Yesterday started as a typical Pletan day, and I guess it ended as we are by now used to: not quite according to plan. Jacob, who had been complaining recently of a sore back and little sleep, had another restless night. And his appetite had spent another day on vacation, apart from this usually hearty eater. And so Mom and Jacob put their heads and hearts together and scheduled a doctor's appointment to kickstart this boy back to normalcy. Normal, however, like his appetite, is clearly on vacation.
Jacob's family practice doctor found a swollen lymph gland in his neck which, coupled with the nagging back pain, sent him to the X-ray room. We soon were in the doctor's office, hearing words like "possible lymphoma" and "unlikely pneumonia". Our next and immediate stop was an imaging center, where the radiologist then added phrases like "collapsed lung" and "diminished oxygen". Moving on to Presbyterian Plano, the ER showed us the imaging report, with highlighted sections regarding a 13 cm by 12 cm mass and another outlining compromised organs. By midnight, after an ambulance transfer, we had landed in the ER at Children's Hospital of Dallas. And this, beginning today, is our new far-away home, as the wee ones would say.
Jacob has T-cell lymphoma. The fast growing mass is resting comfortably while his heart and left lung are not. Normal is gone, but a new normal has begun. It is our goal through this site to make obvious the sufficient grace of Christ and to bring glory to Him as we watch Him work through the medical professionals that are fast becoming Jacob's second family.
Join us on our journey. May we all be blessed along the way.
