Michael's Journey

2009-07-11T08:48:00.002-07:00

On September 21, 2004, our 10 year old son, Michael, went home to be with the Lord after a short but very courageous battle with cancer.

When you become a Christian, your most primary goal is to make it to Heaven to be with Jesus Christ in eternity .... Michael has achieved that goal because of his unwavering faith in Jesus Christ as his very own personal Lord and Saviour.

The original blog was hosted on CaringBridge and we felt the need to move those entries in order to free up space for others to use the CaringBridge service. "Michael's Journey" has found its way here and what you are about to read are the unedited entries of "Michael's Journey".......

The Journey Begins……

2009-07-11T08:48:00.001-07:00

In March, 2004, Michael began complaining that his right eye was watering. We overlooked this since it was windy and we had been working outside with our animals getting them ready for the 4-H Youth Fair. A week or two later he showed us a lump just under his right ear. That was on Friday, March 22, 2004.

On Monday, March 25, 2004 we got an appt. with the pediatrician. He checked Michael out very thoroughly and after several tests, thought it might be viral. Our pediatrician sent us home with meds. We ended up making several trips back to the pediatrician (blood work, x-rays, pokes, & prods) but everything was coming back negative. By this time the lumps were on both sides of the neck so our pediatrician referred us on to an Infectious Disease Doctor. We have many farm animals and he was guessing that the trouble may have started with some of our many farm animals coupled with the fact that Michael is a 10 year old farm kid with a curiosity that would make even Albert Einstein jealous. We made our first visit to the Infectious Disease clinic on May 26, 2004.

The Dr. decided to have more extensive blood work done and had even mentioned possibly doing a biopsy on the enlarged lymph nodes on his neck. He decided that a biopsy at this point could be put off until a last resort. The Dr. put him on a strong medication and sent us home.

On June 1, 2004 we went back to the Dr. to receive the results of the blood work. I must say that I was a nervous wreck because I just knew it was going to be bad news. Instead, all of his results were negative, but we still had two tests that had not come in yet. These were the two zoonotic tests that our Dr. believed might be the possible cause for the swelling. A few days later the results from that test came back also and proved to be negative, but the Infectious Disease Dr. still believed that it was animal related.

On June 14, 2004 I called the Dr.’s office to let them know that Michael’s eye was really swelling and that I was concerned. We had been in the sun on Saturday so the Dr. felt it was a reaction to the medication he was taking. He told us that there wasn’t a need to come into the office, but to stop the medication and start him on Benadryl.

On June 18, 2004 I called the office again because the right eye was not getting any better. The swelling had gone down some, but I was concerned about his eyesight because the eye appeared to be bulging out and the glands on both sides of his neck were large as if he had mumps. I asked if we could do an MRI or CT scan instead of a biopsy but the Dr. said he had seen this sort of thing a lot and he still didn't think anything was wrong because Michael could see well out of the right eye. He said that if the swelling was still there on Monday to call the office.

On Monday, June 21, 2004 I called the office to let them know that Michael was now complaining of headache’s and nothing was better. I was informed that the Dr. was out of the office all week and wouldn't be in until the following Monday and they would schedule Michael an appointment for then. I asked if their was anyway to see a Dr. that day, but I was told it would have to wait until the end of the week possibly to see one of the other Dr.’s and if I felt that this was a serious enough problem to then call my pediatrician because they didn't really know his case, nor did they have time to see him.

I called my pediatrician and was able to get in at 1:20 p.m. that day. I then called my veterinarian to talk with her to see if she knew of anything that could possibly be animal related that would cause these sort of symptoms. She explained that round worms from dogs could cause swelling in the eye and that an good ophthalmologist would be able to detect round worm larvae in the eye if this is what was wrong. Other than this, she had no idea what could be causing all of the swelling.

When the pediatrician saw Michael later that day he was floored! He couldn't believe the changes he had seen in Michael. It had been a month since we had had him in the office and he couldn't believe that nothing had been done. He didn't know what to do, but we told him that we had called our vet. and explained to him what she had told us. It just so happened that our pediatrician had a friend who was an ophthalmologist and could see us that afternoon. We drove over to his office and when the exam was over, we knew something was desperately wrong. The ophthalmologist told us that this was NOT something viral but something much more serious. He then sent us back to our pediatrician who then sent us to Cook Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth for imaging.

We arrived at the ER around 6:00 p.m. Sometime around 9:00 p.m. they took Michael to get CT scans. The attending physician felt that the original diagnosis (animal related disease) was correct and he explained to us that an ophthalmologist was not really qualified to tell whether something was viral or not. Sometime around 11:00 p.m. the attending physician came and told us news that changed our life forever. He explained that the CT scans showed a very large mass behind the eye and it was working its way to the brain region but they couldn’t be for sure as to how extensive it really was. He also explained that he could not be for sure, but was assuming that this was a malignancy.

Around 2:00 a.m. they finally got us to our room on the 3rd floor. I will never forget getting off of the elevator and as we walked the hallway to our room I looked up and the sign read “Hematology / Oncology”. I knew that somehow this was a mistake and we would be out of there by the next morning, but that wasn’t the case. The two nurses that helped us in our room were so kind and sweet; I will always remember them. I don’t think I slept a wink that first night. I paced the floor; cried; begged and pleaded with God; and cried some more.

When we got the news in the hospital about the mass that was found, we had friends that were with us. They ended up taking Justin home with them so he could get a good night’s sleep. Mickey made sure we were settled and then headed back to the house because the animals needed to be tended to and Justin was going to be brought back by the house in the morning.

Praise Report: The room that we were in, was only 1 of 3 rooms that size. We had the biggest room on that side of the floor! I thought it was a suite and wondered how in the world we would ever afford this, but I found out later that all the rooms were the same price and this room just so happened to be available. God is good and he knew we would need the extra space in the coming days!

June 22, 2004

2009-07-11T08:47:00.001-07:00

I am not exactly sure what time it was, but I am thinking it was somewhere around 7:00 a.m. Dr. Howery came in to meet me and explain the days proceedings. He also wanted to get some history as to how we had gotten to this point. He said that he was going to try to get several things scheduled but wasn’t for sure if he could get it all accomplished that day. Dr. Howery wanted to get a surgeon to take a biopsy of the sinus cavity and then have it immediately sent to pathology to find out if this was malignant, or benign. If the culture came back malignant then they would need to have another surgeon implant a port. The last step would be to have a bone marrow aspiration done, which he could do himself. Many people needed to be available all at the same time, but he would try his best to get it all pulled together some time that day.Our pediatrician called to see how things were going and he had already gotten the latest reports. I thought that was sweet, but he couldn’t believe it was 2:00 a.m. before we finally got to our room!Gerald Sanderson (deacon of our church) came by later that morning. While he was there, Dr. Howery came in and told us that he thought he could get all of the surgeons together that day but it would be around noon or after before he could get everyone together. Keith and Janie Martin came up to visit with us and around 11:00 a.m. someone from surgery was waiting at our door to take Michael downstairs! We asked for a few minutes for prayer before they took him and then we all went downstairs. Michael was really scared about going under the anesthesia because he had never had anything like this happen before. We called Gerald to let him know that Michael was already in surgery so he came back to the surgery waiting area with us. A little while later Ramona Brown joined us. When they took us in the counseling room to receive the results of the surgery, Keith and Janie Martin, Gerald Sanderson, and Ramona Brown were with us. The surgeon came in and told us that it definitely was malignant and they were putting the port in him at that moment, then Dr. Howery would be doing the bone marrow aspiration. By this time, God had already shown us what the results would be, but it still didn’t make it any easier having what we already knew, now confirmed. We prayed for quite awhile in that little room. Finally Michael made it out of surgery and we took him back to his room. He was in quite a bit of pain from having the port put in, so they kept him sedated.

Visitors: Keith and Janie Martin, Ramona Brown, Gerald Sanderson, Ron & Jere Watson, Bro. & Sis. Kirkland, Tommy & Rhonda Tackett, Jake & Michelle Tackett, Karen Chatham, The Schoonover Family, and Pete Peterson.Calls: Bro. & Sis. Maxon, Sandy Boatner, Beverly Jones, Uncle Timmy, Grandma, Holly Blake, Aunt Ruby, Grandpa Leo, Arvell & Mary Helen Hubbard

Praise Report: God preformed a miracle by getting all of the Dr.’s together at one time and available to perform the surgeries when needed.

June 23, 2004

2009-07-11T08:46:00.001-07:00

Today was a day of rest and a chance to try to absorb everything that had happened over the last couple of days. Michael did much better than what we expected. He decided to get up and move around. He also quickly found out that hospital food is NOT mom’s cookin’! We met Dr. Wilkinson later that day and she let us know that they determined that Michael had Rhabdomyosarcoma. She was concerned with the extent of the tumor and they would try to determine if he was a level 3 or a level 4. She let us know that we had a 30% chance of recovery, but we know that God holds onto the other 70%. She also let us know that we would be having many tests run the following day.

Visitors: Jeff Tackett, Keith Martin, Allen & Sandy Boatner, Janie Martin, Tammy Hudgins, Gene & Venita Brown, DeFatta Family, JJ French & Family

Calls: Grandma, Nick Visintainer, Tommy Blevins, Bobby Stout, and Grandpa Pat

Praise Report: Michael’s spirits are up and he is moving around very well.

June 24, 2004

2009-07-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Today was an early day with testing. Michael had more CT scans, an MRI, and a Nuclear Bone Scan. There is a small dot on his right leg that has shown up on the bone scan. The testing took a good portion of the day and we were all exhausted by the time we got finished.

Visitors: Keith & Janie Martin, Michelle Tackett, Gerald & Jodie Sanderson, Cleo Raimone, Sam Anderson, Carrie Kirkland, Bob Diekmann, and Rebekah Kirkland

Calls: Elonda Patterson

Praise Report: The spot on the bone scan does not appear to be cancerous. Michael made it thru the hour and a half long MRI!

June 25, 2004

2009-07-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of more surgery. Dr. Wilkinson thought the best course of action would be to insert a G-button (stomach feeding tube) and to biopsy the neck lymph nodes. She would also perform a spinal tap to make sure that was clear. Michael was not as scared about the surgery this time. In fact, he was trying to stay awake so he could hear himself talk funny. He wanted to make the Dr.’s laugh. Now isn’t that like Michael?!

Visitors: Keith & Janie Martin, Jerry & Andria Streubel, and Jeff, Cindy, & Rachel Tackett.

Calls: Phillip DeFatta, Mitchell Davis, Mary Helen Hubbard, and Curina Morris

Praise Report: Cindy took me (Tammy) to Walmart! Believe it or not, I had been praying for someone to come by to take me to Walmart so I could get some different shoes and some personal items. I also wanted to get some bottled water so Michael would drink more fluids.

June 26, 2004

2009-07-11T08:43:00.002-07:00

Dr. Wilkinson explained to us the type of cancer Michael has is Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. She wanted to see if she could get any more input from other Dr.’s around the country. She also let us know that Michael had been classified as a Group III, Level III, but she still felt that he was borderline and that it was a technicality. She explained the different medicines that he would be taking and his chemo would be referred to as a VAC treatment. Michael will undergo 42 treatments with the VAC being on ever third treatment and then Vincristine on the two alternate weeks of treatment. He will also start out with radiation instead of waiting due to the severity of his case. Michael will undergo 28 radiation treatments. Grandma flew in this morning to surprise Michael. Boy was he surprised!! It sure made his day.

Visitors: Rod Adams, Wanda Adams, Grandma, Jimmy and Sharlyn Hicks, Wanda Craft, Bill Malone, Mike & Elonda Patterson, Gene & Venita Brown, and Robert and Ramona Brown

Calls: Jim & Beverly Manney, Grandpa Leo, and Norma Garcia

Praise Report: God has shown us that he wants us to “step out into the water”. He has assured us that He will be with us, but we are to keep our eyes upon Him and not look down. The waters may get rough and rocky, but we must always remember that He is with us and will lead us thru this storm.

