Test Results............

Just want to let everybody know that Dylan's test results came back this week for his testosterone.  His levels are within NORMAL RANGE-----------PRAISE GOD!  They were on the low end of normal, but for now everything is good!   YEAH!
Dylan spent this week trying out for the Andrew Lewis Middle School Basketball team.  He did wonderful, he made the first cut......YEAH!  But then today was the final cut and he did not make it.  : (
We told Dylan not to worry about it, that he did great, and he can try again next year.  We did sign him up for the Rec team, so he will be able to play for them.  I told Dylan playing for rec. is not as stressful and he can improve his skills for tryouts next year.

God Bless You All!

News on Dylan...........

First let me apologize for the lateness of this post!!!!!!!
There is a very good reason I will tell you about after Dylan's update.

We went to Duke on 9/11-9/13/12, Dylan had his MRI and his visit with the neurosurgeon.  The MRI came back EXCELLENT, no new growth and NO CANCER!   PRAISE GOD!  The visit with the neurologist was just as good, so the Oncologist did not need to see us, and the neurologist told us we can start coming once a year instead of twice a year.......YEAH!  Dylan has grown SO MUCH......he is 5"5' (my height) and weighs 115lbs, he is getting so big!!! He reminds Mike and I how tall he is everyday!


We had to re-schedule Dylan's appointment's with the neuro-psychologist, and his endocrinologist because we had to come back home unexpectedly.  We found a great Pediatric Endocrinologist here in Roanoke, so we re-scheduled Dylan's appointment with her.  Dylan is still taking Hydrocortisone tablets for his cortisol insufficiency and has not had any issues with that.  However, for several weeks, he had been complaining of his body getting REALLY HOT, on the inside of his body.  These "hot flashes" do not last very long, however, we did tell the doctor about it at his appointment.  Dylan saw her a couple weeks ago, here in Roanoke, and she drew all his labs that are normally done at Duke, and she did an exam on him.  
We thought everything went well with his appointment, then we got a phone call this past week about Dylan's labs.  The doctor told us that everything looked good, EXCEPT Dylan's testosterone levels were low.  The doctor told us to bring Dylan back to get an 8am lab drawn so she could see his levels with that.  She said if it comes back below normal, that he will have to start getting injections of testosterone.  We took him this past Friday to get his blood drawn, most likely we will hear something this coming up week.  We are praying that it comes back normal, I just hate for him to have to start getting injections on top of already taking medication 3 times a day, he has been through so much, PLEASE PRAY WITH US!

The reason we had to come back from Duke early is because we got some VERY DISTURBING NEWS about me.  I had been very sick for a month, and unable to work.  After being hospitalized here in Salem, and seeing a few doctors here, I was told that I had something in my brain in "the pineal region", however, nobody locally could help me.  So, I made an appointment with the top adult neurosurgeon at Duke, and I saw him while we were there for Dylan, on 9/11/12.  The "PINEAL GLAND" is the same location that Dylan had his cancerous brain tumor!!!!!!!  When I saw the doctor at Duke, he looked at my MRI and told me there was a tumor mass in "the pineal region", however, he could not tell if it was cancerous or not. After we talked about my symptoms that I had been having for a month, and what Dylan's diagnoses and treatments were, the doctor recommended that I have surgery, THE SAME EXACT SURGERY THAT DYLAN HAD AT DUKE IN NOVEMBER, 2010............WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, I had brain surgery on October 1, 2012 at Duke.  I don't want to fill this website with my issues, so if anybody would like to read and follow my story, PLEASE go to my CaringBridge site: 

Site Address:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/kerryprater

Site Name:

kerryprater

PLEASE pray with us for normal labs for Dylan, we should get results this week, and I will post as soon as we find out.

Thank you ALL for following Dylan's story, and ALL your prayers and support!

Kerry Prater 

Another Duke visit.............

It's Time Again...............


Well Dylan started school this past week, and he is doing great so far!  He has not had any physical issues lately, which is good.  He has been playing soccer, and has his first game tomorrow.  

We will travel to Duke next week for Dylan's follow-up appointments.  On the first day, he will have an MRI, see his neurosurgeon, and see his oncologist, this will be a LONG day.  The second day he has a four hour appointment with the neuro-psychologist, this is just to make sure he does not have any learning deficits for school.  The third day he will see his Endocrinologist, this will be to check all his glands, make sure his medication is working properly, and make sure he is growing as expected.

We do not expect anything abnormal to show up, and we pray that the cancer has not returned!  PLEASE pray with us that all of Dylan's appointments go well and for continued good health for him.
I will send updates as I can while we are there.

We want to sincerely thank everyone for their continued support and prayers for our family.

May God Bless You ALL!

Prater Family

Pediatric Brain Tumors

                                    

Facts about pediatric brain tumors  (THESE ARE REAL & VERY TRUE!)

•Each year 4,200 more children—11.5 each day—are diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor in the U.S.
•72 percent of children diagnosed with a brain tumor are younger than 15.2

•Brain tumors are the deadliest form of childhood cancer. Some tumors, such as atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors and some brain stem gliomas, have survival rates of less than 20 percent.

