above all will feel Gods spirit and presence in all of this.

We are still on for tomorrow! (and an update on the rest of the fam)

It's so hard to believe that it's already the 2nd day of the new year.  Partly cause I am already doing poorly on my resolution, and partly cause every year goes by faster and faster.  

I think Jack's new year's resolution was to scale down on the milkshakes and ice cream... he is doing great! :)

On a serious note, Jack has been holding steady all day.  His platelets are a little low, so we are currently waiting for him to get some more.  But other than that, his counts are all maintaining pretty normal levels.

The ICU team of docs is still planning to see how Jack does off the respirator tomorrow, most likely in the morning some time.  Once we have a confirmed time (if we get one before the morning), I will update right away.  

If Jack isn't able to maintain healthy breathing on his own, they will re-intubate him right away and get him stable again.  We will at that time reassess and determine when they will try again, and how to help make him stronger in the meantime.

Why are they in a hurry to get the respirator out?

There are several medical reasons they are pushing to have Jack try as soon as they feel he is ready. Most importantly, the longer the tube is down Jack's throat, the more dependent his body will become on the added breaths, which we obviously don't want.  In addition, the tube could cause permanent vocal chord & throat problems.

We trust the ICU docs completely and are following their recommendations.

How's the rest of the family?

Charlie is being such a trooper.  He has been a part of some hard conversations, has been in the room talking to Dr. Claire, has been so patient and self-sufficient while at the hospital, has given Jack lots of love - and occasionally a hard time, and has overall acted way older than a 13-year old kid.  Aside from pouring sugar packets down his throat... he is being such an angel for all of us. And at least with the sugar he is at least entertaining for all of us around. :)

We are so glad Tiffany stayed in town and is here with us.  We could not be doing this without her presence, as she sides with Charlie a lot of the time as our comic relief.  Her and I have had some great moments together the past few days, and she is a big part of why I am able to keep it together in the least.  She has the best energy and spirit, and keeps laughter alive.

I am hanging in for sure.  Just like Tiff, I am trying to help create balance for Dad and Mary during all of this, and love on Charlie as much as he will let us.  Oh - and we both try to see who can get the most response out of  Jack.  It's a friendly competition...most of the time. :)  Dr. Claire calls us the torture team, as we are always kidding and rubbing and messing with Jack when she comes in. Oops.

Mary is incredible.  With everything she has going on inside of her, it must be God giving her the strength and peace she faces each day with.  She manages to stay focused on Jack, is on top of everything the doctors are doing, asks great questions... and smiles while doing it all.  Sure, we all have our moments, but Mary continues to handle everything with such Grace, it inspires us all.

Dad is our rock.   The amount of love Dad has for Jack, Charlie, Mary, Tiff and I is so evident, and that is a big part of what keeps our family so close.  He is doing his best to balance work and our family, and is my hero for even trying to do both.  He too handles every moment with nothing but patience and understanding.  

The rest of our family will be headed to Birmingham for Granny's services on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The plan right now is for Dad, Mary and Charlie to attend both services, while Tiffany and I stay here.  We will of course play everything by ear, but if Jack is stable we, too, are hoping to attend services on Wednesday.  Once I know the address of the funeral home, I will post it as we have received many requests for the information.

Please pray that everyone traveling to Birmingham will be kept safe, and that peace will be over our entire family throughout the week.  Please also pray that Jack stays strong overnight and that he is able to breathe on his own tomorrow morning. 

Thanks to everyone for continued support. I know I thank you all at the end of every blog, but it still doesn't seem like nearly enough.  We couldn't do this without all of you.

XO to the moon and back,

April

Happy New Year!

Hi!

We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year's. We celebrated with Jack (a little before midnight), and all made party hats to along with it.  Then, Tiffany, Charlie and I went home & woke all the neighbors banging pots and pans as we counted down.

Dad and Mary stayed with Jack, and it sounds like things were uneventful (which we like!) and they all got some good sleep.

They have changed trying to take Jack off the respirator to Monday. We aren't sure what time, but will let you know when we do. They pushed it back in the hopes that with one more day on the respirator, which is only helping him minimally, the last of his pneumonia with go away completely. 

They did take out his tube that was keeping his stomach empty and put in a feeding tube, so Jack will start getting some "liquid food" for the first time in 6 days.  It might not be milkshakes, but we are excited to start getting him some real nutrition.

His counts have remained steady, and he has enjoyed the visitors, in addition to the time we have given him to rest.  He did watch the Florida football game, and he was cheering (on the inside) the entire time. Go Gators! :)

We wish you all a wonderful year ahead...

April