Michael with his John Deere pillow that mom had made for him a couple of years ago.

They were selling crafts and baked goodies in the lobby of the hospital so we got Michael this cookie decorating kit.

Justin stopping for a moment to give a big grin for the camera

June 27, 2004

2009-07-11T08:43:00.001-07:00

Michael received his first chemo treatment today. What a way to start out a week! He got sick right away, but then he felt better. He even went and took a walk and played in the playroom for awhile. Around 2:00 p.m. he started to get a little tired and spent most of the day just lying around.

Visitors: Rod Adams, James Wall, Holly & Bridgette Blake, Myra, Robert & Ramona Brown, Bro. & Sis Kirkland, Vivian

Calls: Grandpa Pat, Grandpa Leo, and Kathy Elkins

Praise Report: Michael’s chemo went well and although he feels a little sick and worn out, I think he is more ready to go home than anything.

June 28, 2004

2009-07-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Michael is doing good, but he is really ready to go home. Grandma is still here and that is keeping him busy. Mickey had bought cots to bring up to the hospital so their were enough beds for everyone. Michael has been keeping everyone busy in the playroom. A physical therapist has come in to check on him and they were running around the halls! Yes, Michael had his “pole” with him also pushing it in front of him like he was driving a race car! Michael is really ready to go home, and I think we all are. This is the start of our second week here. Everyone has brought so many snacks and drinks that we are considering opening a snack bar back here in the back part of this room. (Just joking!)

Visitors: Keith Martin, Sandy, Ryan, & Rachel Boatner, Cleo Raimone, Sam & Cody Anderson, and Martin & Norma GarciaCalls: Kathy Elkins, and Janie Martin

Praise Report: Michael is doing great!

The nursing staff was so sweet! (Katelyn)

This was Michael's favorite nurse. I think he liked her best because she wasn't much taller than he was! (Claudia)

This is Tammy's favorite picture of the boys together.

Michael and Keith playing air hockey

Notice that intense look on Michael's face? He is determined to win.

June 29, 2004

2009-07-11T08:41:00.002-07:00

Okay, it is time to get outta here! We are going stir crazy. This room seemed huge when we first got here, but now it is getting cramped. The nursing staff has been wonderful and they are trying to make it as easy on us as they can, but we just want to go home! Dr. Bowman has informed us that we will probably get outta here tomorrow! YEAH!! Also, all of the nursing staff and Dr. Bowman have commented that they can tell a difference in Michael already.

Visitors: Ron & Jere Watson, Ella Mae Landis, Susan Bryan, and Jeff & Toy BarfieldCalls: Janie Martin

Praise Report: The one chemo treatment Michael had on Sunday has already begun to work and everyone can see a difference! And, we are going home tomorrow!!!!

June 30, 3004

2009-07-11T08:41:00.001-07:00

We are packed and ready to leave this place. We have been informed that Sage Meadow Fellowship in Justin will be bringing meals out to us. What a blessing!

Visitors: Almost had two (Jeff Tackett and James Wall), but we were on our way out when they were getting off of the elevator so they helped us down to the car.

Calls: Joanna Johnson, and Michelle Edwards

Praise Report: Can you guess???? We are home!!! YIPPEE!!

July 2, 2004

2009-07-11T08:40:00.002-07:00

Michael had his first radiation appointment. It took a long time to do because they had to complete a lot of setup work. We were there for about 3 hours. It was a very long day and Michael ended up getting sick.

July 3, 2004

2009-07-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

Keith and Janie Martin came over and we had a cook-out. We grilled steaks and Michael decided that he would eat some steak along with his mashed potatoes and gravy. He even had ice cream for dessert.

July 4, 2004

2009-07-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

We went to church that morning and later that evening we went to the church land to watch fireworks. Michael was pretty worn out by the end of the day.

July 6, 2004

2009-07-11T08:38:00.002-07:00

9:00 a.m. Oncology appointment, then radiation. Had to go back to the H/O clinic to redo blood work. They couldn’t get good counts and had to “search” for veins. Michael is starting to get dehydrated because he is being stubborn and not eating or drinking very well. We got home around 3:00 p.m. We were all worn out and Michael took one can of nutrition by stomach over a 2 hour period. Chris Hartley called and brought potato soup – What A Blessing!!! Kathy Elkins called and said the ladies in the church wanted to send meals. What an answer to prayer. Michael ended up getting sick and running a fever later that evening. We are to take him back in to the clinic tomorrow unless his temp. gets any higher.

July 7, 2004

2009-07-11T08:38:00.001-07:00

Michael had been sick all night and running fever. Around 8:00 a.m. Elonda Patterson called and asked what she could pray for today for Michael. I told her that he had been sick and running temp. Once again God sent someone our way to help. We got to radiation late because of traffic and Michael being sick. Michael ended up getting sick before his appointment but finally made it thru his radiation appointment like a trooper! We went to the H/O clinic and they gave Michael fluids along with antibiotics. His G-button has gotten infected because his blood counts were a little low. Later that day he was feeling much better.

July 8, 2004

2009-07-11T08:37:00.003-07:00

Michael had a really good day. Later he got permission from one of the Dr.’s to go to VBS. They said he was doing good and all of his bloodwork was good.

July 9, 2004

2009-07-11T08:37:00.001-07:00

We went to radiation and saw Dr. Neilsen. She said Michael was doing great. We then went to the H/O clinic and he got a good report there also. His counts were a little low but he could go wherever he wanted. We went to the last night of VBS and Michael rode a horse. At home he decided to eat two eggs and drink a small glass of milk!! That doesn’t sound like much, but he had not been eating anything at all and it has been a struggle to get him to drink.

Justin, Mom, & Michael before leaving for VBS

Michael riding a horse at VBS. A couple of guys had to help him up but he was so happy once he got on.

July 10, 2004

2009-07-11T08:36:00.003-07:00

The pictures on this page were taken around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. at the park in Ponder, Texas. I really wanted to get pictures of the four of us before Michael started losing his hair so Norma and Martin Garcia said they would take some family photos of us. None of us ever dreamed that these would be the last pictures we would have of the four of us together.

July 12, 2004

2009-07-11T08:36:00.002-07:00

Michael had an H/O appointment this morning and his counts are really low. He is now in social isolation. Michael is really upset about this and he doesn’t really understand the significance of staying isolated. He thinks we are all in a conspiracy together to ruin all of his fun. How funny! It is so totally opposite, but we are trying to get him to understand what all of this means. Michael also gained 2 pounds over the weekend and he is also responding very well to treatment. I think he will start doing much better since he has started eating again.

The following pictures were taken on July 14, 2004. Michael wasn't happy about me taking his picture.

July 15, 2004

2009-07-11T08:36:00.001-07:00

Today the UPS man came by to drop off a package and he was very upset when he heard the news about Michael. Whenever he would come by the house to make a delivery, Michael would always run outside (barefoot) across our gravel drive. The UPS man would always ask Michael, “Where are your shoes?”. Well, Michael is just like his momma in that area and the idea of shoes on the feet is a “bad thought”. Anyway, the UPS man came back later to bring both of the boys a gift. We can’t let you in on the surprise just yet, but mom will definitely be taking pictures and we will post them to this site when it all takes place. You never know how many lives you touch until something like this happens. Who would have ever thought that the UPS man would doing something very special for my boys during this time. Later Ramona Brown called to let me know she was bringing CiCi’s pizza to us. Now that was a blessing – since we can’t go out to CiCi’s she was sweet enough to bring it to us. “Sweet”…., that reminds me, Ramona also brought us those good cinnamon rolls from CiCi’s besides the yummy pizza. Anyway, we were just about finished with pizza when Dana McKnight and John Cephus from the Bible Baptist Church in Justin stopped by to visit with Michael. I think they heard that we had pizza delivered and thought they would stop in while out on visitation (just kidding). Anyway, they brought Michael some really nice gifts and then took time to pray with us before they left. Charlie Holt, one of our music friends, called to see about Michael also. He talked with Mickey on the phone and prayed for Michael. Charlie and his wife Mary attended almost every Gospel Singing that we organized, (Charlie is also one of the best guitar pickers we know).

July 16, 2004

2009-07-11T08:35:00.001-07:00

Somehow during the night Michael’s feeding tube popped out and his feed soaked him and the bed because the pump just kept on running! We had to get him up so he could jump in the shower. Michael couldn’t figure out what was going on. Eventually he woke up and had fun playing in the shower for a while. Michael went back to sleep after he got out the shower and slept until it was time to go to his 10th radiation appointment. Last week the radiologist told us that we would probably start seeing signs this week of deterioration in the mouth lining and soreness, but none of that has happened. Michael’s lips are very dry and has some dryness of mouth, but it is probably because he is being stubborn and not drinking as many fluids as he should! The Doctors are still amazed at the progress he is making. They are going to begin making minor adjustments to the radiation to help protect his eyes even more because we can see physical evidence that the tumor is receding! Michael will be going in Monday to see if his blood counts are high enough to do his 4th chemo treatment. If they are (which we are praying for) we will go over to the hospital and check in for an overnight stay. Please pray that all goes well so we can stay on schedule. If the counts are not high enough then we will have to postpone this chemo treatment which lengthens the overall treatment schedule. God is good and He is taking care of us. We are all doing well and Michael is in good spirits. He really wants to go to church on Sunday, but we are thinking it is too risky. I am just thankful that he is mindful of the house of God!

Justin and Michael camping out in the living room. We brought the pop up canopy into the living room to be the "tent".

07-17-04 - Michael with our neighbor, Ron. He came over late one evening to bring us a check that the bowling alley had raised for Michael's medical expenses.

07-18-04 - Michael went out today and played a little baseball with his brother.

July 19, 2004

2009-07-11T08:34:00.002-07:00

Wow, what a day ! Last Monday the Doctor said that Michael's blood counts were at 492. When they fall below 500 then we have to stay out of crowds and limit visitors. The Doctor also said his counts needed to be between 750 and 1000 in order to receive his chemo treatment for today. Drum roll please ......... today his counts were at 938 !!!!We have been praying all week long and went to church on Sunday just to show them what God can do !!! Michael had radiation treatment nbr 11 this morning, with NO, I said NO side effects so far. The Doc is shaking her head, she can't figure out why, but we'll let her in on the secret weapon if she promises to believe !!! We're spending the day at the hospital to receive chemo treatment nbr 4. As of 7:00 pm guess what, NO, I said NO side effects. What can we say, God is good ... all the time. We'll spend the night for observation and go home in the morning. Of course we're not foolishly boasting, but God really is in control of our every move, if we'll agree to step out of the boat onto the water when He calls our name; WOW, talk about an experience that will take your breath away .... try trusting God for 100% of your life. By the way, did we mention that a week ago Sunday night, Michael got up with Mickey in church and sang a special - Mansion Over The Hilltop.

July 20, 2004

2009-07-11T08:34:00.001-07:00

Michael did not get sick at all during the night and slept exceptionally well (can't say that about mom). Justin stayed at the hospital also, but Mickey had gone back to the house to do the evening and morning chores. He arrived back at the hospital around 6:00 a.m. Justin was hungry, of course, so the two of them went downstairs to the cafeteria. While they were there they ran into some friends of ours. Their daughter was in to have surgery this week and so they decided they would come up to visit Michael when they finished breakfast. While everyone was downstairs, Michael began to get a little sick. About that same time the nurse practioner came in to see how Michael was doing and to get him discharged. She decided that Michael needed to stay a little while longer (UGH!!) and they would give him a "pass" to go over to his radiation appointment which was at 9:30 a.m By this time Mickey and Justin had come back upstairs and soon our friends followed. Michael enjoyed seeing them and it perked up his spirits a little. We went over to radiation and while there he got sick again. They put him in a room and he took a short nap. The techs asked if he thought he could make it thru the 15 minute radiation so he said he would give it a try. Michael did great! They put Michael in a wheelchair to take him back to his room and all of a sudden he got a burst of energy and decided to start wheeling himself around the waiting area! Aren't children great? They just bounce back so well. Anyway, we all got back to the room and Michael showed them that he could drink some iced tea and keep it down so we were discharged around 1:00 p.m. Michael did great on the ride home and has been feeling fine every since. It is amazing what God will do thru prayer and we know that it is ONLY thru prayer that Michael is doing so well thru all of this!

