Update from Laurie, April 7

Today was a busy day for us...Jack got sick this morning right as we pulled into the hospital, but within seconds he was back to his old self again. They say that the car causes motion sickness and we figured he would get sick to his stomach while going through chemo. He did great today at the clinic for his 3rd day of chemo. We had a meeting today with the Dr's to figure out his treatment plan and our little Jack has a tough road ahead of him, but we are still confident that he will pull through this like no other. We know there will be tough times and we are obviously dreading them, but we can only take it a day at a time and as of today...he is doing great. We are so proud of our little man. After we got home, he got sick again but instead of being upset about it, he actually told me that he was sorry for getting it on my shirt and asked if I wanted to change real quick. Funny how he thinks of everyone else while he is going through this.


We are so looking forward to this weekend and the shave-off at Loco on Saturday. We cannot wait to see some friends that we haven't seen in awhile and be able to support Jack's journey together. I am sure that we will be overwhelmed and I am sure I will be a bit of a mess that day, but I cannot wait. We are hoping that Jack will be able to come with us for a little bit, but we will not know until Friday if that will happen or not. If he can, we just have to make sure that he stays germ free while we are there. While we wish that he could be hugged and held and loved by all our friends and family, but that cannot happen right now. We hope that everyone understands that while he has the energy and strength of a "normal" 2 year old, his immune system disagrees. We have to keep him healthy and in our arms while we are there and I know that everyone will understand that.

We want to say thank you again to everyone who has pulled together this event for Saturday. You all know who you are and we are so very grateful. Hopefully we can do an event like this next year and raise some money for another family who is going through this. We love you all and thank you so very much...

Hi all, Stacey here.  Last night after Laurie and Jack got home from the hospital clinic, Jack asked me to go outside and bwow bubbles with him.  I cannot believe how full of life and energy he is.  It amazes me that children can be so resilient. 

And of course I get to stay with this little lump of yummy goodness all day long.  Braden is still doing quite well and continues to eat well and gain weight.  His condition is apparent when feeding him, as he seems to have a hard time mastering the swallow and breathe technique, but he's obviously getting by just fine judging the size of this little moose....

Update from Laurie, April 6, 2010

Day 2 has come and gone and Jack has done so well! He is still full of energy and hasn't been sick this time around. We are so happy that he is acting "normal" but wonder what he will be like when he is better...he will have so much energy that we are not sure we will be able to keep up with him! He spent some time today playing with another little girl around the same age as him and that was so cute! We w​ill post some pictures later after we download them. We really don't have too much to say since he is acting so great and responding so well! He will be doing a round of scans in the next couple of weeks to see how his body is reacting to the chemo so hopefully we will have a better idea of what is going on in his little body.


On to day 3...

Update from Laurie, April 5, 2010

Today was the 1st day of the second round of chemo and Jack did wonderful. He was in high spirits all day and as always..ful​l of energy. This was our first time doing chemo as outpatient and even though it was a long day at the clinic, it was so great to be able to bring him home at night. When his last iv was done, he yelled "we're outta here!" and as usual he told everyone that he was leaving to go and see his baby brother. I have no clue where he gets this energy from because I am totally drained after being there for almost 8 hours, but I am so happy he has it!

On to day 2...

First-hand update!

I arrived yesterday morning in Arizona to help out Laurie and Zac while Jack receives round 2 of his chemo treatments this week. 

Seriously folks, chemo is not what they are shooting into Jack's veins.  It's some type of super-powered energy hyper-freak out juice.  For sure.  To say that Jack is a ball of energy is a slight understatement.  He never stops running around.  He even hates to take time to pee!  He just runs and talks and plays and pretty much goes bonkers all day long.  His noise is music to our ears!  It's just got to be a great sign.  Laurie said that Jack's doctor came in mid-way through the treatment today and did another double take.  He asked Laurie if the drip had even started yet, and she said that he was already done with his first medicine and was getting ready to receive his second.  She said that the doctor smiled and shook his head, and told Laurie that, "He's so strong.  He's one special kid."  Yeah, tell us something we don't already know!  But it is so comforting hearing things like this from his doctor.

While Laurie and Jack were at the clinic today, I stayed here at the house taking care of Braden.  Braden is a little champ, I tell you.  His heart condition makes him fall asleep during feedings, but he still sucks down his entire bottle and is gaining weight at the rate of about a pound a week.  Which is great news. 

Watching Braden smile and blow bubbles and watching Jack run around the house a mile a minute, it's difficult to even imagine that both of them are sick.  But we take small victories as positive signs that all is well. 

Update from Laurie, April 2, 2010

After over a month of having my sister Nikki here to help with every little thing that we needed, she had to go home to Idaho today! Jack was a bit upset that she had to leave and kept asking her not to go as she tried to convince him that she could just fit him in her carry on and take him with her. We have been very lucky and we are very grateful for all the help we have had over the past month, but we want to say a special thank you to Nikki for all that she did for us. She instantly became Braden's second mommy and was up for anything that we needed. Jack loves having her around and I know he is looking forward to having her come back for the shave off next weekend. Thank you Nikki...we love you so very much! Now if only her and Shawn could move closer.......​


My other sister, Stacey, comes in town Sunday morning to visit and help us as Jack begins his second round of chemo on Monday morning. My brother-in-​law, Scott, will arrive on Wednesday as well so we are really looking forward to having them here! We will be in the clinic at PCH all week, but so happy that we get to go home at night. I pray that Jack makes it through this round as well as he did his last. As long as his levels are good, which the Dr's think that they will be, he will be making his bald headed appearance at the shave off on Saturday. He will only be able to be there for a short time...enou​gh time to shave off some hair and see some friends that he hasn't seen in awhile.

Plea​se keep your prayers coming...we are just at the beginning of this long road and we will take all the prayers and well wishes you can give!

"Yeah-Yeah-Yeah"

And now, the world premier video of Jack Morton and his back up singer, Aunt Nikki, singing their chart-topping hit, "Yeah-Yeah-Yeah".  Please forgive the cell video quality, this is a bootlegged copy...

As you can clearly (well, not so clearly) see, Jack is feeling great!  And isn't he just stylin' in his new slick 'do??  I especially love the outfit he chose to perform in.  Pants are totally overrated.

I will be hopping on a plane Sunday morning and I am so excited to see the little rock star in person. And to meet Porky Pig Braden for the first time!  I will be overloading the blog with pictures and updates, as I'll be there first hand!

Monday is the start of round two of Jack's chemotherapy, but as you all remember it's going to be outpatient!!  Woo Hoo!!  This hopefully means lots of demand performances in the kitchen, as seen above.  I can only hope and pray that he breezes through this treatment as well as he did the first round.  Jackers - you truly are a rock star!!

Oh, and say a quick pretty please prayer.  Laurie may have found a great house for them to move to that's much closer to the hospitals and both of the boys' doctors.  It will be such a relief to get out of their tiny temporary condo and back into a real house with room to play and a grassy backyard.