Latest Update

Jayson had a long and traumatic day yesterday.  His fever returned during Monday night and he began coughing.  He had a negative reaction to the plasma that he received.  His blood pressure went down to a critical level.  He was immediately surrounded by a team of doctor and nurses. His situation was quickly evaluated. Medication was given to help his blood pressure. It was determined that he was retaining a lot of fluids and there was fluid in his lungs which made it harder to breath. He also had a high amount of  white blood cells (mostly immature cells). This increased the risk of Jayson having a stroke. Therefore, they needed to take out most of these cells through a procedure called leukapherisis.  In order to do this a central line was put in on his neck to access the blood.

As they treated Jayson, the doctors noticed that he had a harder time breathing even with an oxygen mask. They also noticed that he was very tired and becoming less and less responsive.  They put a CPAP machine to help his breathing and it was quickly decided that a breathing tube had to be placed in his mouth.  The doctor discussed the reason and the risks involved with this procedure with us.  She also emphasized that its possible that this would be the last time we were able to interact with Jayson while he was alert.  So, we discussed the procedure with Jayson along with the risk of death due to complications while placing the tube. We asked him what he wanted to do and his decision was to proceed with it.  Henry, Justin, Kristen, Grandpa  and I each had a chance to talk to  him before they sedated him. We told him we loved him, we'll be praying for him and we'll be by his side as soon as the procedure was complete.  I also told him that if it was time for him to go and he was no longer able to fight his disease that we gave him permission to let go.  We told him not to worry about us and that God is with him. We prayed over him and he told us "I love you." At about 12:30 p.m. they began the procedure.

The actual procedure went smoothly.  But soon after that, the oxygen level going  in his body was going down.  So they had to increase the pressure in his lungs to help push more of the liquid and blood out of his lungs.  They were able to stabilize him but at a high amount of pressure.  This has caused additional complications.  His heart has had to work harder to get blood into his lungs and body.  The doctors didn't want his lungs to be doing a lot work and so they paralyzed his body and they are doing the breathing for him.

At about 2:00 p.m. the leukapherisis was started.  It took about 3 hours, but Jayson reacted positively to the procedure.  His white blood count went from about 127,000 to 17,000. The nurses were expecting the reduction to be about 50%, so this decreased was more substantial.  I know that God played a major role in this.

Father Spencer, a chaplain here at the hospital, came by to anoint him with  healing oil.  He also confirmed him and sealed him the holy spirit.  We're comforted in knowing that his sins have been forgiven and God will welcome him in his due time.  He was also given his last rites, extreme unctions.

In the evening, it was confirmed that Jayson did have Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in his bone marrow. He now had two rare form cancers in his body that he had to battle and be treated for. After a discussion with Jayson's oncologists, we decided to go ahead and proceed with the chemo treatment. They started the treatment after the leukapherisis was completed.

At about 4:30 p.m. one of his doctors talked to us about what was going on.  Her immediate goal was to help reduce the fluids in his lungs.  She discussed all the complications Jayson was facing and the data she had did not look good.  Her goal was to try keep Jayson alive for the next 12 hours.  This news tore our hearts. Even though we didn't want to hear it, we needed to hear it.  We had to know the truth and face reality.

Soon after this, we gathered the many family and friends who came to be with us to a room that the hospital staff had prepared for us.  It was right next to Jayson's room and the two rooms were separated by only glass windows and door.  So our friends and family were able to see him through the glass. We shared the sad, painful news and the challenges that lay ahead for Jayson. It was tough to hear and even harder to accept what was happening, but everyone just pulled strength and comfort from one another and from our heavenly Father.

Jayson's friends from his youth group (YFC-Youth for Christ) came to visit him along with many of our friends and extended family.  It was hard for them to see Jayson with a tube in his mouth and so lifeless. Tears were shed, hugs were shared and words of encouragement to Jayson were given. Since he was paralyzed from the neck down, his eyebrows was his only way of communicating with us. We'd ask him questions and told him to raise his eyebrows if he heard us.  Many times he did. He responded well when we were talking to him about video games and when his young cousins, Andrew and Matthew, were talking to him via phone about helping them beat a video game.

His friends sang songs of worship to him for about an hour.   His friend, Taryn, couldn't be here, so she was called and she sang a song and played a guitar for Jayson.  We could see his quick reaction to her singing as he kept raising his eyebrows and I could see his eyes smiling.  After the singing, we prayed over Jayson and many were able to spend some one-on-one time with him.  Most family and friends left by 1 a.m., but a handful slept at the hospital.  We were fortunate that the hospital staff gave us 2 rooms to stay in.

Jayson is currently stable.  He made it through the first 12 hours, but he has a long way to go. He's still retaining a lot of fluid in his body and the doctors are trying to reduce this gradually. His vitals look good, he's rested and he's making small improvements.  He's headed in the right direction. Praise God!

The Lord continues to pour his blessings upon us.  He continues to strengthen and comfort us.  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  God bless us all.