Headed Home

Hello friends.... Jackson was able to bust out of the hospital today! His ANC was 226 and all other counts were looking good. 

Our favorite Nurse Allie was able to see us off 🥰

When we arrived into town the Charleston Police Department and Fire Department were so sweet and escorted Jackson home 🧡🧡

With Jacksons Immunity so low he is at a very high risk of infections we are limiting all visitors at this time. I hope you all understand. We just want to make sure he stays as healthy as possible. 

As of now we will know on Thursday or Friday if We have to report back on Monday or get to stay home until the following Friday 🙌🏻🙏🏻

Thank you all for your continued love, thoughts, and prayers! They are working! 

Bless you all 🧡

ANC is up!

Eeeeeekkkk..... Jackson’s ANC shot up to 128 today! Looks like we may get to break out of here with in the next day or two.
He pooped yesterday, had his morphine removed and his Nutrients will be removed tomorrow night.

He is enjoying a day with daddy and Colby while I am at the Volleyball Tournament with Macy!

4 Weeks

How has it been 4 weeks since we were told Jackson had Leukemkia?! I can still hear vividly the words from the ER doctor and feel the same pain as it is so deep and raw.

Here is the truth Friends.... this sucks! It sucks that Jackson has to endure so much and deal with all of the side effects just to be cured from this evil disease.
It sucks that we have to literally live in the hospital for months. It sucks that my family can’t all sleep under the same roof. I can’t describe the heartache I feel because it’s been 4 weeks since I have tucked my other two kids into bed or taken them to school, since I have slept in the same bed with my husband, or since I have stepped foot into our home.

I have said it before... I have Faith and I know our God is mighty. But, the Devil still gets in my ear more often than I would like to admit. That’s when Fear sets in, that’s when anxiety takes over, thats when sadness is so overwhelming it hurts. Thats when I imagine what the next several months looks like, feels like, and what this disease has taken away from my family.
That’s when the devil wins. Generally, it’s only for a few moments because my husband is there to hold me tight until I pull myself together and wipe away the tears.

I am reminded daily that We are not in control anymore. We are not in control of anything at this moment. This disease has taken all of that away from us. Right now our lives have totally changed and nothing is the same.

During the hard moments... I can’t help but think of all of the wonderful people in our lives that are cheering Jackson on, praying for our family, and being so generous. Even strangers we have never met are sending him letters and cards. People and churches from all over are praying for him. That is when I am reminded that God is in control. He is showing us in the best way ever that he is here  with us by our side every step of the way. I believe that God talks to us in many different ways and loving us through others is one of the ways he is showing up for us in this hard Season of life. Each day I am choosing to be a little less sad about this Chapter of our lives  and trying to find Something good in each day.
I know that being sad or upset doesn’t change anything and it doesn’t do Jackson any good. If I want him to be strong and fearless than we need to strong and fearless as well.

We have a long journey ahead with many more months of treatment and the ups and downs that come along with that. There will be more hard days a head and it won’t always be easy.

Jackson had another good day. We were able to lower his morphine drip again today. Hopefully by tomorrow we can stop the continuous drip altogether. His IV nutrients was decreased tonight  to start weaning him off of it. We will start a medication tomorrow that will boost his appetite in hopes he starts eating and drinking more.

His ANC was 18 today. But the doctors are optimistic that he is gearing up for a big ANC spike soon.

~As Always thanks for the Love ~



Ps... if you don’t already donate blood, or platelets I would encourage you to do so. If your not a bone marrow donor you should consider that as well. Seeing so many sick kids whose lives literally depend on those 3 things is so surreal. Those donations are saving lives each day! We are witnessing it with our own child but so many others on the floor as well.

Good news

Our Doctor came by today and let us know that the formal Cyogentic testing came back. (It gets sent off for more detailed testing) They were able to identify that the cancer cells Jackson has are the “good” cancer cells. Meaning they are familiar with those cells and know that they respond well to the Chemo.