July 22, 2004

2009-07-11T08:33:00.004-07:00

Michael had his 14th radiation appointment today.... THE HALFWAY POINT!!! Yeah!!! He saw Dr. Neilsen and she is very pleased that Michael still hasn't had any sore throat or mouth sores! She says he is tough guy and nothing is going to keep him down. We know that Michael has a special secret weapon and that is PRAYER. We believe that God is in control of this whole situation and He knows what is best. The Dr. even talked about possibly making Michael a new radiation mask because the other one is starting to get loose. She said it is still fitting snug enough for right now, but we may need to make a new one pretty soon. Michael said that he was looking at his mask and it looked liked he could fit a ball inside of the right eye cavity. Now Michael is even starting to notice the dramatic improvements he is making. This is all so encouraging to us and we know that all of the prayers that are being brought before God on Michael's behalf are working. Thank you to each of you who are praying.I would also like to say a special thank you to Mrs. Hartley for bring us dinner each week. That is such a special blessing and she has been so faithful in doing this for us.Tomorrow starts on the downhill side of this radiation mountain. Continue to pray that God will still protect him thru this last half of radiation.

This is the mask that Michael had to wear at each appointment. The mask now has the eye area cut out and the hole at the mouth is where they placed a tube for him to breath through. The mask was locked down on the table while Michael took his radiation. He also had to stay in that room by himself during the radiation and the techs watched from a monitor right outside of the room.

July 23, 2004

2009-07-11T08:33:00.003-07:00

WOW! What a day we have had. This morning we got up to take Michael to his 15th radiation appointment. This means we are starting down the other side of this mountain and it sure feels great. Michael is doing terrific thru his radiation and chemo treatments. Tammy and Justin went next door, to Cook Children's Hospital, to visit a friend whose daughter is in the hospital and was to have surgery, while Mickey and Michael went to Harris for the radiation appointment. After that we stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Michael decided he wanted shrimp instead of breakfast food, but after he got it he discovered he had a sore on the side of his tongue. He ended up eating 2 eggs instead which was terrific since his appetite is virtually nothing. We stopped by the Keller Feed store on the way home to visit our friend, David. He was sure glad to see Michael and they enjoyed visiting with each other for awhile. When we finally got home their was a package on the front porch. It was a present for Tammy. The neighbors had gotten Tammy a dress for her birthday, but it was too big so her and Jere went shopping later that afternoon. The boys were suppose to lay down and take a nap, but they ended played with their model trains that they have sent up in the dining room. The Dr. had called in an order for a special mouth wash for Michael's sore so Tammy picked this up while she was out. I would like to pause right here and talk about this sore. When we first started radiation we were told how bad the sores in his mouth would get and it was anticipated that these sores would have appeared much earlier on in radiation. Your prayers are what has gotten us thru this portion of his treatment without any side effects. We are over half way thru his treatments at this point and God has spared him thru the first half. We only have 13 more treatments to go so even if he does get some sores, we are over half way done! This is something to praise the Lord for! Okay, back to our day. This evening the Brown family met us at Catfish O'Harlies for dinner. Michael ended up eating a half a bowl of salad. Justin had a big portion of baked salmon. I just don't know where he puts all of that food. We were really proud of Michael for trying to eat. Tammy had told Michael that she would give him her birthday, so we celebrated "Michael's birthday". We had the waitresses sing happy birthday to him, and Ramona had a #88 UPS NASCAR cake made for him. Michael also got a remote control UPS car and a #90 car. He absolutely loved all of it! Tammy got some bath and body lotions - this will be great to take back and forth to the hospital when we have to go have chemo done - and they smell so pretty! We all had a wonderful evening, but are glad to be back home. I think we will sleep in the morning.I would also like to mention that we have received a couple of monetary blessings in the mail. They have been sent anonymous and we would just like to say "thank you" to whoever you are. God knows, and he will return the blessing. Also, the chicken casserole that Venita made and sent to us yesterday, was wonderful! Thank you to everyone who is praying for us. We definitely know and feel each prayer.

Our birthday cake

Me and Michael at Catfish O'harley's

July 24, 2004

2009-07-11T08:33:00.001-07:00

Today is Tammy’s (40th) birthday. Like we had told ya’ll earlier, she was giving her birthday to Michael. He kept telling everyone that it would make more sense for a 40 year old to have cancer rather than a 10 year old. Anyway, Michael just couldn’t understand what was the big deal about mom giving him her birthday. Michael apparently just thought it was because Tammy was turning 40! This past April, Michael had wanted to stay in a hotel for his birthday so he could go swimming in the indoor pool, so that is what we did. Mickey told Michael and Justin that mom decided that she wanted to stay in a hotel for her birthday also. Little did they realize that staying in a hotel was NOT on the top of mom’s list of desirable things to do.We left the house around 1:00 p.m. and headed to Weatherford where we checked into the LaQuinta. A very nice room, but this wasn’t going to be the highlight of the day. Michael laid down for a nap while Tammy and Justin ran and got lunch. Around 4:00 p.m. we all got dressed and headed to what the boys thought was “Mom’s Big Birthday Surprise”. The boys didn’t know what it was because Mickey told them that they wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. We arrived at the Willow Springs Baptist Church in Aledo, TX around 5:00 p.m. Michael told us later that he thought The Huckaba Family was singing at this church and that was mom’s surprise. We got out of the van and Michael saw the name “GOLD CITY QUARTET” written on the side of that bus, the look on his face was the best present Tammy could have gotten. When we walked inside, Randy, from The Crusaders (a group opening for Gold City) was the first to meet us. He said that he had heard that Michael was supposed to be there and that the guys from Gold City were looking forward to meeting him. You see, Michael’s favorite southern gospel group is Gold City and he had never been to one of their concerts. We think he sings the Gold City CD’s in his sleep. We know for sure that he can sing them in the shower because we have heard it many times! Q.L. and Joseph from Hampton Park Productions provided us with FREE tickets and made Michael feel very welcome at the concert and checked on him continually. They made sure that Michael got his pick of seats in the auditorium and they also gave Justin and Michael each a T-shirt. They are really cool and Michael couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel room to put his on. The first of the Gold City members for Michael to meet was Channing Eleton, pianist. Inside the auditorium Michael got to meet one of the best bass singers in Southern Gospel music, Tim Riley. After that, several of the guys came out to meet Michael. Steve Ladd was Gold City’s new tenor singer and tonight would be only his third night to sing with the quartet. Steve told Michael about how he had prayed when he was little that he could someday sing with the Gold City Quartet. He also told Michael that when he was young he had traveled around the country with his mom and dad singing southern gospel music and his dad preached. This story seemed all too familiar to Michael. As many of you know, we traveled and sang for about 5 years. We had even talked about going back out on the road if this was God’s will. Apparently God wants us to stay home for a little while longer because Michael’s Dr.’s would not take kindly to him “gallivanting” across the country in a motor home singing gospel music! At one point before the concert started Michael began to get really tired. We asked him if he wanted to lay down for a little while. Michael perked up and bugged out his eyes and said “NO”. He was afraid he would fall asleep and miss the concert or a chance to talk with one of the guys. The Crusaders began singing around 7:00 p.m. Michael really enjoyed hearing them, but it wasn’t until around 7:30 p.m. that Michael really got excited! Finally, he was going to hear Gold City – Live. They sang Michael’s favorite song, “I’m Not Givin’ Up”. This is Michael’s theme song right now because he sure ain’t givin’ up in this battle. After the concert Michael got a chance to get a few more pictures with group and then it was off to our hotel. It was getting really late and we could tell that Michael was getting tired. We got back to the hotel around 11:00 p.m. and Michael insisted on sleeping in his shirt that he got from Q.L. and Joseph. He probably would have slept in his Gold City hat if he thought he could have gotten away with it.

Michael and Justin after we arrived at the hotel.

Michael posing with Tim Riley, bass singer and owner of Gold City.

After the concert, Michael got a group picture with the guys before saying good-bye.

July 25, 2004

2009-07-11T08:32:00.005-07:00

Michael slept in until around 9:00 a.m. He most likely dreamt of the Gold City concert all night. We packed up our things and decided that we could attend church at Rock of Helps (Pastor Sonny Buckingham) in Weatherford. It was a really nice service and afterwards we headed for home. After we unloaded the van Michael laid down for a 4 hour nap. When he got up (7:00 p.m.) he was rested and ready to go again. He decided to go outside and hit baseballs off of his tee in the back pasture and then decided to ride his bike for a little while. He also decided that he would jump on the trampoline, but mom was NOT aware of this or else she would have put a stop to that! Tammy had run into town and left Mickey to watch the boys. Maybe next time she will just get a babysitter for all three of them! ~grin~ Well, it was early to bed because we had clinic appointments in the morning.

July 26, 2004

2009-07-11T08:32:00.003-07:00

Michael is still kinda tired but he is doing all right. He got a little sick this morning but we had tried during the night to give him more nutrition supplements thru the G-button than what he was used to getting. Michael hasn’t been eating very much lately and we were afraid he was starting to lose weight again. We got to the radiation appointment and all went well. This was number 16 which means he only has 12 to go! After that we went to the H/O clinic to get his chemo and have his blood drawn. We were kinda nervous about what his counts would be, but they all came back very good! PTL!!! His composite blood count was 827 and remember it needs to be above 500 so Michael was good to go. We didn’t get out of there until a little after noon and finally got home a little after 1:00 p.m. We have decided that Michael will need to have a nap everyday whether he likes it or not so he can rest and we will also hook him up to his G-button so we can try to get some extra nutrition in him. Michael has lost about 1.5 lbs. in the past week so we want to make sure he doesn’t lose anymore. His tongue is also starting to get a little sore, but they say this is side effects from the chemo. So far, we don’t have anymore sores in the mouth so we praise God for that. We added new pictures to the photo gallery so check them out while you are here.

