Friday, April 16, 2010

Fever, Platelets, and Hope

The past few days have been met with mixed emotions and events.  Cash developed a cold and had a low to mid-grade fever on Tuesday and Wednesday.  He was very irritated and could only sleep 15-20 minutes at a stretch before waking up - On Wednesday night his fever peaked at 100.7, which is .3 degrees under an immediate trip to the emergency room and a hospital stay for 3 days.  We were so thankful it didn't rise that evening and it went away on Wednesday afternoon.

I took him in for labs Thursday and even though he had platelets and blood on Monday, he needed more platelets.  That definitely helped his as he had a great day today, which you will see shortly in a few videos below.  Aunt Laura (and Olivia) helped keep him busy the past few days and he spent a majority of the day crawling around, looking for trouble.

Tonight Wendi and I noticed something that was remarkable - maybe we stare at Cash all of the time but tonight his eyes were looking to the left.  That may not mean much if you are a new visitor to the blog, but the #1 indicator to the doctors that something was wrong back in February was his inability to look left.  Look at these two videos (keep in mind he's very tired but watch his eyes):



Here's another one:



It may seem like a small gesture, but it is a small victory nonetheless.  We're hoping and believing the chemo is doing its job, stopping the tumor from growing and potentially helping it shrink.  We'll find out exactly what is happening inside his head on Monday when we have the MRI (@12:30).  I will post more as soon as we find out the results of that MRI.  In the meantime, we're making plans to take Cash down to MD Anderson for Proton Beam Therapy (radiation) - God has opened the doors for us through a former LC Grad and we're continuing to trust Him and walk with Him.

The last video is Cash laughing at his brother - he almost loses his breath he laughs so hard...



Over the past few months I have noticed something changing in me which I shared with Wendi tonight: I love my children more now than I did before Cash got sick and take time to enjoy the little moments - I can only imagine, based on the love I have of my kids, how much more God loves us (His kids). His love is amazing and I'm thankful to have just a small part of that love for my babies.

Thank you for your support and keep praying!!!!!!!

12 comments:

  1. Celebrating this victory with you...the chemo must be working! :) It was great to see Cash laughing at Jack Jr. Thanks for sharing these moments with us.

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  2. Very, very cool!! We are celebrating this small victory with you as well and praying for good news after the MRI. Sending you thoughts, prayers, & our love. :)

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  3. Special celebration for the Parriera's!!! Love the good news.
    Continued prayers for Cash.
    Love you all,
    Tia Margie and Uncle Manuel

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  4. Wilma Parriera (VaVa)April 17, 2010 at 11:28 AM

    I toooooooo am squealing with delight! Can't wait to take care of him next week. I love you all. Mom

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  5. Jack & Wendi -
    Our prayers are with your whole family. its wonderful to get some good news - we rejoice with you.

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  6. Just letting you know that our prayers continue with you & miracles do happen.

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  7. Jackie and Wendi...isn't it wonderful to find just a small little HUGE blessing. The chemo must be doing what it was intended to do. And to see him laughing so hard at Jack just does a heart good! Lots of love and prayers are going out to you...all of you! Auntie Ine

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  8. AWESOME NEWS!! :) What a JOY to hear Cash laugh! We are PRAYING!!!!!!

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  9. I loved these videos. What a blessing to see this incredible progress. Those beautiful eyes!!! Jack, what you wrote about this creating greater love for your children is so touching. Cash has reminded all of us following this journey of what matters most in life. Wendi, it was so wonderful seeing you today. Someone at the event today leaned in and whispered to me "there is no one out there like Wendi" and I had to blink away tears watching you across the room because it's so true! You are such a dear and special person. Sending lots of love and encouragement from our house to yours tonight. xo, Sarah

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  10. what an amazing accomplishment!!! This is fabulous news! Can't wait to hear what the MRI shows! Keep up the good work!
    Love, Chris

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