Baseball Brotherhood

We are so thankful for the support of Jack’s baseball teammates! One of them, Elijah, came up with the idea of getting wristbands to show solidarity in support of Jack. Go, Mudcats!

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17)

Thankful to Be Home

After a 7-day/6-night stay at the luxurious Hotel Hurley, Jack is back home! And while we couldn’t be more pleased with the nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals there, we are more than a little thankful to have him back and feeling a little better! Thank you to all who continue to pray for him.

Back to the Hospital...Again

Jack woke up Monday feeling really off: lightheaded and his heart racing, so the doctors made an appointment for a blood transfusion on Tuesday morning. When we got there though, he had a severe headache, was nauseous, and had intense stomach pain. Dr. Saah said that he was staying with her until at least Sunday.

It was a bad week. Doctors couldn't figure out the cause of Jack's ongoing headaches or stomach pain.Through it all, he had chemo on Wednesday, a CT scan, an MRI, and chemo again on Saturday. Thankfully, Dr. Saah found just the right medications for Jack's migraine and stomach pain. He is finally feeling a little better and ready to go home today.

Back to the Hospital

Jack was scheduled for a spinal tap and another round of chemo Wednesday. Unfortunately, when we got to the clinic, we discovered that he had lost 35 pounds and would have to be admitted. To make matters worse, Jack woke up with a terrible post-spinal tap headache, and ended up flat on his back in the hospital until Sunday. During this time, he was also suffering from what doctors thought was the initial infection.

Although the last two weeks have been really hard, we are thankful that Jack came home today, which was exactly what Pete wanted more than anything else for Father's Day!

A Little Bit of Normal

It was great for Jack to get to hang out tonight with his Michigan Mudcats teammates! Even though he can't play, it was wonderful to be with the guys!

Back Home!

A second round of chemo in the books, Jack is back home and actually feeling pretty good. Ready to #JackUpCancer and #BeatLeukemia!

A Visit from Friends

The nurses at Hurley are beyond compare! They went the extra mile today to disinfect and bring extra chairs to the game room so Jack could see his friends. And we are thankful that Jack had such a great group that came to visit him today at the hospital. It was so good for Jack to have at least some semblance of normalcy for the first time in days!

How in the world did we get here? (part two)

(click here for part one)

When Jack was a little boy, I read a parenting article that said you should give children choices. "Would you like to put your coat or your shoes on first?" "Would you like to clean up your toys now or after lunch?" But there was no pulling one over on Jack. He'd look me square in the face every time and say in his sweet toddler voice, "Choice three, please."

That's just how we felt on Monday. Jack's pediatrician and the doctor in the ER thought he was suffering from hemolitic uremic syndrome (HUS). But when Dr. Onwuzurike, the pediatric hematologist/oncologist, spoke with us that afternoon, she suspected something different: leukemia.

We desperately wanted choice three, please.

A bone marrow test Tuesday confirmed Dr. Onwuzurike's suspicions, and the floor dropped out from under us. She was very confident that Jack would be able to experience a full recovery with chemotherapy, though the next three years of his life would be very different than what we had dreamed and planned. Miami University would be on hold for a year. Jack was incredibly brave and incredibly determined. "Let's get this done," he said.

Things happened incredibly quickly from that point. By Wednesday afternoon, Jack had surgery to install a port in his chest, a spinal tap to test for cancerous cells in his brain and spinal cord, and had completed his first round of chemo. He would stay in the hospital through his second round of chemo Saturday.

How in the world did we get here?

The second week of May, amid AP exams, a varsity baseball tournament in Traverse City and studying for his very last high school finals, Jack came down with a stomach bug. Of course, in typical Jack fashion, he pushed through, going to baseball practice with a bottle of Imodium and Senior Walk at Myers Elementary with a pack of Tums. After waiting it out for two weeks on the suggestion of the pediatrician, he still didn't seem to be getting any better. On the morning of graduation, I took him in to see the doctor. She ran a myriad of tests and suspected Jack had probably picked up a virus. Test results would be back on Monday.

Jack had been feeling really crummy but the evening of graduation, he felt significantly worse. His color looked awful and we weren't sure he'd be able to make it through the graduation ceremony. But he was determined not to miss a minute and rallied enough to talk us into letting him go to the all night postgrad party, as well. Looking back, we are so grateful for God's hand of protection on Jack. Saturday, he caught a line drive off his index finger during practice. He went on to play in two district playoff games. On Sunday afternoon, he put on a brave face and sat through his graduation open house eating very little of all his favorites. By Sunday night, his ankles had begun to swell and we were very worried.

Monday morning I called the doctor to find out test results and to let her know Jack was much worse. She called me back 30 minutes later and told me to take Jack straight to the ER at Hurley Medical Center, to have him admitted, and to not take "no" as an answer.   

(click here for part two)