Silas sending of his namesake back into the ocean. Silas the loggerhead sea turtle.

Silas E Silas Nathanael

First post: Feb 11, 2012 Latest post: Mar 15, 2015
Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We've created it to keep friends and family updated about Silas. Get started by reading the introduction to our website, My Story.Visit often to read the latest journal entries, visit the photo gallery, and write us a note in our guestbook.In November of 2011 I (Jessica, Silas' Momma), noticed that Silas' belly seemed to be a little bigger than it used to be. I asked the Pediatrician about it and she felt his belly and said that she could not detect anything out of the ordinary and perhaps he was just going through a growth spurt. So I tried not to worry about it. 
    In December Silas had surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids. No one said a word about the size of his belly and he had no symptoms that would make us think anything was amiss. 
     In January his belly seemed to pop out a little more but still no other symptoms. On Saturday Feb. 4th as we were going to bed he told me it was hard to breathe. He had seemed a little more tired than usual the past week but I thought perhaps he just had a bit of a cold. I had thought about calling the Doctor back the next week anyway because both Archie and I were concerned that his belly seemed to be getting bigger but when Silas told me it hurt to breathe I was determined to call the Doctor first thing Monday morning. Even though he said it hurt to breathe, he did not act as though he was in pain and went to sleep normally. 
     Monday morning I called and made an appointment for Tuesday morning. 
     Tuesday morning we left the house at 9:15 to make a 9:45 appt. When the Doctor came in the room to see us and we pulled off Silas shirt she was immediately concerned and asked if it had been that large when she examined him in November. I assured her it had not been and that it had just recently really gotten big. She did feel something that she could not identify and did some initial blood work (which was all normal). She sent us over to the hospital in Vidalia for an x-ray and asked us to wait until the radiologist looked at the x-ray before we came back to her office. We waited and then the doctor called me and said she was putting in an order for a CT scan because the x-ray was not enough to see what we were looking at. After the scan we went and got some lunch and headed back to the doctor's office. By this time it was nearly 2 PM. Silas took a short nap in my arms as the doctor came and told me she needed me to take Silas to the hospital in Savannah right away and if I didn't think I could drive she would order an ambulance. I knew right then that this was serious. I called Archie (my husband and Silas' daddy) and we found someone to stay with Granny (who we live with and care for) and Silas' 3 older brothers. I picked up Archie on the way to Savannah and we arrived in Savannah around 5:30 PM. We got checked in and after a couple of hours the Oncologist and the Surgeon came in to talk with us. 
    They told us that it looked like Hepatoblastoma (liver cancer) but that they had to do a biopsy to be sure. They said he also had some tiny spots on his lungs that were probably where the cancer started to spread. 
    Wednesday morning Silas had a biopsy and felt pretty lousy the rest of the days. The Oncologist came and talked with us about treatment options should the biopsy confirm what they suspected. Thursday came and went with no results. Friday morning the results were in. Stage IV Hepatoblastoma. Malignant tumor of the liver. 
    Friday evening we started chemo. So far no negative side effects but they said that may come later. The chemo will run for 24 hours and then he will probably need a blood transfusion because of anemia. and he should feel a lot better after that. We will take him home when he's feeling up to it in a couple of days and then come back for regular treatments every couple of weeks until the tumor is small enough to remove. Then a few more treatments after that to make sure everything is gone. 


After 7 rounds of chemo Silas has his tumor and 60% of his liver removed. The spots on his lungs completely disappeared with chemo alone! (and of course the Lord's healing hand!) The plan is to take a break for a while and then do a couple more rounds of chemo.


Our hope is not in doctors or nurses or hospitals or chemo or anything this world has to offer. Our hope is in the One who created Silas, the One who will heal him, the One who loves us and died for us. Our Hope is in the Lord God! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

Silas was completely healed on May 25th 2013 at 1:54 PM. The Lord took him home to Heaven. Just 10 days before he would have turned 5 years old. We miss him immensely and always will. 
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