We won’t know 100% until the Bone Marrow Biopsy gets done after his numbers recover. We are thrilled with those results and are continuing to pray he is in remission at the end of this first induction period.

Jackson’s ANC are back to Zero today. That is very common for them to bounce around. So we are just trying to get him to eat, drink and poop.

He is still getting a continuous morphine drip to keep his pain at bay. It has roared back up the last couple days. Praying the pain continues to go away so we can remove the pain meds.

Once those things start happening our chances of going home for a few days  get better.

Signs of Spring

 It was nice to be home for a few days . Colby had his first baseball game of the year and we even had a nice little mushroom hunt after school one day . I got back to Riley’s yesterday and Jackson couldn’t wait to show me the air hockey table in the play room !
This morning he was a bit on the grumpy side . We convinced him if he drank his juice and ate some breakfast we could visit the playroom . The hockey table was being used so we found the foosball table and the piano . He seems to love music maybe some lessons will be in order when he returns home from treatment . Today is the first time since he’s been here he has put his own clothes on rather than the hospital gown . We will take that as another small victory .

-Matt

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

In 14 years I have never missed a holiday with my kids. Our tradition is to always get up early and wait for one another as we go down stairs to see what the Easter Bunny brought!

Last night as I thought of that I was brought to tears as it saddened me that I wasn’t able to be there for Macy and Colby this morning. That we were not all together celebrating first thing in the morning.

Thankful for Carol and Jerry as they were able to bring the kids to the hospital to celebrate and have a yummy Easter lunch!

Jackson is having an okay day. Nothing too crazy but not feeling the best.
But we are so thankful that we are able to be all together.  He was getting really tired and was fast asleep as soon as everyone left.

Matching outfits were cheap this year... Yellow gowns and face  masks for everyone.

Jackson’s ANC number was at a 6. Which the doctors tell me anything under 20 they consider a zero! But hey... it’s something and it’s moving up.

We are continuing to pray for his numbers to rise with out any side affects or additional infections along the way.

#Easter2019 #JacksonsJourney #OurTinySuperHero

Jump, Jump

We were able to make the trip to Indy to see sweet Jackson today! Uncle Kevin was able to join us too!
We delivered more goodies! Thank you everyone! He enjoyed opening all of the gifts. He is loved by so many.

Not much to update: ANC is still zero, and still no fevers!

He was pretty tired today and spent most of his day in bed watching his favorite movies! We were able to get a few smiles out of him though and one good belly laugh! Cynthia, Kevin and I were being silly and seeing who could jump the highest..Jackson was the judge. He got a pretty good kick out of it.

 Macy and Colby get to come up tomorrow for Easter!  Jackson didn’t want them to leave yesterday so he is very excited they get to come back so soon.

They are so happy to be able to spend it together as a family.
~Aunt Sherry

Good Friday

A Good Friday it was indeed.

The feeling of seeing them all reunited is indescribable! They were all so happy to be together. It didn’t take them long to pick up where they left off.  Bickering and all.

These weren’t the memories we had planned for 2019! But a dear friend told me that we will make some of the best memories during these tough times and so we plan on doing just that. Doing the best we can to make so many good memories that the bad ones fade away.

Goodbyes were hard today. But knowing they will be back on Sunday helps.

Lynne Mercer Sterling thank you for the homemade Batman stocking hat. Jackson loves it and is still wearing it.

We cannot think grandma Carol Myerscough enough for all she is doing. Taking care of Macy and Colby to ensure they get to continue their lives as normal as possible is the greatest gift and the biggest relief for Matt and I. We cannot thank her enough!

Another dear friend recommended date nights on the couch of the hospital with a movie. So tonight that is what we are doing.

#JacksonsJourney

Therapy Begins

Well this tiny super hero had a BUSY day! He did so awesome!

He has been up all day playing.
He had a Visit with OT, PT, and Music therapy. He loved the music therapy and Katelynn did a great job with him.
He took Dad on a short walk to show him the play area too!