July 27, 2004

2009-07-11T08:32:00.001-07:00

Michael woke up sick this morning and had was throwing up a little bit of blood along with what was left on his stomach. We checked his mouth and it appears that there is an open sore in the back part of his jaw. We called the H/O clinic and they didn’t think it was much to worry about at this point. They are concerned about his nausea and lack of intake so we are increasing his nausea meds in order to try to keep his stomach calm. He started feeling better so Mickey and Justin went on to the radiation appointment. Tammy is still not feeling well and has an appointment with the chiropractor on Wednesday. At Michael’s radiation appointment he began to get sick again. They put him in a room so he could lay down and rest. Shortly after that Michael began to get teary-eyed so Mickey asked him what was wrong. Michael said that God was telling him that if he didn’t take his radiation treatment then he wouldn’t be able to tell others about Jesus. Mickey asked Michael if he would like to pray and ask Jesus to help him, so Michael began to pray and ask for God’s help. When he was done praying he felt better and was able to go thru with his radiation treatment. Michael took that opportunity to let the techs know that it was not his short nap that helped him, but that it was Jesus who helped him! PTL! It is out of the mouth of babes. Michael finally got home a little after twelve today. He laid down around 2:00 p.m. and it didn’t take him long to get to sleep. We only have 11 more radiation treatments to go and you would think that the downhill side of this would be much easier, but instead it seems harder. Michael is really starting to wear out easier even though he gets bursts of energy. His energy level hits highs and lows throughout the day. He also is getting more mouth sores and a lot more mucous although it still doesn’t appear to be all that bad. He has gone back to not eating which may be a combination of the mouth hurting and the chemo and radiation treatments. This means that we will need to give him more nutrition thru the G-button that he has. I am so thankful that his Dr. wanted to put this in while he was well. Please continue to pray for all of us. We feel like we are beginning to learn how to swim these days. (If you don’t know what that means, go back to the beginning of Michael’s journey)

July 29, 2004

2009-07-11T08:31:00.005-07:00

Michael is on countdown with his radiation. Today was #10 which means he only has 9 treatments left!Michael also saw the Radiation Doctor today and she gave him a “glowing” report (no pun intended). She is amazed at how well he is doing. Michael does seem to have some mouth sores starting, but we are just committing this to prayer. The Dr. told him the importance of using his mouth rinse (baking soda and water) and that he needed to use his sponge toothbrushes. Michael has taken this to heart and is no longer complaining about the mouth rinse and brushing his teeth with his new toothbrushes. He is also showing some radiation burns on his neck now and so he is more consciences of putting on his cream. At first he thought it was a “girl thing” to put face and neck cream on. Now he knows that it is only for his own good. Michael is also receiving cards and letters from people around the country. In fact, he got a card from someone in PA that apparently has friends in Poland. They let us know that they are even praying in Poland for Michael’s healing!!! PTL!!! We are just amazed at the outpouring of support thru cards and letters from people around this country, and now around the world! Churches in the community are lifting Michael up in prayer during their services; people we barely know are bringing meals to help lift burdens; and phone calls and letters from people we have never met are sending words of encouragement to let us know that we are not alone. This is what the “true” Christian church is about. We may not all go to the same church or have “exactly” the same beliefs, but when a brother or sister in the Lord has a burden, we are commanded to help carry those burdens. We may not be able to thank each one of you individually, but please know that we appreciate everything that each one of you has done for our family.

July 31, 2004

2009-07-11T08:31:00.003-07:00

Keith and Janie Martin came over this morning to help us get our goat’s feet into shape and get them all wormed. The girls really look a whole lot better now and Michael was glad that they were able to come and do a “nanny manicure” on his goats since he is not able to take care of them right now. We also found out that our chickens are beginning to lay. YIPPEE! Fresh eggs! After the “manicuring” and worming was completed we had lunch and Michael decided that he would try to eat some fried chicken that Ramona Brown brought for us. It seems that anytime Keith and Janie come over, Michael decides he will try to eat. Maybe they should try to come by for dinner at least once a day ~ grin. Later in the evening we discovered that the sores that were beginning to form on the roof of Michael’s mouth appear to be gone! Hmmmm….. wonder where they went??? There is definitely Power in Prayer!Monday, Michael will continue his last full week of radiation treatments. Please pray that all goes well. In the beginning the Dr.’s told us that Michael would have interruptions in his treatments, well, so far we have not had one interruption and we are still scheduled to complete his treatments on August 11, 2004.

August 2, 2004

2009-07-11T08:31:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that summer is almost over although this is suppose to be the hottest month! It seems as if summer is just beginning. Michael was diagnosed on the first day of summer and my how time has flown by. Today we went to radiation and then to the Oncology clinic. Michael is beginning to burn from the radiation and his neck and ears are really beginning to get dark. We completed treatment number 21 which means we only have 7 more treatments! Michael got his blood work done this morning and what a surprise when they came back with the counts. Remember how is average needs to be above 500 in order to be at low risk of infection, but if he would be going into the hospital to get his VAC treatment, then it would be between 750 and 1000? Well, today his counts were 2505!!! PTL!! Can you believe it?? We were really thrilled at how well he is doing. The Dr.’s are concerned with Michael’s vision though. He is having trouble seeing at a distance. The radiation protocol allows Michael to have 2 weeks off and he hasn’t had to have any interruptions in his treatment so they feel that it will be best for Michael to take a couple of days off and give his eyes a break. He will go back Thursday morning to see the radiologist and she will determine if he can go ahead and finish out his treatments. Grandpa Leo, Grandma Jeanette, and Aaron drove down from southern Illinois to visit Michael. Michael wouldn’t go to sleep until they got here. They finally arrive around 11:30 p.m. and Michael was so thrilled to see them. We all got to bed around midnight.

August 7, 2004

2009-07-11T08:30:00.002-07:00

So many things have been going on that this journal has not been updated recently so I will try to get everyone caught up. Grandpa Leo, Jeanette, and the boy's cousin, Aaron went home Thursday morning. We were suppose to have an appointment to see Dr. Neilsen but she had something else scheduled so we went in Friday morning instead. We didn't do much on Thursday except rest up for Friday. Friday morning we went in to see Dr. Nielsen (radiologist) and she said Michael was looking very good and she wanted to do some scans so she could alter some of the radiation fields and make a block to divert some of the radiation away from his eyes. We spent about an hour getting all of this set up so that we could start radiation again on Monday. The Dr. said that we may have to do a few more preparations on Monday so hopefully Michael would feel like doing his radiation when they were completed. All of this is good news and it just means that the radiation is working because what is actually happening is that she is narrowing down the radiation fields. Michael got finished around 10:30 a.m. Later that afternoon our pastor, Jeff Tackett and his daughter, Rachel, came by for a visit. Rachel and Michael had fun playing with the trains, and anything else they could get into. Michael really enjoyed having Rachel come over to visit with him. This morning we decided that we would go to some train stores. Ramona and Robert Brown went with us, and they brought along their grandson Garrett. Right as we were driving out the gate, Sherri St. Romaine showed up with food! Oh my! we forgot she was coming by and we were so glad we didn't miss her. Some of the people from Sage Meadow church in Justin got together to bring us a meal. We were all so caught up in going to look at trains, that we forgot about the food! We are so thankful to all that provided this wonderful meal for us, especially after running around all day, going from store to store. The boys had a lot of fun looking at all of the train stuff. Michael really started to get tired around 1:30 p.m. so we started to head back home. Michael got a new firehouse for his train set up and a "Herbie" car model. Maybe he will be able to wait until Monday to put his model together. We are expecting to be back in the hospital on Monday to get his VAC Chemo treatment. Pray that all goes well and Michael asks that you pray that he gets to be on 3 South. I know this probably doesn't make sense to ya'll, but it does to Michael.

August 9, 2004

2009-07-11T08:30:00.001-07:00

Good morning, it’s 5:00 am and I can’t sleep. Tammy and the boys are sawing logs right now. The past week seems to have been very stressful even though Michael got a 4 day break from his radiation treatments. He is doing very well physically. His neck is very burnt and is peeling like a severe sunburn but with lots of Aloe Vera, he is taking it well. The doctor was concerned about damage to his eyes from all of the radiation so she gave him a break and started him on an antibiotic cream to hopefully prevent damage to the tear ducts and glands. So far, so good. No sores to report in his mouth or throat area but still lots of thick mucus that causes him to spit and gag quite a bit. He gets very frustrated with it but knows that will be ending soon when the radiation is through. Emotions appear to be the major portion of the battle right now. Not sure if it’s the stress of the daily schedule or knowing that we are in the heat of the battle or just feeling like life isn’t fair right now, but we do know that God is still in control. We know that God is big enough to take care of every situation, however sometimes the best release is just to sit down and cry, individually and together. There is no doubt that God has chosen to allow us to go through this trial to bring us closer to Him. We can feel and know that is taking place already. It’s sorta like growing roses, there is a lot of painful pruning, trimming and training to produce the flower, but the beauty of the flower that is produced is unmatched. Yes, God is in control, but we still are given the choice to either be in His will or be in His way. We are continuing to try to be in His will. Michael goes back to radiation this morning at 9:30 am for treatment number 22 of 28. Then we will go next door for blood work to determine counts before starting his big chemo treatment. Today’s chemo requires the overnight stay in the hospital. Last time he did very well with minimal sickness and we are expecting the same results this time. We’ll be home by Tuesday afternoon. All of the radiation should be finished on Aug 17th, however he could still experience some side effects for 1-2 weeks after that. We are praying that by Labor Day we’ll be looking back at the valley we called radiation. Justin is doing very well with all of this. It’s been hard for him to watch his little brother go through this but he is very strong. He knows that God will take care of us and is confident in God’s abilities. He gets up every morning and feeds the goats, calves, dogs and chickens. Twice a day he makes sure they all have fresh water and collects the eggs and much more. We are very proud of his commitment to encouraging and helping Michael get through this. Justin is a very special gift that God has blessed us with. Please continue to pray that things will go well. This definitely is not the way we would have chosen to spend the summer and the next 10 months but it’s for a purpose. We are learning a lot about ministry through this. You really don’t understand what people need and how to minister to them until you’ve gone through a situation like this. We have found there is a lot more that is needed than just raising money for bills. Sometimes it’s sending a card, a phone call, bringing snacks, cutting the grass, tilling the garden, playing Uno on the rainy days, stopping by to just watch the clouds together or delivering a banana split that you really don’t need. Every day is a gift from God, we can choose to make the most of it by being a blessing to someone or waste it. The day belongs to God, the choice belongs to us.Thank you to everyone that is praying for Michael and our family. It’s working. Please help us pray for Gene Brown, (medical), Uncle Timmy (medical), Grandpa Pat (medical), Uncle Denny (medical), Pat Kirkpatrick (medical) and Myra’s mother (medical). We believe....

August 9, 2004

2009-07-11T08:29:00.004-07:00

Michael went to his radiation appointment this morning and they did more set up work so they could reduce the radiation fields that he is getting. Because all of the calculations were not complete they will wait until tomorrow to start back with his radiation. After that we went to the Oncology clinic to see if Michael's blood counts were high enough to take his "in-hospital" chemo treatment. His ANC count needs to be between 750 and 1000, well today it was 3792!!! We give God the glory for this and we were ready to head over to the hospital. Michael wanted to be on 3 South and they just happened to have had a room for him on that side. He was very happy that he was back on that side of the floor. Michael took his chemo really well without any sickness. In fact, he worked on a stained glass project part of the evening and then beat daddy at a game of air hockey.

August 10, 2004

2009-07-11T08:29:00.003-07:00

Michael is still doing fine and hasn't had any sickness. We got checked out of our room around 9:00 a.m. and then headed straight over to radiation. They got him all set up and was able to complete #22 of his radiation appointments. We are scheduled to be complete on Wednesday, August 18, 2004. After we got home, Cindy and Rachel Tackett stopped by to visit. Justin and Michael had folded some flyers for our church's upcoming revival and Cindy needed to get them in the mail so she thought she would stop by and visit for awhile. The boys had fun showing Rachel the train set up. Rachel finds the trains very fascinating. Michael is still doing fairly well. He has gotten sick a couple of times, but I guess that is to be expected. We should see the Radiologist on Thursday so until then, I guess their is not much else to tell.

August 12, 2004

2009-07-11T08:29:00.001-07:00

Michael went to his radiation appointment this morning. It is still taking a little longer than usual because they are still reducing fields and needing to take several films before his treatment. Michael only has 4 treatments left to go! He can't hardly believe it. When we finally made it home from the hospital, our pastor, Jeff Tackett was waiting at the house with a couple of his buddies, Mike Lee and B.J. Kramps. These guys are professional bull riders and at one time Michael wanted to be a bull rider until he saw how big those bulls really are! Michael introduced them to his newest hobby, model trains. He showed them all of the different engines and cars that he has. Trains always seem to bring the "kid" out in everyone. Before they left, all three of our guests prayed with Michael and our family. That means so much to us. It really doesn't matter what you do, or who you know on this earth, as long as you know the Saviour. He is the one we call on for our every need because we can do nothing without Him. Well, the visit wouldn't be complete without some pictures, so the guys gave Michael some autographed pictures and then we went outside to take some candid shots. When we get the film developed, we will upload those so all of you can see. We really don't have much news to tell, except that everything seems to be going very well. If anything changes we will update sooner, otherwise it will be next week before this page is updated again. Pray for Justin. He has hurt his neck and shoulder unloading feed out of the van the other day. He thinks he is stronger than he really is and decided to unload all 400 pounds by himself!

