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TY MICHAEL "WHAT A WORLD!!"
Welcome to TY'S Web Page. It has been provided to keep people updated about our Child ..Ty-MichaelSchmidt!
PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL OF THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FIGHTING AND THOSE TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD...SOMEHOW!
PLEASE VISIT THE LINKS TO OTHER CARINGBRIDGE FAMILIES . SIGN THE GUEST BOOK JUST TO LET THEM KNOW YOU CARE!
A BIT BEYOND PERCEPTION'S REACH
I SOMETIMES BELIEVE ..I SEE THAT LIFE IS TWO LOCKED BOXES,EACH CONTAINING THE OTHER'S KEY!
SKIN (SARA BETH)
Sara Beth is scared to death
To hear what the doctor will say
She hasn't been well, since the day that she fell
And the bruise just won't go away
So she sits and she waits with her mother and dad
And flips through an old magazine
Till the nurse with the smile stands in the door
And says will you please come with me
Sara Beth is scared to death
Cause the doctor just told her the news
Between the red cells and white, something's not right
But we're gonna take care of you
Six chances in ten, it won't come back again
With the therapy we're gonna try
It's just been approved, it's the strongest there is
And I think that we caught it in time
And Sara Beth closes her eyes.
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love is holding her close
And a soft wind is blowing her hair
Sara Beth is scared to death
As she sits holding her mom
Cause it would be a mistake for someone to take
A bald headed girl to the prom
For just this morning, right here on her pillow
Was the cruelest of any surprise
And she cried when she gathered it all in her hands
The proof that she couldn't deny
And Sara Beth closes her eyes
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love is holding her close
And a soft wind is blowing her hair
It's quarter to seven, that boy's at the door
And her daddy ushers him in
And when he takes off his cap
They all start to cry
Cause this morning where his hair had all been
Softly she touches just skin
And they go dancing, around and around
Without any cares
And her very first true love is holding her close
And for a moment she isn't scared
DIAMOND RIO "GOD ONLY CRIES"
On an icy road one night
A young man loses his life
They marked the shoulder with a cross
An' his family gathers round
On a piece of Hallowed ground
Their hearts are heavy with their loss
As the tears fall from their eyes
There's one who'll always sympathise.
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on
An' all the angels up in Heaven
They're not grieving because they're gone
There's a smile on their faces
'Cause they're in a better place than, mmm, baby, than, oh
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are so far from home.
It still makes me sad
When I think of my Grand-dad
I miss him each and every day
But I know the time will come
When my own gradnson
Wonders why I went away
Maybe we're not meant to understand
Till we meet up in the Promised Land.
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on
And all the angels up in Heaven
They're not grieving because they're gone
There's a smile on their faces
'Cause they're in a better place than, oh, baby, than oh
God only cries for the living
'Cause it's the living that are so far from home
Yeah, we're so far from home, Mmmm, Mmmm
www.caringbridge.org/fl/tymichaelschmidt
Journal
Thursday, October 9, 2008 4:11 AM CDT ZACHARY'S PAGE
THIS IS A REPOST FROM ZACHS PAGE PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM.. WE NEED ALL THE PRAYER WARRIORS STORMING THE HEAVENS TODAY. PLEASE!!
Welcome to Zachary's Web Page. It has been provided to keep everyone updated about his progress. It is also the gathering place for the Cancer Sucks Club!
Journal
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 6:43 PM CDT
Someone once told me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!” If I followed that advice, you would not be getting an update tonight!
If I were given a choice, to choose between;
A). Writing this update.
B). Having a colonoscopy without anesthesia.
C). Having root canal without Novocain.
D). Receiving an acupuncture treatment of 20 needles in my private parts.
I would choose B, C & D, simultaneously, all in an effort to avoid the inevitable……….passing along bad news to all of you.
As you already know, Rebecca and Zachary are up in Philly having a variety of tests done. The plan WAS to begin today on the phase I pill chemo that would have been “easy” to take and “not hard on the system.”
