Nov. 18, 2008

I know you all would rather be reading Jake's cancer blog, but since he hasn't blogged in some time, I thought I would start a blog to keep you updated on his progress. For those of you that don't know, Jake came to Johnny's and my home in Fort Worth on Friday, Nov. 14th from Harris Southwest Hospital where he had been for almost a week. He entered the hospital on Saturday, November 8th after attending his 2nd Annual Softball Tournament Fund Raiser for approximately an hour. He was not eating because of almost constant nausea and frequent vomiting. How he sat at the tournament for an hour is beyond me. His strength was unbelievable considering how weak he was. While in the hospital, Jake slowly lost the use of his legs. He still has pain in them, but he is now unable to stand on his own. He continues to show the Jake spirit though and doesn't complain very often about his predicament. Johnny is working from home and is able to help Jake throughtout the day with his needs and wants. Johnny's mom is also staying with us and she is a blessing to us in so many ways. I continue to teach during the day then come home and help out in the evenings and at night as much as I can. Johnny continues to take Jake to the doctor for radiation treatments on the 12 cancer lesions in his brain. At this writing, Jake has 5 radiation treatments left. Their intent is to give Jake a better quality of life and to give him more time with us. We know eventually he will succumb to the cancer, but we treasure each minute of every day.
I will try to keep everyone updated on Jake through this blog. Please know that your prayers are lifting us up and that we would not be doing as well as we are without them. Please pray for Jake to be comfortable and free from pain as much as possible. It's amazing what prayers can do. They may not have cured him of cancer, but they give all of us strength and comfort.

Carolyn/Mom