Jeff Tackett, Mike Lee, Michael, & BJ Kramps

August 15, 2004

2009-07-11T08:28:00.005-07:00

Michael is really tired today and so he did not make it to church today. So, after evening service Bro. Pete came by to visit Michael. Tammy had run into town to get a few things from the store and to pick up the weekend mail. In the mail was a big box addressed to Michael from an unknown person in Conover, NC. Bro. Pete was still at the house when Tammy brought home the package. Michael excitedly opened the package to a #88 UPS hat signed by Dale Jarrett; a #88 UPS Collectors Nascar, personally signed by Dale Jarrett; a Dale Jarrett license plate; AND, a promotional picture with a personal message written on it to Michael and then signed by Dale Jarrett! (For those of you who don’t know, Michael’s favorite Nascar is the #88 car driven by Dale Jarrett.) Later on Mickey looked on the internet and found that the address for Dale Jarrett Headquarters is the same as the address on the box.

August 16, 2004

2009-07-11T08:28:00.003-07:00

Michael had radiation treatment #26 out of 28 today. This means that he only has 2 treatments to go! Michael is so excited, but is very tired, as well as the rest of us. He then went over to the Oncology clinic to get his blood checked and his chemo treatment. Everything checked out fine except that he hasn’t gained any weight, but thankfully he hasn’t lost any either. Michael’s ANC count was really good, but his hemoglobin was a little low. It registered at 8.4 and they normally give blood when the count reaches 8 so we are praising God that he has kept the counts up in order to avoid a blood infusion. Justin's neck is doing much better and he is thankful to all who prayed on his behalf.

August 17, 2004

2009-07-11T08:28:00.001-07:00

Day # 27 of 28 radiation treatments!! YIPPEE!! Tomorrow is the last day!!! I must tell you though, we got up late and so we hurried out the door and Mickey tried to make up a little time by speeding (74 mph in a 60mph zone) thru Saginaw. When he saw the black and white car with those cute colored lights on top make a U-turn, he knew he was caught so he just immediately pulled over and got out his license. The officer walked up to the car and Mickey began telling the officer that he knew he was speeding, but we had to get to the hospital. The officer then politely asked (while looking at me), “Is your wife pregnant?” I explained that I wasn’t pregnant, that I was “just fat”. Mickey then began to explain that Michael was the one that needed to be at the hospital, not me and that he was sure that no matter how much the ticket was going to be, that he was going to have to pay dearly for the suggestion that the Police Officer had made. The officer was very nice and began to apologize to me for “assuming” that I was pregnant and we all got a big laugh and were grateful he only gave us a warning. We made it to Michael’s appointment, but we were still just a few minutes late.

August 18, 2004

2009-07-11T08:27:00.003-07:00

Today Michael got up in a great mood, but soon after, he started getting sick. We are not sure if it was just excitement over today’s events, or if he is just flat worn out. Probably a little of both. Michael decided he was going to get all spiffed up for the big occasion today. He wore black pants, white shirt with a tie, his cowboy boots, and his cowboy hat. He really looked sharp. I baked a chocolate cake last night to take to radiation. We put a red circle with a line thru it (like a no smoking sign) and wrote “RADIATION” in the middle. On the way to radiation, Michael ended up getting sick again. Not really sure why he was getting sick, but we made it to the appointment with time to spare. All of the staff there commented on how nice Michael looked and they were grateful for the cake that we had brought to them. Michael’s last treatment went very smoothly and they gave him his mask to take home. We got pictures with several of the staff members and will get them posted to the website soon. Michael also got a Certificate of Completion signed by the staff and a $15 gift card to Toys R Us from Dr. Neilsen. This has been a summer to remember and not many children have been to a summer school like this one! This afternoon I sat and stared at his mask. I would pick it up and then put it back down again. I even tried it on myself and tried to envision what it must have felt like all of those 28 days he laid on that table with his head tied down to the table in that mask. This mask is a perfect cast of what his face was shaped like when he first when in for treatment. It is amazing to look and see how bulged out the right side of his face was. They had cut out the eye section of the mask during the last week of his radiation and thrown it away. I wish we would have gotten a chance to keep that. You can still see distortion in the forehead, cheek, and neck area on the mask and it is just incredible the advances he has made. Michael never did get the mouth sores or the sore throat like the doctors told us would happen. He did (and does) suffer from fatigue; he is emotional at times, and he did burn from the radiation, but this is nothing compared to what we were prepared for. God has been so good to Michael and us. He has kept His loving hand upon us even when we were so undeserving. This battle is not over, but round one has been fought and we believe that thru the grace of God, Michael is victorious! We still have months of chemotherapy and who knows what else the doctors have in store for Michael, but we will continue to hold tightly to the hand of God and we tread these stormy waters that He is bringing us thru. Please pray that Michael will regain his appetite quickly.

Michael all dressed up for his last radiation appointment

This is where Michael goes every week for radiation

Tammy (the nurse) and Michael

Olga (radiation technician) and Michael

Cindy (receptinist), Michael, and Jay (Michael's favorite radiation technician)

Michael's radiation mask that he had to wear during his treatments.

Michael feeling strong (taken 8/19/04)

August 21, 2004

2009-07-11T08:27:00.001-07:00

Michael is continuing to do good and will go to the clinic again on Monday to receive Chemo treatment. We are continuing to pray that his blood counts will be up and no infusions or delays in treatment will be necessary. We will give you more updates after he sees the doctor on Monday.

August 23, 2004

2009-07-11T08:26:00.004-07:00

Today was a good day. Thank you God for making it possible!!! Michael had an early clinic visit for blood counts and to get his chemo treatment. His counts are great, the treatment went very well and Dr. Griffin says “Michael is doing phenomenal.” Thank you Lord for making it possible!!! We were a little concerned about Michael’s weight loss but he has gained 2 lbs this past week with more on the way. The doctors say some loss is normal but don’t make it a habit. Now that radiation is over Michael’s body should start to build back up. The doctors are absolutely amazed at how this little “Superman” is doing. We give God all the credit. He promised to take us through this trial, not leave us stranded in it. It’s definitely a faith building journey and we’re staying on board.We saw Caleb Davis and his family today at the clinic. Caleb is going through a similar cancer to what Michael has. Caleb’s mom is the person who told Tammy about the Caring Bridge Web Site service. Please help us pray for Caleb and his family also. We believe God is big enough to help us all at the same time.Michael is continually encouraged by all the people that are signing his guest book.With the start of the school year and cold / flu season we are going to probably be more home bodies this fall than usual just to be on the safe side. Michael is doing so well, we don’t want to chance set backs with colds or other bugs going around. So we are not being unsociable or hermits; but rather trying to avoid getting a bad case of the cooties!Please keep Michael and the rest of us in your prayers and know that God is still in control of every situation, if we will let Him be.

August 26, 2004

2009-07-11T08:26:00.003-07:00

Grandma Mary Jane and Paul flew in from Illinois today to surprise the boys. She brought pizza for lunch, but it still wasn’t appetizing to Michael so everyone else enjoyed the pizza. Michael had a really good day and enjoyed visiting with grandma.

Michael really didn't want to show off his G-button (aka his "second belly button) but he finally let grandma take this picture.

August 27, 2004

2009-07-11T08:26:00.001-07:00

We went to Lewisville this morning and then headed over to Grapevine to check out the new Gaylord Hotel. We thought that there was suppose to be shopping in the hotel area, but we didn’t see any so we went over to Colter’s for BBQ, but Michael still wouldn’t eat. After that we went to the Bass Pro Shop and looked around. By that time, Michael was tired so we headed back to the house. Later grandma and Justin made cupcakes, but didn’t get a chance to ice them so they will wait until tomorrow to do that.

Michael always tried to make people laugh - even when he wasn't feeling well.

August 28, 2004

2009-07-11T08:25:00.002-07:00

Michael’s left eye looks really red and is sensitive to the light so Mickey called the Dr. She suggested that we take him into the ER at Cooks just to be on the safe side. Grandma decided to go back to the hotel while we went to the hospital. We found out that Michael’s counts are little lower than they were on Monday, but are wondering if it is just a difference in machines or if his counts really have dropped. I guess we will find out on Monday when we go to the clinic. The Dr. put drops in Michael’s eye and checked for ulcers on the cornea but didn’t see any. They changed his eye antibiotic and told us that the ophthalmologist will want to see us on Monday, but it didn’t appear that anything of major concern was going on with Michael’s eye. The Dr. really feels that it is just lingering side effects from the radiation. Grandma came back over when we got home and Justin and Michael helped finish icing the cupcakes. They did a good job. After that we ran to Denton to get Michael’s prescription filled and stopped to eat at the Evergreen Chinese Restaurant. Michael tried to eat some crab meat, but he said it still didn’t taste good. At least he tried. Later that night grandma told the boys goodbye before she went back to hotel. Her flight was going to leave early in the morning and she wouldn’t have time to come by in the morning. The boys were really sad to see grandma go home.

Justin and Michael having fun icing the cupcakes

Michael is such a talented artist. He drew this picture free hand of "Rex" from Toy Story

August 30, 2004

2009-07-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

Well, today was a VERY eventful day! Yesterday the fuel pump went out on our van for the 5th time! Mickey decided that maybe it was time to break down and look at a different vehicle so he got up early and went to the car dealership to look at a new van. Now really isn’t a good time for car shopping but God will provide. Michael slept until a little later until around 9:30 a.m. so Tammy told him to jump into the shower to get ready to go to his clinic appointment scheduled for later in the day. When Michael got out of the shower, Mickey was driving in with our new 2005 Chrysler mini van! It is black with gray interior and boy does it look sharp! With the extra discounts available we were able to get it about $7000 cheaper than we had originally thought. God has taken special care of us so far, and we know that he is able to provide the finances it will take to pay for this vehicle so we are not going to try to sweat it too much. The van is very comfortable and will make it nice to take Michael back and forth to his appointments. Our clinic appointment was at 1:30 p.m. and we were to see Michael’s “main” oncology doctor today. Of course, the boys had to try out every gadget on the van they could find on our way to the appointment. They thought it was really funny to sound the panic alarm in the parking garage. ~grin~ Mom was slightly embarrassed but she’s getting used to it; after all, she lives with 1 husband and 2 boys that are into everything !!!They checked Michael’s counts and they were up from last week and he has also gained 2 pounds. Dr. Wilkinson said that Michael is amazing. She said that 9 out of 10 children who undergo the intense radiation that Michael has gone thru end up with tremendous mouth sores and a lot of trouble swallowing. The only discomfort Michael has is the mucous in his mouth and much of that could be avoided if he would drink more water. The doctor made sure that Michael understood this and we are hoping that he will take the advise and drink more water. She also said she couldn’t feel even a lymph node in his neck and all she really could feel was scar tissue from the biopsy scars !! She is overjoyed with his progress and commented that Michael is NOT reading her rule book and going by it! More proof that we serve a God that is still in the healing business !! Michael is a tough cookie and he refuses to let this get him down. We are at week 9 in his protocol and we will be doing scans around week 12 to see where the tumor is at. She told us that Michael’s scans will never look “normal” because of the extent of the tumor and the scar tissue that would be left. Then she commented that Michael is refusing to go by the medical books, so there is always that possibility that scans will look normal! Praise The Lord !!! We told her that we have been doing a lot of praying and she told us to keep it up, because that is what seems to be working for him. Basically there is no medical explanation as to why Michael is doing so well. Some may say that it is just the great technology or medicines that are available, but we know who is ultimately in control of this situation, and we will continue to give God honor and glory for the work that has been accomplished in Michael’s life, both physically and spiritually. We serve a risen Saviour that is bigger than any medical procedure !!!

