A Walk Down Memory Lane

I have been wanting to take the time to make a post to show all the changes Jack has gone through physically since March of 2005 when he was diagnosed with a baseball sized brain tumor. His body has been through so much, his spirit has stayed strong except for when the medicine took over last year while he was on steroids. He is a tough young man.

This first picture was taken right before he was diagnosed. He was in the last 90 days of his kindergarten year at school.


I took this picture several weeks after his brain surgery. He was in the midst of posterior fossa syndrome at this time. He couldn't speak or eat which is why he has the feeding tube. We stayed at Our Children's House in Dallas for about a month until Jack could eat again.


This was taken while Jack was in chemo. He had had his port inserted by this time, you can see the scar below his collar bone, and the scar on his head where the shunt was put in for a couple of weeks after his brain surgery. (this pic doesn't show the shunt area). He is also dealing with ptosis at this time which is the name for eye lid droop. The chemo causes alot of muscles to just kind of drop out and not work properly. Jack's flat feet got flatter, and his eyes drooped. The eyes went back to normal, but Jack's feet are flatter than an inverted pancake today. Can you say arch support? ; )


This picture was taken while we were in Orlando, Florida on Jack's Make A Wish Trip to Disneyworld. We stayed at a great Make A Wish property called Give Kids The World Village. It was a dream trip for Jack and my other two kids. What a blessing.


After Jack's Gamma Knife Radiation treatment in March of 2007, six weeks after the procedure, Jack's brain started dangerously swelling from all the radiation. His face became paralyzed and after taking him to the local ER and then transported to Dallas Children's he was put on high doses of steroids. The steroids quickly helped the brain swelling get under control, but wreaked havoc with his physical, emotional and mental self. You can see the difference physically, what it did to him mentally was cause him to turn within himself. He could not interact with others easily. He lived in a little shell for almost a year. Books were his refuge. During this time he had his 2nd eye surgery to correct the eye from turning in which was caused by the brain swelling, and he underwent Hyperbaric treatments at the hospital 5 days a week for about 3 months each morning. The Hyperbaric was to help the healing happen quickly and efficiently in his brain.


And now here is the picture I took a month or so ago for our family's Christmas Card. He is back to himself again, still has right side facial paralysis, we are continuing to ask God to heal that, but we are overwhelmed that Jack is doing so well and couldn't be more content to look upon him with amazed and enamoured eyes just grateful that we can walk through our days together.


Jack has touched many lives with his courageous spirit, not the least of all mine. Seeing how Jack faced 3 years of treatments and an unknown future with a smile, it has allowed me to grab onto life and face each day with a smile and a desire to make the most of each day given. I am grateful for all the prayers of our friends, family and blog readers who have been our greatest cheerleaders. God heard each prayer, and we are eternally grateful for your part in Jack's life.