What Lies Ahead

At 1:30 this afternoon (Thurs, Sept. 19th), we had a meeting with Jayson's doctors and nurses to discuss his condition and plans for the next few days.  In the meeting were Henry & I, my brother Jerry, Uncle Noel Rivera (Deacon and family friend), Dr. McManaman (Jay's oncologist), Dr. Eyzaguirre (Jay's Internist), Jason (charge nurse), Heather (social worker) and Denise (nurse).  Dr. Eyzaguirre reviewed what's happened the last 12 days that he's been in the hospital.  He went over his current condition and also went over the unsuccessful first attempt in extubation (removal of breathing tube) this past Monday.  He described the unexpected clot obstruction that came up during the procedure and their plan to prevent it from happening again.  For now, they will attempt another extubation on Monday (Sept. 23) morning.  Please pray that it will be successful this time around.

During this meeting, Dr. Eyzaguirre shared the result of the CT scan from this morning.  There is no evidence of hemorrhaging. The one area that had increased in size in scan #2 looks like it's remained the same or even shrunk a little.  During this CT scan, his oncologist requested a scan of his upper body.  The result of this shows there is some type of solid in the bottom of his lungs. They are not sure what it is. One possibility is that it is an infection, but whatever it is, it can be a potential problem.

His oncologist, Dr. McManaman, reported that based on the tests that were done, his Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is due to the chemotherapy treatment he received for the Aveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer. The chemotherapy drug transformed his normal cells to abnormal cells.  He is completing the first round of treatment for the AML.  It will take about a month to recover from this treatment for a person who only has AML. Since Jayson has Rhabdomyosarcoma also, it may take longer than that. According to Dr. McManaman, the goal for the AML treatment is to get him into remission, but not to cure him. She wanted to emphasize that to make sure Henry and I understood what lies ahead.  She also made it clear that if this first round of chemo is successful and he goes into remission, there is still the original cancer to be dealt with. They are unable to treat both cancer at the same time because his body will not be able to tolerate all the drugs in his system.

The bottom line is, Jayson has an uphill battle, the odds are against him.  He could be transfusion dependent for the rest of his life. He will most likely be in the hospital most of the time.  We would be very fortunate if he was well enough to go home once again.

All of this information was overwhelming and emotionally hard to take. We are still trying to comprehend and accept all that we were told. But we will remain hopeful and trust that the Lord will do what is best for Jayson.  We pray that Henry & I will make the right decision when the time comes and will be at peace with that decision.  For now, I pray that we get another opportunity to talk to Jayson, to see him smile at us, play his guitar, play video games with his friends, give gaming tips to his cousins and bond with his siblings. More importantly, we want to have the opportunity to show him how much we love him and to tell him how proud we are of his courage, strength and his determination to live.

I'll end this post by sharing today's scripture:

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 

I will fear no evil, for you are with me, 

your rod and your staff, they comfort me." 

(Psalm 23:4, NIV)