August 31, 2004

2009-07-11T08:24:00.004-07:00

We went to see the ophthalmologist this morning and he gave Michael a good report. He told us that his vision is 20/20 and everything is looking really good. The problem that Michael is having is due to the intensive radiation that he received to the eye area. This is causing his eyes to stay dry and irritated. We have antibiotic gels and drops to keep his eyes lubricated until we see the doctor next month. We went to Ron's Deli across from the hospital to eat lunch and wait for a room to open up. We finally got into a room around 2:30 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. and they didn't get Michael's chemo treatment started until 8:00 p.m.! What a long exhausting day just waiting and Michael was getting really tired. The waiting part wears a person out more than the actually stay. Later that night, Michael's favorite nurse, Claudia, came in to visit with him. She was not assigned to him that evening, but she was able to take a short break to spend some time with him. Michael was really glad that she came by to talk with him and it kinda perked him up a little. Around 4:30 a.m. Michael did get sick, which is expected, but we were thankful that it was just the one time and not an all night thing.

September 1, 2004

2009-07-11T08:24:00.003-07:00

Michael didn't get up until around 9:00 a.m. which was alright because he needed his rest. We saw the Dr. around 10:30 a.m. but she got called away and didn't get a chance to write our orders so we had to wait until she got back. Michael was released around 1:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. and then we had to stop by Cook Home Health to pick up his medical supplies. We arrived home around 4:00 p.m. totally exhausted. Michael went back to bed and slept until 6:30 p.m. He still is a little sick to his stomach, but not anything really bad. At 7:00 p.m. the volunteers from Make-A-Wish came out to talk with Michael about what his wish would be if he could do anything he wanted. His first wish was to go to a Florida beach and his second wish was to sing with Gold City (southern gospel group). They also brought out a big bunch of balloons; T-shirts for both boys; a cap and art supplies for Michael; and a John Deere book for Justin. Oh yes, they also brought candy for both boys and a Make-A-Wish bag. Michael enjoyed his evening talking with both volunteers and is looking forward to find out if his wish will be granted. Both of the boys enjoyed their gifts and we are not sure, but we think Justin slept with his John Deere book! ~grin~ Michael had a pretty good nights sleep, but he did get sick a couple of times thru the night, but once again, we are thankful because it could have been a whole lot worse. Continue to pray for Michael that he will begin to eat. It is not that he can't, it is just that he won't. The doctors are wanting him to get off of the feeding tube during the day and start eating more by mouth, but Michael says that everything tastes rotten to him. So, we continue to try to encourage him to try different things, but so far nothing is working.

September 7, 2004

2009-07-11T08:24:00.001-07:00

Michael went to the H/O Clinic today for his weekly chemo dosage. He has been feeling run down and has had several bouts with nausea & vomiting this past week. After checking his blood counts they gave him his chemo but also stated his platelets were extremely low. All the other blood counts seemed to be OK for now. They sent us all to lunch and ordered platelets for Michael. Michael got very tired at lunch. When we returned they gave Michael some fluids and the platelets. He was showing a low grade fever so they decided to admit him to the hospital for further observation to see if he has infection of any kind. We got a room by 5:00 pm. He is very tired but resting comfortably. As soon as we know more about what they find in his blood work we'll update the website. He is currently in Cook Children's Hospital in Room 3005.

September 8, 2004

2009-07-11T08:23:00.004-07:00

Michael did not sleep well thru the night and was up about every hour vomiting. This morning the nurse practioner came in to see him and she ordered some blood work and a sonogram. While going down to get the sonogram done, we ran into Dr. Wilkinson. She found us downstairs in the sonogram room and told us she was concerned with his color. Michael was looking very pale and was complaining of pain in his lower abdomen. The sonogram showed that his liver was enlarged. She gave us a name for the disease which Michael has, but basically it is not allowing him to keep the platelets that they have been giving him and also the liver is not allowing the blood to flow properly. Fluids are beginning to build on his stomach and so they have decided to move him into PICU. At this time, they are trying to put in a main line in his groin area which is risky because his blood is not clotting due to the low platelets. They are giving him platelets continuously to try to reduce the risk of bleeding. PLEASE PRAY!!! The Dr.'s are very, very worried about him at this time and so are we. Michael is in room 22 of the PICU

September 9, 2004

2009-07-11T08:23:00.003-07:00

Words cannot explain the emotions that we are feeling right now so I am not even going to try.....Michael is sedated with morphine and they will continue to keep him this way so he will rest comfortably. They may even put him on a drip so he stays resting. Michael's disease is known as Veno Occlusive Disease (VOD). It is almost always fatal in Bone Marrow transplant patients, but that is not the case with chemo patients. Michael has a much greater chance of recovering from this and so we are believing that God has this all in His control. Grandma Mary Jane flew in this a.m. and so she will be taking care of Justin for a few days. Only two people are allowed in Michael's room at a time and that includes overnight as well. Michael is receiving platelets around the clock and we are unsure as to how many pints of blood that he has received. His platelets are now at least registering on the scale and his blood count is up which is good news, but his liver count is rising which is not so good news. The Dr. explained that this could all get much worse before it starts to get better. Limited internet access is available in the PICU waiting room so we will try to keep everyone updated as well as possible. The phone in our room does not ring, only blinks. It is possible to miss calls coming in. Also, cell phones are not allowed, so if you need to get a hold of us, just call on the cell phone and leave a message or you can try dialing the room number to see if we will answer.

September 10, 2004

2009-07-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

We feel that we are wading thru some very deep water right now. Michael is unresponsive and the Dr.'s feel that he is slipping into a coma due to the medication. He also has fluid on his lungs and are doing a sonogram at this moment to try to find out where and the amount of fluid. All of this will determine the next step. The doctors are pretty confident that he will be on a ventilator so he can breathe easier. Michael's hemoglobin is up to 10 which is good and his platelets are around 49 but should be somewhere between 300 & 400. When we got here his platelets were at 5 which means he really had no way to stop bleeding if it should start. (Platelets are what causes your blood to clot). The doctors still feel that Michael has a chance of pulling out of this so they are continuing to do all that they can. We just keep praying, but most of all we want God's will to be done and made perfect.

September 10, 2004

2009-07-11T08:22:00.003-07:00

The doctors put a ventilator on Michael this afternoon to help him breathe easier. Because his mouth and throat are dry it has caused some bleeding thru the nose and mouth. Tonight they have decided to stop the blood thinners that are helping his liver, in order to try to get the blood to clot and dry up. When they get this accomplished then they will go in thru his ribs on his left side to relieve the fluid that is there. They cannot do this procedure until they are sure he is not bleeding elsewhere because they don't want him to lose any more blood than he has to and his counts are on the rise. His platelets are running around 70 - 80 right now and his hemoglobin is still up around 10 which is good. We are thankful that none of the bleeding is going down into his lungs. They continue to suction out what is in there but hardly anything comes up, so this is good! Michael is still very critical and is unconscious due to the medications they have him on. The liver is still very ill and so far we are not seeing any signs of improvements, but the doctors have said it could be weeks before they can tell whether he is improving. Continue to pray for us.

September 11, 2004

2009-07-11T08:22:00.001-07:00

I cannot even count the number of units of platelets that Michael has received and the bank here at the hospital is running low. If you would like to donate blood, please contact either Cook Children's Medical Center or Carter Blood and donate in Michael's name. His nurse this morning said that she thinks she is going to start giving blood because now she sees how important it really is. She cannot believe how much he has used. Please don't feel pressured to donate, but if you would like to do this, I know Michael would benefit greatly. Michael did well last night but we still face complications. Bleeding from nose and mouth still seem to be a problem due to the ventilator tube. He is swelling so they are going to try a lasiks drip. The bolus was not working and our only other alternative is a dialysis. The problem with this is putting the catheter into a large vein and so we are in danger of bleeding. Right now they are going to try to get the blot to clot, but that runs into problems with the liver, so..... let's pray that the drip will work and this will relieve the swelling in his body and allow his kidneys to get back working properly. It seems that once you catch one rabbit, two more get away. We are just taking things one step at a time and praying for many small miracles that will add to one big miracle.

Ron (our neighbor) and Justin at Holiday Lanes in Denton, TX

A fundraiser for St. Jude's Hospital and Michael was held at Holiday Lanes in Denton, TX. Justin bowled with Glen Nakagawa, PBA. Justin had a lot of fun bowling and meeting all of the pro bowlers and helping raise money for his brother. It was originally planned that Michael would be at this fundraiser.

September 12, 2004

2009-07-11T08:21:00.002-07:00

Last night we got word that Michael's platelet counts were up to 105 and this morning they are up to 113 which means we are making some slow progress. The amount of platelets he is getting compared to what his counts actually are is not very good, but... at least he is hanging on to them and the counts are rising. We are pretty confident that he will be on dialysis sometime today. The nurse this morning told us they would have done this several days ago, but because of the bleeding it has just been too risky. She said they can probably apply enough pressure that they can control the bleeding that will occur. Michael's clotting time is still elevated and they would like to see that reduced also, so they will give him a bolus of Fresh Frozen Plasma at the time of the surgery to try to help with bleeding also. When you see Michael laying there lifeless, it is hard to imagine that their is a possibility we could pull thru this. Yesterday one of the Oncology doctors told our nurse that he saw a child many years ago that had the same thing going on and he pulled thru it. The child was on a ventilator for 5 weeks and dialysis for 2 weeks before he got better, so I guess this gives us some hope, but ultimately it will be God's decision whether Michael will remain here with us, or go home to be with Him.Yesterday a little 5 year old boy that was next door to us went home to be with Jesus. It was hard to stand and watch this families grief knowing that this could be us. We don't know what the next moment holds for us, but we know that God is holding our hand and He will lead us thru these stormy waters. Continue to pray that God will minister to Michael's spirit and body.

September 12, 2004

2009-07-11T08:21:00.001-07:00

Today was a very hard fought spiritual and physical battle. The doctors were trying to determine when and how to put Michael on kidney dialysis to prevent his kidneys from failing and to help remove the fluid that his body is retaining. He has gained 22 lbs in 4 days. He has been receiving whole blood and platelets around the clock and has already taken in 4 units of whole blood and 26 units of platelets since Tuesday afternoon to help the liver and to replace his blood loss. Michael’s blood will not clot so he has been bleeding continuously in the mouth and nose from the breathing tube they placed in him on Thursday. The doctors finally decided to perform surgery on him this afternoon to insert a line into one of his veins to connect the dialysis machine to. It was to be placed in the right side of his neck. We were told that if he started bleeding while in surgery that there was very little chance they could stop it and he would bleed to death within minutes. We have prayed all day that God would protect him while in surgery. Several friends arrived to visit immediately prior to Michael being taken into surgery and we stayed in the hospital chapel to pray during the time he was in the operating room. After a time of prayer there was a peace that came over the chapel and we felt God’s presence that assured us that HE is definitely in control. After approx. 50 minutes in surgery they came to tell us that Michael did so well that they also put in an additional access line should the need to use it arise later on. The surgeon explained that a special blood clotting drug was used just prior to going into surgery and that Michael only bled about a teaspoon of blood. The Bible says that there is life in the blood. We received confirmation of this fact today. Within 1 hour of starting the dialysis, Michael has already drained approximately 1 quart of fluid from his swollen body. He is resting very comfortably and is being very closely monitored. There is probably much more that I’m forgetting because we are very exhausted after today. Tammy usually updates the website but I occasional try to get in my thoughts now and then. While this is definitely a physical battle for Michael’s body, we know that it is a spiritual battle for us against Satan who seeks to destroy those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The Devil knows that we are most sensitive and protective of our children so that is where he is trying his hardest to defeat us. We shall overcome through the power of God in our lives. Please continue to pray for Michael’s recovery and our strength. God WILL bring us through this trial and we WILL be stronger in our walk with Him because of it. Praise the Lord for a beautiful day in which to serve Him !!!!!!