Unfortunately, the test results were bad……very bad. Zachary now has bone marrow disease again. I can’t remember how long it has been since his marrow has shown disease, maybe several years, but it’s there again, +/- 50%. His MIBG scan now shows disease in many, many places. The primary suspects right now are the spine, hips and skull. He is experiencing pain in his head, legs, and hips. All of this is due to the rapid growth of the cancer in his bones and marrow.
I was at work today when I received this wonderful (NOT) news. I had told Rebecca that if there were treatment decisions to be made, that I could take the call so that I could be included in the plan. Apparently, before I got on the phone, Zachary had asked his doctor if he could just, “go home to be with his friends and girl friend, and take about a year off from treatment.” The doctor had the horrible job of informing Zachary that his cancer is growing rapidly and that if he did not go onto a new treatment, he would probably only have about 6 weeks to live. (Not good news…..in case you were wondering.)
You may recall that the last time we faced this type of news; Zachary was not immediately onboard with the idea of jumping into another treatment. This time was no different. The doctor informed us that the original plan of trying a pill chemo had to be scrapped. She did NOT have enough faith in any of the pill chemo’s ability to knock back the disease, so she wanted to do something else. Her recommendation was to immediately jump back into a third MIBG therapy. (Get admitted today and start treatment tomorrow morning.) Instead of coming home Friday, they would have to stay the weekend and wait for his radiation levels to drop to an acceptable level, which meant they could probably come home Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. She also wants him to go back to Gainesville in two weeks to get the last of his stem cells. This will (should) jump start his immune system and be a preemptive strike on his blood making abilities. Instead of waiting for his counts to drop and then wasting 4 – 6 weeks on transfusions, we will have given him a better chance of recovering quickly from the MIBG therapy. Then, once his counts have stabilized, he will need to return to Philly for reevaluation, and hopefully THEN be able to start on one of the pill chemos, which should (fingers crossed) be able to keep the disease from spreading. This is all contingent of course on the success of the MIBG therapy. (We need step 1 to get him eligible for step 2.)
(I would like to pause here briefly to say that this all SUCKS BIG TIME! I assume you knew that already, but just in case, I thought I would tell you.)
Here I am, three weeks into my new job, unable to be there with them in Philly, to help navigate this mess. We can’t afford for me to be out of work…….and even if we could, I’m in the middle of learning everything that I will need to know once they transfer me from the training store. (God may be testing me……..I just hope that he/she keeps in mind that I was only a ‘C’ student!)
Tomorrow I don’t have to be in to work until 12pm, so hopefully I will be able to recharge my emotional batteries somewhat. I never sleep well with them out of town, but not having to get up at the crack of dawn might help.
Meanwhile, Rebecca is stuck in a lead-lined room with a miserable 14 year old who would rather be ANYWHERE else in the world than where he is right now!
Yeah……..no matter what angle I view our current dilemma from, it pretty much SUCKS! From the top, the side, the bottom….it’s one BIG SUCKFEST going on for us right about now.
The only “good” news that the doctors had for us was that in spite of Zachary’s bone marrow disease, and in spite of the multiple bone lesions, his blood counts were very good. This means that he is still making platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. There are no guarantees, but they are hopeful that because his counts are good now, once he gets his stem cells back, he will bounce back quickly.
After work today I went to the bowling alley to watch his teammates in a match. On the way there I picked up a Get Well card for him, and I had all of the boys and girls from the bowling team sign the card. The coaches were really nice about having the players all stick around to sign it for him. They also got another surprise for him that will be waiting for him when he gets home. I’m going to overnight the card tomorrow so that it gets there on Friday….that way it will cheer him up a bit before the weekend. (At least that’s the plan anyway.)
I’m pretty tired, and emotionally spent, so I am going to sign off now and let you all absorb this update. I wish that I had something profound or encouraging to add, but I’m at a loss right now.
Scott
P.S. Rebecca and Zachary have their cell phones. After tonight, Zachary will not be allowed to handle a phone, but Rebecca can put one on speaker phone for him. He would love to hear from his friends. If you have his number, don’t hesitate to call!!!
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