I have been hesitant to ask for prayers and knew that when the time was right I would do this.
Back in May our 21 year old son Jack was at college and complaining he wasn't feeling well. He said he had stomach pain and thought that he ate something bad at school since it was the end of the year and assumed they were feeding them expired food. Jack had never done drugs or smoked or drank. He would not so much as take tylenol. But now he was taking tylenol a few times a day. I knew something was awry. Thankfully his school is only 1 1/2 hrs from our home. I made a doctor's appt. for him and we brought him home. That day he had a CT scan, MRI, Blood tests and a physical exam. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer. My husband had in five years ago but to a lesser degree and had his testicle removed and underwent radiation. My husband's brother had it when he was 21 (like Jack) and he had his testicle removed and chemo and another "RPLND" surgery. He is fine today.
Jack had the left testicle removed at the end of May. The tumor spread to a lymph node near the kidney which is why he was experiencing stomach and back pain. Jack has been having chemo treatments since June. He was supposed to start Monday June 15th but contracted the H1N1 flu so they gave him five days of chemo in four days that first week. Two weeks after that I had to take him to the local emergency room because of a fever of 100.5. White blood cells were extremely low. He was to begin another week of chemo that Monday but when we got there, they didn't want to do it because the white count was still low and he had lost weight. Weight gain is a whole other problem for Jack and always has been. When he started the chemo he has 127lbs at 5'8" and that was two months of trying to gain weight. Now he is about 119lbs and his already unhealthy appetite is diminished from chemo and a hundred other drugs. Anyway, chemo was postponed another week. All the while he has continued to complain of back pain which we expected to go away after the first round of chemo. This past thursday he went to see the doctor and complained once again about the back pain. The doctor sent him for another CT scan to put everyone's mind at ease. My husband and son were one their way home when the doctor called them back to the hospital. When the got there the doctor and a surgeon were waiting for them. The tumor had grown to a size larger than Jack's kidney. This we were told was very unusual and rare. The tumor is a mix of cells and one part is called "teratoma" this portion of the tumor is resistant to chemo and radiation and is benign which we knew from the start but it rarely grows. We knew that this portion of the tumor would have to be removed after four chemo treatments. They do the chemo to shrink the tumor and kill off the malignant cells thereby making the RPLND surgery less risky.
Jack is scheduled to have this surgery on Wednesday. It's four hours and besides the usual risks of all surgery there is the risk of damaging the nerves that could make him sterile and damaging the kidney in which case they would have to remove it. Please pray for a most successful surgery possible. Out of all three of my children, Jack has been the least trouble. His positive attitude has been a blessing for the rest of us but with this latest setback, I can see that his spirit is dying.
For me, besides watching your child suffer, it's been extremely difficult to watch a drug free, healthy person-- (and I mean not so much as a cold) go to a severely sick and drug-poisoned person. I hate the chemo, I absolutely hate bringing my child to the brink of death to save his life. I am terribly frightened of what God has in store for me next. I cry at the thought of the possibilities. Although God has given us the strength to endure this process, and I know He will continue to do so with whatever happens next, I can't help but feel weak in the knees. I fear the Lord who is in control of all things.
I have been so long-winded about all this and have not even gone into what a good and decent human being God has made my Jack. He is often a gold nugget in a sea of coal and I am so grateful to have him in our lives. I could not ask for a better son. Although he hates BT because he thinks I am involved in a cult, I can see that God is working through Jack to perfect him and others.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support.
Eileen
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Topic: I hesitate to ask (Read 20573 times)