September 13, 2004

2009-07-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Today has been a very emotional day. Michael condition has been fairly calm and pretty uneventful, but some circumstances and decisions happened today that jarred us. We immediately called the oncology clinic and received reassurance from the wonderful staff of doctors. Dr. Murray came by and explained everything and then it all made sense. I know that this may not make sense to anybody reading this, but this is all I can elaborate on the subject. It does not have anything to do with Michael's condition; but with his care and how it was given. Anyway, Michael's platelets are continuing to climb and he was on the dialysis machine until 6 a.m. It quit because of a clot. They finally got it going again later in the afternoon. This amazing machine is very delicate and is easily thrown off line. It has to be monitored very closely. The doctors are very pleased at how well everything is going. We have been here for a week now and I have not gone home or even left this building so everyone thought it would be best for me to get out (of course I didn't want to but did anyway) so we drove back to the house then to Wal-mart to pick up a few necessities for the hospital. When we got back, the doctors were starting rounds at our room. This morning Michael received another sonogram of his liver and they saw something very interesting. Are you ready??!! One of the blood vessels appears to have reversed and is flowing the correct way!! Oh, I cannot explain the joy for this miracle. Of course we are not anywhere near being out of the woods, but we are one step closer. Kinda like having the first brick laid in a 1000 story tall building. I would think that this means that the liver is healing. There are many other factors that I am sure I am not aware of, but I am thankful that God is still listening to our prayers and he is answering. Keep praying. Michael still has lots of fluid to get off of his body; kidneys need to begin functioning again; the bleeding needs to cease; more fluid needs to be removed from his lungs; his blood pressure to remain stable; and then we need him to come out of the drug induced coma. After all of this they will evaluate his overall recovery and determine if there is any permanent damage to deal with. God is showing us and the world what the power of prayer can do. At times we feel like we've reached the end of our rope and God always provides a way to come through the trial. He never promised victories without fighting !!!

September 14, 2004

2009-07-11T08:19:00.002-07:00

The doctors made their rounds this morning and left us with a little encouragement. They said that they feel that Michael is beginning to make a small step forward. The doctors said it is like chasing your tail around in circles while creeping forward. We thank the Lord for His grace and His mercy that He has extended towards us. Just this morning I was praying and asking God to give me just a "little something" to hang on to because I felt as if I was losing hope. The Lord was so kind and gracious to give us this small step forward to hang on to. Michael is currently off of the versed which was keeping him pretty much out of it and unable to respond. He is still in a deep sleep but at least you can see a cough or a twitch of the eye. In fact, he is taking a few breaths on his own. The ventilator is set at 20 and he was registering 22. Since the dialysis machine was put on we have had many ups and downs. His blood pressure would not withstand the high rate that they wanted to run the machine so it has been slow getting fluid off of his body. Today, they gave him another blood pressure medicine and it has allowed them to run the machine at a higher rate and should be at zero for the day which means anything above that would be excess fluid that is being taken off. Of course, in order to keep the machine running smoothly they need to be giving him blood thinners which is impossible to do for him since we have such a bleeding problem already. His platelets are dropping because they have had to back off of them and now he only gets them every six hours instead of every 4 hours. The platelets cause clotting and if the machine clots then it shuts down. So, we have all of these things we can do for him, but they seem to all have side effects that cause another problem which is why the doctors say it is like chasing our tail, but we are making progress, it is just very slow progress. Michael is a very strong young man and is much tougher than we have given him credit for and all of this will work in his favor. We need to get all of these things reversed before his body wears out. We know we still have a long road ahead of us, but we are hanging on to that thread of hope and clinging to the Master's hand. If we have more updates today, we will let ya'll know. Michael is still in very critical condition, but by faith we are believing that he will be made well and be a living testimony of what God can do when people believe and pray.

September 15, 2004

2009-07-11T08:19:00.001-07:00

This morning we were hit with the news that Michael's lungs had begun to hemorrhage overnight. This is due to his lack of being able to clot his blood. The cardiologist came in and told us that they would put him on a different ventilator and their was nothing more they could do after that. He hoped that this would help with his oxygen level but his suspicion was that it would only get worse. So far today his oxygen level has stayed at normal and they even reduced the machine that he was on. The dialysis machine (CVVH) had to be taken off this morning also because of his blood. They finally got it restarted this afternoon and he went on the machine very well without any side effects. The doctors made their rounds this morning and we were sure that they would give us bad news, but instead they were encouraged by the fact that Michael is making tiny, tiny baby steps forward, so they want to continue as aggressively as possible. Also, Michael's white count (infection fighters) is up to 2,000. It had been down to 100 and his platelets are up to 103,000 which is very good. American Airlines (Alliance) is going to be conducting a platelet drive for Michael on October 1st. I will try to update with more info if the public is able to participate. Otherwise, I believe their will be a drive in Denton sometime in the near future. Please keep praying that Michael's body will continue to respond to the supportive treatment that is being administered to him and that God will continue to heal Michael's body so that he can remain here with us and be a living testimony of what God can do.

September 16, 2004

2009-07-11T08:18:00.002-07:00

Michael has been on the dialysis machine since 3:00 p.m. yesterday and it is still working. We prayed all night that God would help Michael so that all of the medicines and machines would work properly and He is apparently answering prayer.Michael has remained stable today although not much improvement has been made. We spoke with the resparitory therapist and he said that Michael is responding exceptionally well to the new ventilator they have him on. In fact, he said something about weaning him off. Also, his lungs are doing better today.We are praying and asking God to heal Michael so that he can be a testimony of God's power and mercy. Everyday we get little signs that are answers to our prayers and we are trying to hold on and believe that God will raise Michael up and he will walk out of this hospital. Michael is still in very critical condition but he is fighting and hanging on. We keep music and Bible CD's going for him throughout the day. The doctors and nurses believe that he can hear even though he is in this coma state so we are hanging on to that. Please continue to pray for Michael's physical healing.

September 17, 2004

2009-07-11T08:18:00.001-07:00

Michael had a peaceful night Thursday night. His condition is currently stable. His vital signs seem to be good and steady and the dialysis is starting to work. We are praying that we have reached the point in his condition that he may now start to turnaround and begin healing. There are some small signs that we are very optimistic about however there are still many concerns. The doctors have stated that they will continue providing supportive therapy for the body to hopefully provide the body the rest it needs to begin healing itself. Michael is still in a medically induced coma and does not respond with any movements. We know that he can hear us though, so we are spending much time praying with him, playing his favorite southern gospel songs and playing the Bible on CD for him. It's very important that right now he be comforted and encouraged by the things that he loves so much.Obviously this is a very hard time for Tammy, Justin and Myself right now, but God is revealing Himself as a real living God through this journey. He is guiding the doctors and staff in the treatment process and His presence is being felt. God always has been and always will be in control of our every breath also. He is with us when the waters are still and when the seas are raging. Please continue to pray for Michael, our family, the medical staff and those that have stood with us through this journey. Be sure to give God the glory for the victories as well as the trials in your life daily !!!Thanks Mom for being here. We love you.

September 20, 2004

2009-07-11T08:17:00.002-07:00

*** Update at 4:10 pm ***We are still very concerned about Michael's blood pressure being unstable. We are asking everyone to pray for Michael's liver to begin recovering. This is vital to his chances for survival. The longer he remains in the situation of not moving forward, the greater his chances are of damage to other areas of his body. PLEASE PRAY FOR GOD'S HEALING POWER TO HAPPEN NOW !!! We know that God is in control and this is no surprise to Him. Our prayer is that God's perfect will be done for Michael's life. We are limiting Michael's visitors to immediate family only due to his condition. We have been able to visit and pray with those who have come to the hospital, but please do not request to see Michael. We feel that Michael would not want his friends to see him in this condition until he has improved. Most importantly, please PRAY.

*** Monday - 8:46 am ***Yesterday was a battle. Michael is still in a coma but his vital signs have been stable most of the weekend. His body is filling with oxygen that is being forced through the lungs by the ventilator he is on. This is normal but looks very disturbing to us. The doctors have reassured us this will absorb and go away with time. Yesterday evening about 6:00pm one of the doctors came in to look at the dialysis cath / port they inserted in Michael's neck. This is where the dialysis machine is hooked up. It cracked and began to leak as the doctor was looking at it. Michael's vital signs immediately went crazy and people were coming from all over to try to keep him stabilized so they could repair the port. We left the room to go to the chapel and began praying immediately. When we left the room his blood pressure had dropped to 30 / 22 which is not good. We began to immediately pray for God's protection over Michael as they felt they were going to possibly loose Michael if they couldn't get the port fixed. After about 20 minutes they came to get us and let us know that they not only fixed the port but actually replaced it with a better one than the original. It took an hour or so to get everything stabilized but Michael is currently stable. We desperately need Michael's liver to start functioning. Please pray that it will. We are essentially in a race against time to get the liver to start recovering before anything else in his body starts to fail. The outside support being provided will only sustain him for so long. We are believing God for a miracle of healing in Michael's body. Please help us pray. When it seems hopeless; that's when God's glory will shine the brightest ! We believe that God is still alive and on the throne !!!

September 21, 2004

2009-07-11T08:17:00.001-07:00

The Journey Is Almost Complete...Michael's condition has not improved at all. We were showed his blood counts this morning and they are jumping by leaps. This means that everything in his body is failing which includes his liver, kidneys, and lungs. Also, he is showing signs of severe infection which could be the cancer spreading rapidly thru his body. I am not sure of this fact, but we do know that he does have a rapidly growing infection.Yesterday we felt as though Michael had already left us. It is something that you cannot describe, but you just know. Justin told us that he felt that yesterday would be the day that God would take him home. Michael is like a kite whose flying high in the sky but we are still holding on to the string that keeps him bound to this world. Dr. Wilkinson is checking on a few last reports before we let Michael go to his heavenly home. Michael's dream has always been to sing with his favorite southern gospel group, "Gold City". Soon he will be singing "in" that Gold City. It would appear that we are defeated, but that is so untrue. Do not believe that for one minute. Our goal for each of us is to gain our eternal reward with Christ. Michael has always been a very intelligent child and has always excelled in his schoolwork and in other areas. Unless we receive a miracle today, Michael will graduate today and receive the greatest inheritance that anyone could receive.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 11:22 AM CDT

2009-07-11T08:16:00.002-07:00

Michael left this world today at 10:10 am to be with Jesus. He went home very quickly and peacefully. He will be missed. We are thankful that the Lord blessed us with Michael for 10 years and 5 months. His illness was diagnosed on 6-21-04 (the first day of summer) and ended on 9-21-04 (the first day of fall). The Bible says that in Heaven there will be no more sorrow, no more pain and we will praise the Lord for all eternity. Today is the start of Michael's New Journey. What a blessing he has been to us for his short time here. Please pray that people will understand that we are not promised any certain amount of time on earth, but we will however spend and eternity in either Heaven or Hell. The only way to share eternity in Heaven is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord & Saviour as Michael did. Thank you, everyone, everywhere for all of your prayers.