•Non-malignant/benign brain tumors can kill children if their location in the brain prevents surgical removal or other curative treatments.

•There are 130 different types of brain tumors, making diagnosis and treatment very difficult.

•More than 612,000 people in the U. S. were living with a diagnosis of a primary brain or central nervous system tumor in the United States in 2004.  Of this number, approximately 28,000 were children with a primary brain tumors.

•Pediatric brain tumors aren’t like those in adults. Children’s brain tumors require specific research and different treatments.

•Even though survival rates for some childhood brain tumors have increased over the past 30 years, survivors often suffer from lifelong side effects of treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

•Brain tumors are located in children’s control center of thought, emotion and movement, often resulting in long-term side effects. Survivors can have physical, learning and emotional challenges that will limit the quality of their lives into adulthood.

•Research that focuses specifically on pediatric brain tumors is crucial to saving children’s lives and improving survivors’ quality of life.

It's Been A While.............

Just want to let everybody know how Dylan is doing.  It's been about 4 months since I posted an update, lots to tell.  Dylan has grown so much, he is 5" 4' and weighs 115lbs, I can't keep him in clothes he is growing so fast! At least his pituitary gland has not been affected from the radiation, since he is growing so much......praise God!  He is still taking his medication for the cortisol insufficiency, and I ordered him a medic alert bracelet that he wears all the time.

He participated in a basketball and soccer camp this summer, he plays basketball in our driveway almost everyday and he is playing soccer right now with the 12-14 yr-old kids.  I get a little nervous about this because the older boys seem to be more aggressive than the younger ones.  We decided to let him play, but we told the coach no goalie position, no heading the ball and if he starts feeling bad (i.e. headache, dizziness, etc) that he needs to come out and take a break.  We also have a shot that we carry with us at all times for Dylan only for severe emergent cases, and of course I told Dylan try NOT to fall on his head.  We know that God will watch over and protect him, he has been all along.
Dylan is getting ready to start 7th grade in a couple of weeks, I can't believe it!  It just seems like yesterday that he was so little, and it does not feel like it has been 1 year and 9 months since Dylan's last brain surgery!  God has blessed us tremendously with him!

We return to Duke in a few weeks for 3 days worth of follow-up appts. for Dylan, PLEASE pray for a good health report again for Dylan.  We want to thank ALL of you who continue to think and pray for our family, it means a great deal to us!

Enjoy these latest pictures of Dylan..............................

Dylan's Birthday!

Twelve years ago today we were truly BLESSED with the birth of our WONDERFUL son, Dylan Joseph Prater. He joined us at 2:10 a.m., weighing 7lbs 9 1/4oz and was 21inches long. He was so small and pink, with blond hair and beautiful blue eyes, and the sweetest smile ever!

Dylan 3 months old

                                                                                        

Dylan 1yr old

Dylan 3yrs old

DEAR DYLAN,

You looked at us and gave us a smile that was so divine,
Even in the darkness, your bright smile would shine.
Today when we look at you, the smile is still the same,
So are the lovely set of eyes, from heaven that came.
But even more than your physical beauty is your loving heart.

It's easy to see that your birth is part of God's master plan,
He is using you for a GREAT purpose.
Happy Birthday to our darling son.

We Always Love You,
Mommy & Daddy

Dylan 10 yrs old, this was taken 2 months before the brain tumor was found

Dylan today 12 yrs old with his birthday cake

Blowing out his candles HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!

                                                                                             

AWARENESS

Month of April...................

Did you all know that the month of April is Brain Tumor Awareness month?  It also happens to be the month Dylan was born, he will be 12 on the 24th, he is getting so big, he is 5'3", and weighs 107lbs, some people don't recognize him because he keeps growing!

Dylan is doing well on his medication, we had a little set back a week ago.......he was bit by a dog!  He was in our back yard with a bunch of kids playing soccer, and he backed into a fence to get the soccer ball, and the dog on the other side of the fence was able to stand up on the opposite side of the fence, and bite Dylan in the back right shoulder.  Out of ALL the kids playing in our yard, Dylan was the one that got bit! 
So we had to call his endocrinologist, she told us to increase his meds for a few days, and we took him to the pediatrician the next day.  She said everything looks fine, and did not recommend any antibiotics at this time.  The bite does not look very bad, if I did not know otherwise, I would not think it was a dog bite.

He is doing pretty good in school, and the doctor said Dylan is allowed to play soccer.  I talked with his coach and gave him Dylan's background, and asked that Dylan NOT be put in the goalie position.  It's a little concerning to me about the roughness in soccer, however, I can't keep Dylan in a bubble, so I just put all my worries in God's hands. 

We want to THANK EVERYONE for the continued PRAYERS for Dylan and our Family!  We would also like to ask for prayer for another little boy who goes to school with Dylan who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March, his name is AJ Leffler.  He has undergone brain surgery, and is now starting to get chemo and radiation treatments, PLEASE PRAY for him and his family as they go through this horrible life-changing event!  They also need help financially to help pay for time lost at work, the travel, and the medical bills.  There are several upcoming fundraisers listed on their FB page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/AJsArmy, they need lots of volunteers!  Please share this information with others in order to help this family.

Thank You All,

The Prater Family