Celebrating Connor's Life Part 2

Sorry about the delay in posting...so much went on with Nate today, I wanted you to each be able to focus on prayer for him.



So, we learned Connor's answer to all of life's questions is, "believe in Jesus...and be brave." We were all challenged to take on that attitude.

We then made it to the graveside. Connor had a girlfriend. They were the same age (about 3 wks apart) and have known each other since birth. She wrote a poem for him and read it to everyone.
Such a poised young woman and she did a beautiful job!

After the graveside, we went back to the church for a "reception." Many of the items that were set out for display Monday night were available to view at this point.

These are actually the patches from the astronauts who prayed for Connor from space.

Such a sweet frame. "There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on the world."

As you may have read, they asked everyone to wear bright colors and no black since this was a celebration of his life. We got a quick picture together in our bright colors (yes, my baby wears pink) on our way out at the end of the day.


Please continue to lift Connor's family up in prayer over the next many weeks. Especially lift up his sister and brothers. They have clearly endured quite a bit over the last many years, too. I don't want them to be forgotten...

Nate...

Wes let us know that Nate is at home now. He is on steriods and as long as he doesn't lose consciousness, all radiation will be done outpatient at UT Southwestern Mon-Fri beginning this Friday. Everyone has been so faithful to pray the Lord on behalf of Nate. Let's all continue in prayer asking God for His sustaining help for Nate and the Oxford's". "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me." Psalm 54:4

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Please pray for their family's wisdom in making decisions for sweet little Nate.

From Connor's Daddy...

A letter from Connor's Dad is below. However, please make sure you read down about Nate and pray actively for Nate and his family. Pray that the Lord will give them wisdom & peace.

Wednesday, July 15

Good afternoon. As the father of Connor Cruse, I buried my son yesterday. A little over 24 hours ago I said goodbye to my son, who started his fight against stage four neuroblastoma cancer 50 months ago today. As you can imagine, Joy and I and the kids are having tremendous grief with the loss of our son, the loss of a friend. I lost my hero last Friday.

There has been a tremendous outpouring of support. There was estimated to be between 3,500 and 4,500 people at his funeral. Over five police departments in the Dallas and Collin County area participated in one of the longest funeral processions they've ever seen. Over eight limousines and over 500 vehicles were in Connor's funeral procession. As we buried my son yesterday, I could not help but see all of the friends and family that came in from as far as Boston and California, the well-wishers who sent e-mails from over 70 countries, people standing in the Texas heat to see a little eight year old boy laid to rest. There was a two hour wait on Monday night for those at the church to say hello to us and to wish the family well.

To all our friends and family:

You are the glue that God uses to keep families together during such difficult times. You have allowed us to thrive and not just survive, and again I thank you. Connor continues to have an impact. His Team Connor website crashed over the last several days because of the incredible amount of activity on his website. In fact, Apple computers said we exceeded their own capacity! Connor Cruse continues to have impact by crashing the system from people going to www.teamconnor.org. We have been given a one year exception for unlimited capacity, so please go to www.teamconnor.org to learn about Team Connor and become a warrior for pediatric cancer research. Join our fight, help keep Connor's legacy alive, and may we all join together and not allow another child to have pediatric cancer.

Yes, this is the dream and the vision for Connor. The dream is to raise enough money for pediatric cancer research; that the child we help may be one of your nephews or nieces, maybe your child or your grandchild or neighbor or friend in the future. We’ve had hundreds of thousands of emails and hits on the website. With all of you out there in the community reading this, Joy and I have a goal, and that is to help you and your neighbors and your families not go through what we've had to go through. May God bless all of you. Thank you for loving my son. Thank you for honoring him. Thank you for being a Team Connor warrior. Again, please go to www.teamconnor.org to learn about and join the fight!

Tait Cruse

Update on Nate

Update from Wes on Nate 7/15/09

We are back at Children's after being transported to UT Southwestern's Medical Center at 7 am to meet with the radiation oncologist. He prepared us for what would happen over the next 7 weeks. Nate will get 30 treatments (30 mins a day for 6 weeks Mon-Fri) of high dosage/high intensity radiation to his total brain and spine. He begins on Friday. According to all doctors involved, this will most certainly result in severe cognitive loss. We were told to expect many learning problems throughout his life. This is hard to hear. On one hand, without a doubt, we want our child. On the other, we know if he has any medical hope of survival it is through something that is going to cause him to be much less intelligent that what he is now. On top of all of this, the radiation's success rate is not high at all due to the aggressiveness of his cancer.

We know that God is bigger than all of this. God determines how intelligent He wants us to be. God determines how long He wants us to live. God is in control here during uncomprehensible times. We have just resolved to trust Him because we know that He is doing what He must do to protect Nate. We tried chemo and it did not work. We were told that he is so bad off that at his current rate he would be dead in 4 to 6 weeks without a very aggressive treatment. It is what it is and only God can change it. Please pray that He does change it. Pray that Nate is healed and that Nate maintains his intelligence level. Pray that God will turn him into a man of God to be used by Him for many years to come into his olden years. Pray for God to get all of the glory through our little Nate.

Here's a photo slide show of Nate & his fam!