September 22, 2004

2009-07-11T08:16:00.001-07:00

Michael Paul Malone of Rhome, Texas was born on April 13, 1994. Michael left this world peacefully, on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 to be with Jesus Christ, his personal Lord and Saviour after fighting a short and very courageous battle with cancer.Michael was a very intelligent young man that loved the Lord with all of his heart and gladly served Him by singing God’s praises and enjoying God’s creation everyday. His favorite things were church, family, singing southern gospel music, drawing and his animals, especially his chickens. Everyone knew from a very early age that Michael was very talented because of his ability to draw and we watched that talent become one of his passions. Southern Gospel music also became a treasured part of Michael’s life in his later years as he memorized and continuously sang the words of many songs. He just recently sang “Mansion Over The Hilltop” in church with his Daddy.Michael and his big brother Justin are members of the Chico 4-H club and have participated in many animal shows where they have won numerous awards for raising and showing dairy goats, chickens, rabbits and craft projects. One of Michael’s proudest 4H achievements was winning 4 grand champion awards at the 2003 Wise County Youth Fair.We will miss Michael but know that if we continue to walk with the Lord, this will not be “Goodbye”, but instead will only be “We’ll see you in the morning”. We thank God for sharing Michael with us for 10 wonderful years.In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Candle Lighters Childhood Cancer Foundation at www.candlelightersfw.orgMichael is survived by his parents Mickey and Tammy Malone and his big brother, Justin who reside in Rhome, Texas, his Grandpa Leo of Belleville, Illinois, Grandma Mary Jane of Coulterville, Illinois, Grandpa Pat of Belleville, Illinois, very special friends Keith and Janie Martin of Decatur, Texas, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and his very special friends “Bubbles” and “Jubilee”.Visitation will be Friday, September 24 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at Faith Tabernacle Assembly of God Church, 1101 Audra Dr, Denton, Texas (940-565-1055) and services will be held on Saturday, September 25 at 10:00 am also at Faith Tabernacle Assembly of God Church.

September 27, 2004

2009-07-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

A new Journey Begins...We would like to thank everyone who came and showed their love and support for our family. We were so blessed by the attendance and if Michael would have been here, we know he would have been thrilled!Words cannot describe the loss that we feel. For each of us it is different, yet the same. We cannot continue to ask the question "why?" instead, we must ask, "What or where do You want us to go from here?" Heaven is a very real place to us now. We have many loved ones that have gone on before us; Tammy's mom, grandma, grandpa, and great-aunt and Mickey's grandfather. We also have a special friend, Mark Buggar, who is also there. Now a part of us is there too. Heaven is alive; it is the Land of the Living! We have just that much more to hang on to till one day, if we all keep the faith, will stand with our loved ones before the feet of Jesus. Michael was to be a recipient of the Make-A-Wish foundation. Representatives from this organization came to visit with Michael the evening he came home from his last chemo treatment. Many of you have asked what Michael's wish was. Michael wanted to go to Florida so he could see the beach and his second wish was to sing with Gold City (which he had already had that opportunity). Rest assured, his wishes have come true. He is looking at the most beautiful beach ever known to man, singing "in" that Gold City! Please continue to pray for our family as we begin to heal and pray for direction in our lives.

October 11, 2004

2009-07-11T08:14:00.002-07:00

Things are different now. It’s almost like having your arm removed and now you have to get used to doing things one handed. You know that you can’t just simply quit living so you continue to ask God for the strength to rehabilitate. When you go to a restaurant you now ask for a table for 3 instead of 4, only 3 seats are occupied in our van and when I go to the altar to pray I’m used to having a son on each side of me. Things are different now. There is a fullness in knowing that Michael has reached Heaven, but an emptiness in knowing that he is no longer here with us. I only partially realize what God must have felt when he sent His only begotten Son to leave Heaven and live on this earth. God knew exactly where Jesus was at all times, however He knew Christ must suffer on the cross before He returned. I know we will see Michael again if we continue to follow Christ, so the Christian life is more meaningful now than ever.As the weather begins to get cooler and the skies are cloudy more often, it brings about a sadness that can’t be explained. When the winter comes it appears to almost certainly bring death to the vegetation, but we know that winter is only a season and after winter comes one of the most beautiful seasons of all ….. the spring. It means new life and fresh blooms.We know that we are in the winter of our journey, but spring IS coming. God will not only see us through the winter weather but He has promised us a beautiful spring with deeply rooted vines and fresh blossoms like we have never seen before. We’re not exactly sure what God will bring for us but we do know that He will bring us through this trial with a deeper faith than we have ever experienced before. Our new journey, as with Michael’s new journey is only just beginning. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers during our “winter” season

November 9, 2004

2009-07-11T08:14:00.001-07:00

Good morning, today is 7 weeks since Michael started his new journey. It has been 7 weeks of mixed emotions for our family. Joy, grief, peace, sadness, reassurance, loneliness and thankfulness to name just a few.As the Thanksgiving season approaches, we earnestly look at what we have to be thankful for. We are so thankful to the Lord that He showed Michael mercy and compassion by not letting the disease of cancer linger for many painful years, we’re thankful for the 10 beautiful years of Michael’s life, we’re thankful for the hope that we have in Christ, that He is our salvation, that He truly is our comfort in the time of need and sorrow and that He will bring us all together again someday, plus many other things that the limited space here doesn’t permit us to share.God has really shown us how much He loves us and cares for us since Michael’s passing. We will never get over the loss of Michael but we realize that He gives us strength and determination to go on and complete our walk through the Christian life. When we face the times of overwhelming grief, we feel His love comforting us and reassuring us that Michael is rejoicing in his new home. Michael is experiencing everything that we have read about, sung about, prayed about and preached about.As the song says, “Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face”, we now more than ever realize what joy there is in loving the Lord and being saved while living in the midst of a lost and sinful world.Michael’s early departure from this world has been by some ways a very deep loss to us, but in more important ways it has been a tremendous spiritual awakening. We will fight the good fight of faith and someday soon we will see Jesus and all of the saints that have gone on before us.We thank God, for all of the reasons He gives to be thankful for.

December 6, 2004

2009-07-11T08:13:00.002-07:00

Good morning. It’s been almost 11 weeks since Michael’s passing. We are missing Michael very much but realize there is more to this journey than just “losing” a child. We have not “lost” a child; we have helped him to prepare for his eternal life in Heaven. That is our responsibility as a Christian parent. Our heart is broken as we go on without Michael here by our side, but Heaven is so much more real now than ever before. We do not long to get to Heaven just so we can Michael but rather to see Jesus.As a father I always keep tabs on what my boys are doing to ensure that they don’t get in trouble. Over the past weeks I’ve often wondered what Michael is doing right now; is he talking with Jesus, is he singing, is he laughing, is he in awe of the glory of the Creator. I do know for sure that he is saying, “Dad, Mom, Justin and everybody else, you have got to see this place, it’s so much better than I imagined. Please make sure you make it here so you can see for yourself. All the Saints are cheering for you to make it. And also God wants you to know that He really does love you.” Heaven is worth the effort! So our attention is now directed on getting the rest of our family, friends and anyone that we come in contact with prepared to reach Heaven. Please know that we are not the answer, only the messengers.We get so caught up in our own personal daily life that we sometimes fail to really see a lost and hurting world around us. Michael’s journey has definitely opened our hearts to that calling again. As the Christmas holiday approaches people will be focused on gifts and parties and holiday festivities, but what if Jesus comes on December 15th to get his church. Will you be ready? You may have all Christmas shopping done and cards sent out but that doesn’t count in the rapture. Please make sure you are ready. Being a good person or faithful “church member” is not enough. Christ must be your Saviour!!!Please pray for someone that you know is lost. Pray that God will draw them near and they will respond. This will be the greatest gift you can ever give someone.

January 12, 2005

2009-07-11T08:13:00.001-07:00

Well the holidays have come and gone. It was different around our house during Christmas and the start of a New Year seemed rather unimportant. But we will go on with God’s help. We still celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, which is the real reason for Christmas. There was no big tree, bright lights or fancy presents. We just didn't feel very festive. We are thankful that we received the present of our son Michael for 10 beautiful years. And we also know that this past year Michael received the best present anyone could ask for. He got to see Jesus face to face. We are anxiously waiting that day for ourselves. As we look back over the last year we realize that God is truly in control and we are thankful that He does still love us in spite of what the world would see as a rough year. We’ve learned so much about prayer, faith, hope and God Himself. We still want to serve Him because He is our hope. As rough as this world is, it is just the place where we get ready for eternity. There is no reason to fear our daily trials and turmoils.Thank you to all that have prayed for our family over the last year. We are so blessed and touched by the outpouring of love and concern for our well being. This upcoming year will bring struggles we’re sure, but we have more faith and understanding than we have ever had before. God is still alive and on the throne so we know there is hope for a brighter day. We will overcome.

April 25, 2005

2009-07-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings in Jesus Christ precious name to everyone that reads this journal entry,God is so good, even in the midst of the most violent storm. It has been 7 months since Michael left us to be with the Lord. To say that we miss him is a huge understatement. Our hearts will be broken forever although we are not living a life of hopelessness. God will always provide the strength we need to go on with our daily lives even though they have changed dramatically. It’s very hard to put into words the way we feel about all of this. God is faithful and His grace is sufficient for all of our needs. We are not angry with God, for He is in control of our every breath. We know that Michael is in Heaven with the Lord because of his profession of faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour so we would be selfish to pray for his return to us. This doesn’t mean that we are not heartbroken and longing for the day we will be reunited again as a family. Each day brings about different feelings for each of us. We have always been together as a family everywhere we go and in everything we do. It’s very different setting the dinner table with only 3 plates now instead of 4. We buy fewer groceries, do less laundry, don’t have as many muddy shoes on the back porch and the list goes on. Life is so different that it’s not a possibility for it to ever get back to normal. Some people say that time will heal the hurt. That is not going to happen, but instead God provides the strength to manage the pain. Once a wound heals there is a scar and the scar is very tender. Has the wound healed? Yes, but the tender scar will always be there. At times it’s very difficult to talk about Michael’s illness and passing, at other times it is almost necessary in order to relieve the pain. Some people say that Michael’s death was just unbelievable for a child to die at only 10 years old, what good could possibly come of the death of such an innocent child? God is in control and this will be for His glory, not Michael’s or ours. We may never understand it, but God knows what He is doing. He has never failed. Why does God heal some and not others? Why does He heal some that are evil and wicked, yet take those that are so innocent and trusting of the Lord? Why does He heal some Christians and not others? ---- God’s ways are not our ways and we need to trust fully in the Lord and lean not upon our own understanding. When we push the buttons on a calculator we trust the end result to be correct, we don’t judge or try to understand how the calculator works to get the desired result, we just have faith that it works. If we can trust a $4.98 calculator, how much more should we trust an Almighty God that can create an entire universe with the sweep of His Sovereign hand? God is good my friend, God is so, so very good. We know that somewhere down the line we will be called upon by God to minister to someone that may be going through the exact circumstances that we are going through. Wouldn’t it be nice to know if that happens to be you that needs to be ministered to, that we can provide real proof that God is alive, He loves us and will carry us right through even the most violent storm we could ever face? Please continue to pray for our family for strength, comfort and the continual healing of a broken heart and know that there is a Loving, Just and Holy God that provides our every breath.

Mickey, Tammy, Justin & “Michael”

September 20, 2005

2009-07-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will be 1 year since Michael left us for his new home in Heaven. I'm sure he is really enjoying it and is glad that he made the journey. We are all looking forward to making that journey some day. Are you prepared for the journey ? Our life is so different than it was before Michael got sick. There is an emptiness that only Michael's presence can fill. We have talked with God daily to help us make sense of what has happened and everyday God reassures us that He doesn't make mistakes and that we should have faith in Him that everything will work out for a reason. So we trust Him for all of our directions in life. It may never be for us to understand each thing in life that happens, but God will lead us if we give Him the opportunity to do so. Justin is getting so tall and handsome. We are very proud of how he is growing up. He misses Michael a lot more than he talks about which is very heartbreaking for us. But as he continues to place his faith in God, he is comforted. Tammy and I are doing OK. There are days when it's a struggle but we serve a very loving God that provides strength for the journey. We try to focus on what we have been blessed with not what we have lost. This gives us the hope that is needed for each day. God is so very good. All the time.

September 21, 2005

2009-07-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Michael we miss you and love you very much. We are really looking forward to when we can be together again.

Dad, Mom & Justin