If there is one thing I have learned about battling cancer is that there are huge victories and unexpected defeats that can happen all at the same time. But more importantly, if there is one thing I have learned about battling any of this life’s enemies is that GOD IS IN CONTROL – this I learned from my 3 year old son. PRAISE THE LORD for the faith of a child! I pray that we can face each day with such a faith – GOD IS IN CONTROL – not man or man’s ways.

Nathan’s MRI came back the best I think I have ever seen – PRAISE BE TO JESUS!! No new tumors, the fluid areas are getting smaller, just over all great report! Just as we are praising GOD for this we find out that the sample of fluid taken from his head was full of more cancer cells than they had ever seen for Nathan. What do we do, but look to GOD – GOD IS IN CONTROL! The fact that there is a large number of cells and no tumors is quite a puzzle for Dr. Wolff. It defeats mans logic. Dr. Wolff has started Nathan on a combination of an oral chemo and an anti-seizure medication. This has been extremely successful for another one of his patients. She however does not have the same type of tumor, but we are still hopeful. Dr. Wolff also wants, against our better judgment, to start giving intrathecal chemo every week, alternating between Ara-C and Methotrexate. It is his hope that even though we have tried these medications before and they have not work, that maybe in combination with the two oral medications, that they will finally work on completely killing the cells. Lee and I don’t feel comfortable with this plan. We feel that Nathan is close to the edge of falling off the “chemo cliff” and communicated as much to Dr. Wolff. The facts are that all last summer Nathan received intrathecal chemo then in October Nathan received the intrathecal Ara-C and got extremely sick, he was close to hospitalization. Then in December he was hospitalized over Christmas because of the intrathecal Ara-C. Each time he seems to get worse and worse. And we just don’t know how much more our warrior can handle. Dr. Wolff relented a bit and has agreed to give the “new” two oral drugs approximately one week to lessen the cancer cells in Nathan’s head CSF. If at the end of the ~ one week period, the cancer cell count is increased then Wolff wants to start the above weekly intrathecal chemo. Dr. Wolff has also stated that he can’t handle anymore iv chemo, because between transplant and radiation his bone marrow has been too heavily taxed. Quite frankly we are tired of seeing Nathan in so much pain for it not to work. We are really weighing his quality of life over his quantity of life so much heaver. We always tried to keep his quality of life in the for-front of our planning, but now things are different. Nathan also had and ultra-sound of his liver, kidneys, pancreas, and gall-bladder. Everything looks just perfect. PRAISE GOD!

We are reminded in this that our hope is in the LORD not in man. We want to say a very very special thank-you for all the prayers. We can feel their strength.