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Photopheresis therapy week one |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
5/29/2008 9:02 PM
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Hilton Head was absolutely wonderful – good for all of our souls. The boys made quite a commotion the first time they went out to the beach and saw the ocean. Everyone in their near vicinity got to share in the excitement. Justy was fearless and ran right into the water. Jacob was a bit more reserved about the ocean but warmed up to it as a little time passed.
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Day +534 |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
5/23/2008 11:41 AM
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Short update: Tuesday's surgery went well and JT now has a "Mickey button" instead of a G-tube. It's much less obtrusive and he seems to like it. It's a little loose, so if it doesn't tighten up as it heals they may replace it with the next size smaller next week. His infusions also went well and everything is still a go to start photopheresis next Wednesday. We leave this afternoon for South Carolina - the boys are really stoked and we look forward to seeing their faces when they first see the beach. JT has a wardrobe of high-tech sun protection gear he's anxious to try out. I'm aware that this is the furthest away we've been since he was born: the nearest major hospital to where we'll be staying is 2 1/2 hours away. We have a letter of introduction but please pray that we won't have to use it. It would be gr ...
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Day +526 |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
5/15/2008 3:30 PM
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Jodi and JT were in Cincinnati yesterday and the treatment picture is finally coming into focus…
The last month has been a difficult one for us. Between the preparations, the delays, the mixed messages, and the last-minute cancellations, we’ve had ample time to ponder the proverb, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.” Our hopes have been on hold and it seemed like we might never get through.
Finally, yesterday, both good news and a plan for going forward. Hallelujah!
Starting with the i ...
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Day +519 (update by Jodi) |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
5/8/2008 6:33 PM
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Sorry I'm not posting until now.
We really didn't get any new information at our visit on Wednesday. JT's infusions went well. Dr. Filipovich came in and thought his skin looked markedly better than two weeks ago when she last saw him. She also offered her sincere apologies for the miscommunication/s surrounding the photopherisis therapy. She promised to get to the bottom of it all by next week and have a solid time frame of when we can expect to begin.
Thank you all for your continued support.
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Day +516 (update by jodi) |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
5/5/2008 5:54 AM
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Just wanted to post to let everyone know that I won't have more information today. Dr. Filipovich won't be back in the country until Wednesday now. JT and I will be going to Cincy on Wednesday for his regular infusions so we'll just meet with her then. I'll try to post again Wednesday evening when we get back to Pennsylvania. If I'm too exhausted, first thing Thursday morning.
Thank you all for sharing this amazing journey with us.
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Day +512 (update by jodi) |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
5/1/2008 7:36 PM
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Hi everyone-it's been awhile since you've heard from me. I'm taking over the blog entries while JT and I are in Cincinnati. The funny thing is, we're not actually in Cincinnati as was the plan.
Here's the skinny...
On Tuesday, three hours before JT and I were set to leave for Cincinnati for the two weeks of light therapy, I got a phone call from one of the Bone Marrow Attending doctors telling me that they were not ready for us for the therapy. I couldn't believe my ears. JT and I were all packed, our lodging for Cincinnati was all set and kind, willing babysitters for Justice were all in place. The doctor said they were unsure as to when they would be ready, but to hang tight and wait for the Nurse Practitioner to call. After the initial shock wore off I had to get busy making several phone calls, changing all those nicely made plans.
We still left that day at 3: ...
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Day +504 |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
4/24/2008 8:08 PM
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It’s been a busy week and a half, especially as we look at separating the family again next week, so that’s my excuse for allowing so much time to pass before updating the blog…
Surgery for JT’s new port went well last week – the most brutal part was the 12 hours of no food or drink before the anesthesia. We were thankful that Dr. Garcia was able to do the procedure – some doctors, you just trust.
They left the port accessed for his now more-frequent IV steroid infusions. Last week he was having mobility issues again; he couldn’t straighten out one arm and left it bent at 90 degrees across his chest, sometimes holding it with the other arm. I got a little worked up, actually calling the hospital three times during his appointment to voice my belief that the doctors needed to step up his treatment plan. They agreed (because ...
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Day +490 |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
4/10/2008 1:48 PM
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My apologies for the delayed update: in my defense, we’ve had a couple false starts and I didn’t want to write until things had shaken out. They took a long time to shake out.
Anyway – here it is. JT continues to eat a little bit each day. In fact, he’s up to 15 Cheerios six times a day. For him, this is huge and represents enormous progress and good hope for the future. He also kicked the viral infection. No more D and V; for that we are relieved and very grateful.
His skin, however, is no better. At times we believe it’s even getting worse as the severity ebbs and flows.& ...
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Day +478 |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
3/29/2008 7:19 PM
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Home! JT was released from the hospital on Friday afternoon and both he and Jodi were here to greet me when I returned from my class late last night. It was great to see them.
JT is skinny but I was relieved to see him in high spirits.
Jodi is following a nutritional plan for him, slowing increasing his feeds until he’s taking in more and more calories through the G-tube. His D and V episodes are sporadic – we hope that they’ll subside soon so that he can get back on track. In other news, he has recently swallowed a few dry Cheerios, which is huge for him. We do the “swallow dance” and he’s very proud of his progress. This is a journey of baby steps and we celebrate each one.
Jodi and the boys are over at camp tonight and I miss ‘em. I wrap up the gradua ...
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Day +475 |
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The cure4treebeard Blog
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By Daddy on
3/26/2008 5:37 PM
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Jacob is back in the hospital. Let me fill in the gaps from the last time that I updated the blog…
It’s been a rough week and a half since I last wrote. Justy was sick for 3-4 days and bounced right back, jolly the whole time. JT started with the D and V and it hasn’t stopped.
I took him to the hospital last week and our trip was a decent one. We had to stop 4 times during the drive down for D + V issues but the good news once we got there was that his liver numbers had improved to such an extent that Dr. Filipovich cancelled the consult with the liver doctors. Sweet.
Easter was low-key. The four of us celebrated Good Friday with a few holes of Frisbee Golf at Moraine State Park. The unexpected snow was a hit and we took advantage of it to make one last big snow fort in the yard. On ...
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Raise money for the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias simply by clicking your mouse! GoodSearch.com (powered by yahoo.com) is donating money to charities for use of their search engine. To use it, install the GoodSearch toolbar to the top of your browser screen and then type in the charity (National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias) and then search as you would on Google.com or Yahoo.com. The NFED gets a monetary donation for every search! The more folks that know about this, the greater the donation to NFED, and hence the more money there is to fund research on Jacob's condition and others like his. Thank you!
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