Keep praying for Nate

The MRI results came back last night and revealed that Nate's cancer had returned again and larger than before. The Dr's outlook was that it would be best to move forward with radiation at this point. Please continue your prayers for Nate. Wes and Jackie are both moving forward with the new treatment plan for Nate and are still believing and hopeful in God's power to heal. Please remember them all today.

Celebrating Connor's Life

Did any of you see the story on the news last night about Connor? His parents were interviewed and they showed many pics of Connor. It was awesome to hear his parents give God the glory on the news!!!
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Today was an unbelievable day. It was a beautiful celebration of Connor Cruse's life.

When we arrived at the funeral, as expected there were so many people. They had a viewing which was difficult. It was the first time that it was evident how this disease has affected Connor. Though the make-up jobs are never great, you could clearly see that his last few days were difficult.

Once we sat down, B shared with me that an entire agency (from the co. B works for, Northwestern Mutual) came from St. Louis, made the trip in today to be there for the family. As well, many others were there representing many other agencies (offices) within the company. Even the upcoming President of Northwestern and others in leadership from home office flew in from Milwaukee. Through all of my health stuff, we have seen how B's office pulls together and is like a family. This was just more representation of the beautiful family that is, Northwestern Mutual.

Connor was dressed in his baseball uniform. As well, his entire baseball team arrived in their uniforms. It was precious to see his entire baseball team sitting together in their little orange uniforms.

Here is one of his little buddies.

The service had a beautiful focus and that focus was Jesus! We actually learned that at one point, Connor turned to his family and said, "I'm ready to go to my new home." They clarified what he meant and he meant it's time to go meet Jesus!!! So, each of his family members and close friends that were there, prayed over him, releasing him to the Lord.

I will have to finish this post in the morning. I keep falling asleep while trying to type it....

prayers for our other little buddy fighting cancer

5:33p
Please keep praying. Tell everyone you know to keep praying. Nate just woke up amazingly out of his sleep. He has been answering questions in complete sentences with Jackie. They have not done the MRI yet, just a CAt scan, please pray that the MRI showed the CAt scan to be wrong. We have faith. Prayer to our good and loving Lord has gotten Nate this far. Prayer to our LORD will get Nate through this also. Jackie and I dedicated him to the LORD to do great things here on earth for HIM and we know that he has big plans for him. Please do not give up, the LORD is listening. Thanks. He is leaving to go into his MRI as I am typing. PRAY.
Please no visitors at this time.

2:37p
"Please be in prayer for Nate. He was found unresponsive this morning and is currently back at Children's Medical center. Dr's have confirmed that the cancer has returned in a larger form that is causing Nate's response. They are discussing what to do and how to treat from here. Please pray for Nate and the Oxfords."

Add'l info on Connor

Here are a few additional details regarding the service for Connor tomorrow.

As you heard last Friday, the service for Connor will be Tuesday at 10 am in the Prestonwood Worship Center. Following the service, the burial will take place at Ridgeview Memorial Park located at 75 & 121 When you go to www.tjmfuneral.com it is the first Memorial Park listed. After the burial, there will be a reception for everyone at Prestonwood in the Commons area. It’s hard to pin down an exact time, but the reception will probably begin around 1:30 pm.

Also, Tait and Joy have requested that everyone limit the amount of black clothing at the service for Connor. Ladies wear brightly colored dresses; gentlemen wear brightly colored ties or sports coats; children wear brightly colored t-shirts. The Cruse family intends to celebrate the life Connor lived in his brief time with us, and pay tribute to his incredible spirit of joy and perseverance in the race he ran so well for the past four years.

Flowers or Donations

In Lieu of Flowers, Contributions can be made to: Team Connor www.teamconnor.org - You can donate directly online. The primary mission of Team Connor is to support families and to help find a cure for Childhood Cancer.

Flowers can be sent to:

Prestonwood Baptist Church
C/O Connor Cruse Service
6801 W. Park Blvd.
Plano, TX 75093
972-820-5000

Connor's Visitation Service Monday Evening

Dear Prayer Warriors and Friends,

Below are the specifics for Connor’s visitation and funeral this next week:

The visitation will be Monday July 13 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room at Prestonwood Baptist Church . The Funeral Services will be Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. in the Prestonwood Baptist Church Worship Center .

The family does still ask that you not contact them through phone calls, text or by trying to visit them at the house. Instead of contacting them these next few days please take time to lift them up in prayer as this is what they need most right now and the best way that you can help them through this time of grieving. Feel free to send the notes of favorite Connor memories as I will be putting together a book. Send to : nicolearenas@ymail.com

All of their needs for food and help with the kids are taken care of for the next few days. We are working on some details as to how we can help them starting next week.

Your Fellow Prayer Partner,
Nicole Arenas

Connor Cruse Services

The most recent update from his facebook page:

Connor Tait Cruse, the sweet and brave, heroic son of Tait & Joy Cruse and brother to Mackenzie, Carson and Mason, took a turn for the worse about 10pm last night (Thursday night) and was admitted to Children's Hospital in Plano. In True Connor style, he held on through 4:47pm this evening, Friday, June 10th and went to be with his Lord and Savior in heaven.