We also did not have to watch Space Jam today! That definitely felt good as well!

Matt and I were so happy to see Jackson playing and smiling so much today! He is worn out and already tucked in for the night.

ANC numbers still zero. We understand that it takes a while and we are being patient. We also know we won’t always have great days like today. So we are soaking them up.

We are cutting down his morphine drip to see how he does. We are also cutting back his IV nutrients over the next several days in hopes we can get him eating again.

Mouth sores are almost all gone.

Ps... Macy and Colby get to come hang out with us in Jacksons room tomorrow and we are so excited to be all together.
#MyTinySuperHero #JacksonStrong
#awesomeday #thatsmile #JacksonsJourney

ANC level ZERO

Twenty days... that is how long we have been at this hospital. Walking in we had no idea we wouldn’t be walking out for such a long time.

Although, this isn’t how we prefer to spend our days or nights. We are so thankful that God led us to this hospital and put the right doctors in front of us to get us the answers we have been praying about for months.

Many didn’t know... because I didn’t share it publicly that we had been battling with Jackson’s health and pain since last July. And actually his health has never been great since Birth. Seeing specialist after specialist. So many nights I prayed for God to open my eyes or shine a light on what it was that we were missing.  I knew in my heart that something was wrong. On the way to Riley on the 29th... I prayed specifically for quick answers as he had been struggling for so many months. We so badly wanted to know what was going on so we could help him get better.  Like I mentioned before I felt strongly he had Leukemia. But what mother self disgnosis their child with such a horrible disease. I sounded crazy and felt even crazier. I am so glad I had the courage to speak up and tell the ER doctor my concerns. I am also so very thankful that she listened to me and didn’t think I was crazy.

Riley’s has been amazing. The doctors, nurses and PCAs, cleaning staff etc have been amazing. I am learning that several nurses have had children with leukemia and or had leukemia as young kids themselves. So it’s been nice to learn about their journeys as well.

Today I talked Jackson in to going on a short walk with me. He was excited to look at all the toys in the play room and tell me what he wanted to play with when he isn’t sick anymore. Although he was bummed out he still couldn’t play, there were no tears today. Getting stronger every day.

He has slept most of the day. 🙏🏻                I believe that is when God is hard at work healing him most.

ANC numbers still zero - but they are seeing signs that they believe he will start to go up soon.
NO fever again today 🙌🏻
Mouth sores improving, the main one peeled off today.

Again, thank you for following Jacksons journey’ thank you for your continued love and support. Even if We don’t get a chance to respond Matt and I enjoy reading all the comments and messages.

Thanks to everyone who sent hats his way. We are excited to try them.

Love to you all 🧡

#JacksonsJourney #MyTinySuperHero

Snuggles

Not much to update today minus all the awesome gifts Jackson got and the little bit of love Jackson was giving me.

Since he has been diagnosed he hasn’t been very warm and fuzzy. Which breaks my momma heart because he is my snuggle bug and always loves on his momma💔! So tonight I had to bribe him for a few snuggles and kisses. Tried to document a few smiles tonight.

He got his Tiny super hero cape! Thank you to those that donated. Not only did he get a cape but with the extra money a few other kids got one too!

Taylorville Arbys Crew sent his a bag full of goodies and he thought the spider man mask was cool.

And cousins Sent him play dough and this awesome Space Jam blanket! 🥰 He asked me where the big person (Michael Jordan) was on the blanket. Thank you Sanya Sharma Myerscough and Paul Myerscough

Prayers have been answered and Flu restrictions have been lifted

So we get to have Macy and Colby come and see their brother this weekend and spend Easter together.
This is the longest they have ever been a part.

With Jackson in a critical state with his numbers we are still keeping visitors very few just for his protection. We would love to see everyone but know his health is so important right now and must be our priority.

Medical update:

No fever for 48 hours!!!
ANC still Zero
Pain managed and minimal
Mouth sores still present and painful

Praying things continue up hill and we don’t get any set backs.