Jessica's Facebook Post 8-11

Brandon I have a lot of huge decissions to make since meeting with the oncologist on Thursday this week. We also met with the surgeon. The surgeon wants to go ahead and remove the lymphnode in Braden's neck, however this does not come without risks. Because the tumor is embeded behind the collar bone...

, it leads to nerves that are attached to Braden's arm. This could lead to nerve damage. There is also the risk of uncontrolled bleeding. Neuroblastoma is one of those tumors that can bleed really easily and it can be hard to stop. When we met with the oncologist, he said that we have two options to chose from. Either do 6 rounds of intense chemotherapy which would lead to stem cell transplant, more blood transfussions, more platlet transfussions and a very sick litte boy. He also said that he has lost patients due to the high doses of toxicity that it causes in your body. The other option we have is the wait and see what happens. We would follow up with scans every 3 months. The risk with this is that we are not sure if the cancer will spread somewhere else and if it went to his brain or lungs it would probably not be treatable. The other factor that we have to take into account is that, the oncologist is not certain the intense chemo will shrink the tumor. Becuase Braden's tumor is so mature, it may be hard to shrink. We have a CT scan on Monday and we are hoping that this will give us some answers to help us make our decission. Our hope is that the tumor has shrunk on its own! We continue to pray the God will give us an answer Loud and Clear so that we know which path to take.
We also found out that St. Jude does not accept patients who have already had treatment elsewhere. They do however give advise to doctors ,after looking over Braden's scans and records, St. Jude advises to do intense chemo along with CHOP and New York.

Jessica's Facebook Post Today

I found out the decision of St. Jude yesterday, they say intense chemo just like Philadelphia and NewYork. Braden's oncologist here at Scottishrite is still on the fence about treating B that way because B does not act like a stage four cancer patient. He had tons of energy and acts like a normal two year old:) with intense chemo comes stem cell transplants, and antibody therapy and a lot of sickness!!! We will talk further tomorrow when we meet with the surgeon at Scottishrite. Our doctor has also suggested that we take B to CHOP in philadelphia to see Dr. Mossei so that she can see him in person. She is the doc. That sets the protocols for kids with neuroblastoma. Lots of prayers needed that we make the right decision for Braden. I feel so much pressure that I'm not going to make the right decision. Why can't the doctors agree?? It would make things so much easier, but I am glad that our doctor is not rushing into things. He wants to do what is right for B, not just what it looks like on paper. We will be having a CT soon, hopefully next week to see what has happened during this waiting period. This should also give us some answers. If nothing has changed then this might tell us that we don't need intense Chemo and can just watch it. Please continue to pray with us'

A Post from Jess today on Facebook

Just an update. I just talked to St. Jude Children's hospital. Braden is being presented on the board at St. Jude on Wednesday to dicuss if he is a canidate. Please pray that these doctors will come up with a good plan for Braden. These past two months have been a mix of emotions. It has been wonderful to see Braden not have to go through treatments and just be a normal two year old, however I have been worried about what is happening inside his little body without any treatments. I am just putting my trust in God that he is healing our baby during this waiting period. Please continue to pray with us.

Hard Rock Benefit on July 21st

There will be a BLESSINGS FOR BRADEN benefit next Saturday, July 21st at Hard Rock Cafe, Atlanta Ga. Doors open at 7:00 and bands start at 8:00. $10 cover charge. Hope to see you there!

Jessica's FB post 7-5

Tomorrow we head to Eggleston for Braden to have a PET scan . This will determine what part of the tumor is benign and melignant and if there has been any change with Chemo. We pray for all benign tumor. We also pray that the contrast goes down easily. This time it has to mixed with water. It cannot be mixed with anything with sugar. Also, please say a prayer as my baby will have to be put a...sle...ep again. This is the most scary part of everything he has been through. I hate him having to be put to sleep. Please pray for a fast recovery from his sleep. Last time he was put to sleep his oxygen level did not go up well and they had to give him oxygen. Very scary!! We know that God will hold Braden in his hands tomorrow as He has done always. We are so thankful and blessed to have so many prayer warriors

Jessica's Post 6-28

Braden's CT is scheduled for 10am tomorrow. We have to be there at 7:30am for him to drink contrast and be put to sleep. Please pray that everything goes smoothly. Last time we had a hard time getting him to drink the contrast. Please pray that he drinks it well so that we can get the best pictures possible. I also ask for big prayers that the scans will be clear! Thank you

Jessica's Facebook post 6-27

So we were sent home from clinic with no chemo today. Dr. George( the oncologist) came in and said that he has been talking to doctors in NewYork and basically there have only been two cases in the last 25 years that are close to the way Braden's tumor is presenting. We are going to go ahead with scans hopefully this week and next and see where to go from there. They are not sure if chemo is helpi...ng because his tumor is so slow growing. We will probably have surgery, but we pray that the scans are clear and miraculously the tumor is gone! I will keep u updated when we know scans are scheduled. We are relying soley on God to heal Braden and we also pray for guidance for the doctors as they rack their brains to try and figure out treatment plans for Braden.