Fighting4Dylan: THANKGIVING, 2011

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ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR............................................

We were sitting in the waiting room at Duke Children's Hospital wondering the outcome

of our son's life!

Dylan underwent his second brain surgery in less than a year to remove the cancerous

brain tumor. We sat and prayed along with thousands of others for the life of our son, for 7 hours

during his surgery! God guided the surgeons hands and got Dylan through that surgery alive and

helped the neurosurgeon remove the cancerous tumor!

THIS DAY and everyday we have SO MUCH to be thankful for............because of our trials we have become closer to God, a closer family, and MUCH MORE THANKFUL AND APPRECIATIVE of all the LITTLE things that we used to take for granted!

What we have been through and continue to endure as a family puts things in perspective for us. We are thankful for food to eat, clothes to wear, food on the table, vehicles to drive, a house to live in, my husband's good job, and even though we don't know from month to month how we will pay all of our bills, GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES A WAY for us to get by!

I praise GOD everyday for providing for our family, there are a lot of other families that we have met along our journey to different hospitals and treatments for Dylan, that tell us their personal stories and we have been very fortunate to have been BLESSED with such loving and caring people, churches, organizations, and community that continue to help us get through.

WHY..........because when childhood cancer hits a family, a lot of families end up LOSING THEIR house, cars, jobs, EVERYTHING, because they can't afford to keep up with all their normal bills and finances and PAY for the treatments and travel that their cancer afflicted children require so they can stay alive!

WE THANK GOD and EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL that has and continue to help our family!

YOU ARE ALL A BLESSING FROM GOD!

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A little update about Dylan.........................

He is doing very well, we have not had any incidents of concern lately. He is doing well in school, and he made A/B honor roll on this past report card, and he is adjusting very well to middle school. The best part
for him, is he has started playing basketball, the doctor sent a letter saying it is ok, (supposedly it is NOT considered a contact sport.) Well, we all know it can be, however, Mike and I decided that we would go ahead and let Dylan play, even though we are a bit nervous, because Dylan could get injured anywhere and he can't live in a bubble for the rest of his life. We know that Dylan is in God's hands and we will continue to pray for his good health and safety with basketball.

We will be making another trip to Duke in March for his next 6month check up. Dylan will be seen by the neurosurgeon, oncologist, and neuro-opthalmologist, and have his MRI scans. Once again at this follow-up the doctors will be checking to see if any cancer has come back in his brain or elsewhere in his body. They will also be checking for any possible side affects from the radiation. He will have his eyes checked again by the neuro-opthalmologist to make sure everything is ok in his brain/eye area since the surgery.

I just want people to know that this will be a continuous thing for our family and Dylan, because of the rarity and minimal case studies of the cancer that Dylan had removed, the doctors do not know what to expect for Dylan's future. The 46 case studies that exist show recurrence of the cancer in 100% of the cases, and of those, all the people had surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Also, because Dylan had radiation, there is a whole other list of possible side effects that can occur from that. So, our family, and Dylan will continue to go for follow-up visits with his team of doctors at Duke's Preston Tisch Brain Tumor Center for the rest of his life.

So please continue to pray for our family and Dylan's continued good health, and that GOD continues to sustain our family through all of our trials, as well as, provide for our family........physically, spiritually, and financially.

PLEASE GIVE YOUR THANKS TO GOD AND LOVED ONES TODAY!