slight setback, happy halloween!, big trip coming up & another video!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I have taken a short break from the blog, but we have been waiting to share as much information as I could.  Here we go...

We had a slight setback over the weekend.
I have shared previously that we are all so thankful that Jack has, for the most part, been out of pain so far during radiation.  Well, on Sunday morning (early!) that seemed to take a turn.  He was complaining of headaches at a 10 (on a 1 through 10 scale), and neither pain medicine we had on hand seemed to help in the slightest.

So that afternoon... Jack and Mary took a trip to the ER.  The put him on morphine, which always helps the pain and lets him catch up on sleep.  They did a catscan which didn't show any obvious changes to the tumor, nor anything wrong with his shunt (thank God!).  And they did some blood work, which showed that his platelets were, unfortunately, too low to let us go home.

They did a platelet transfusion Sunday night, and Monday afternoon, and will be doing one again most likely tomorrow.  They are also starting him on a pain patch and some oral morphine while in the hospital to make sure it's working before they send us home.  The hope is to go home tomorrow!

Other challenges like his speech and his walking seem to be improving slightly each and every day. We are hopeful that this continues as we near the end of radiation.

Oh, and as I called Tiffany on Sunday to let her know we were head back to the hospital, she requested that we channel her love for Halloween and dress in costume to go hang with Jack.

So... my friend Regina and I became hippies!
We know, it's not a huge stretch for us, but was all we could pull together at that late notice. Tiff, this is for you! :)

It's amazing that Jack still smiles for the camera, regardless of a Level 10 headache! :)

The main thing we are praying for, and that we ask you to pray for, is that the pain can be managed by us at home, and that his platelets stay high enough that we can all feel great about making...

A trip to The Big House this weekend!
We are so blessed to have the opportunity to go as a family - all 6 of us! - to the Michigan vs. Illinois football game this weekend.  For those that don't know, all 4 of us kids (Tiff, Jack, Charlie & I) were born with maze and gold piping through our veins, and I'm pretty sure our first words were "Go Blue".  It has been a dream for a while to see the stadium and attend a game, and we are all praying that Jack is feeling well enough to make the trip.

Either way, Tiffany is coming in town Thursday night and will be spending the weekend with us... and it goes without saying, but Jack is super excited to see his big sis again!

We are certainly feeling loved all the time, and Jack is still receiving notes, and calls, and videos and emails from incredible people, all the time.  In fact, one of my favorite musicians, Brett Dennen, sent over a cool video message & some music to Jack.  Enjoy!



We only have 11 treatments left, and we could NOT have gotten this far without all of you!

Love you all!
Ape