Many family, church and work friends, and close loved ones were there at the hospital today. Tait and Joy alongside with Connor always courageously glorified God in all things with Connor and their walk.

Today Jesus welcomed Connor into his loving arms, healing him completely. Though we cry and we will miss the sweet boy Connor was, we can cry with tears of hope, as we know we will one day be joined with him again for all of eternity. The number of lives Connor touched are countless, along with those affected by Joy & Tait's courageous and faithful walk glorifying God through these last 4 years during Connor's Heroic fight against cancer.

The Cruse family appreciates all of your prayers, support, and love. At this time they have specifically asked and request that they be allowed time to themselves and are asking for no phone calls, no text messages and no visitors. Thanks for respecting this request at this time.

Please do continue to life them up in prayer as you have been.

Funeral Services for Connor Cruse are scheduled for10am Tuesday at Prestonwood Church at Park & Midway in Plano, TX.

Our love and prayers are with the Cruse family and the special friends of Conlnor who will truly miss the sweet boy we all came to love!

One last note, let's continue to meet to pray for the Cruse family as they begin life with Mackenzie, Carson & Mason. Also, if you would like to email a page or less story, poem, scripture, thought or favorite memory - I will put a book together to present to the family in the next few weeks and would love to include your favorite memory or funny story.

In His Grace,
Nicole Arenas
nicolearenas@ymail.com

4:47pm

4:47pm...The moment that Connor took His savior's hand this evening and experienced eternal healing!!

Please pray for Tait & Joy. Also, keep his siblings, McKinzie, Carson, & Mason in your prayers. As well as, their entire extended family.

More on Connor

We just received the most recent update on Connor. He is stable in his room at the hospital. However, in the words of his father, "He is going Home, not back to the house, Home to be with Jesus."

The hospital is giving him medicine for the pain and; otherwise, they are waiting for him to take His Savior's hand.

Please beg the Lord for protection for his family and anything else that you can think of to pray on their behalf...you have all been such amazing prayer warriors! Keep it up...may many come to know Connor's Savior through this trying time.

We are about to get in the car and head back to Dallas. So, as soon as I have updates and am able to post, I will.

Ben

We just got word that Ben is still Cancer FREE!!!!!

Praise Jesus!!!

Please scroll down and begin praying fervently for Connor!!

URGENT URGENT pray...............

Okay, we just received this update on Connor:

Last night Connor was taken to Children's Legacy at 10 pm. He was unresponsive at home and although he was breathing they could not get him to wake up and his heart beat was very slow.

At the hospital they were able to stabilize him and make him comfortable. The doctors told us that he could hang on for a couple of hours at the most. At 3am there had been no change. In true Connor fashion he has done what the doctors said he could not do! As of 10:30 am he is still about the same. His heart is slowing down. He is not in any pain.

URGENT Connor

This is the update we received from yesterday on Connor. However, please scroll down to get a more recent update and get on your knees for him right now.

Connor braved his (awake) surgical procedure bravely and the surgeon was able to insert a 16" tube to replace the former 18" feeding tube in Connor's stomach. Because of the size difference, there is a leak still. The surgeon is hopeful the leak will correct itself in time or will reschedule to redo it next week with an 18" tube. Please remember to pray, Connor has lost weight, pray he can gain weight. Also, for those of you who can join us, please come to Joy's home to pray over Connor next Wednesday, July 15th at 11:30am in Frisco! Here is Joy's Update!
WE got a new tube placed. Praise God! The doctor was very competent. He checked the new tube with fluoroscopy dye and felt confident that it was in the right location. Unfortunately, it is still leaking. I don't think it is leaking as much. The doctor said that could happen for a little while. The previous tube was an 18" and the "pathway" for the tube had already started to close up. The doctor felt he couldn't get the same size tube in, so he had to go with a 16". The smaller tube is not blocking the leaking as much as the larger size would. He said hopefully the leaking will subside over the weekend and eventually the leaking will stop. If not, they can put in a larger tube first of next week. Please pray for this leaking to subside and finally quit. At least, we are one step closer to a solution. Thanks for your prayers. Connor did great during the procedure. All of this was done while he was awake on the table. God has surrounded him with a supernatural peace, that is for sure.

Thanks again! We'll keep you posted.

This morning's update we received at 9:15am:

Connor had to be taken to the hospital late last night in very serious condition. Details are very sketchy, but by God’s grace he stabilized early this morning. Pray his organs will receive enough blood to keep active and for wisdom and course of treatment for the glory of God. More details as we learn them.

Update from Houston

Just wanted to post a quick update.

I received a call yesterday that my neurosurgeon wanted to add an MRI to our list of things to do while here. We got a very late start to Houston. B always changes his own oil on his truck. However, we were so pressed for time this week, he gave in for the first time ever and let a store change it. The store is owned by an old neighbor of ours and they let B get the oil he likes and used that. I walked out to the garage yesterday to pack the puppies food and there was oil all over our garage floor. I would post a pic, but don't have the ability to download the pic right now. Anyway, B was in an appt. and so I called the shop he went to and let them know and asked them to stay late, if necessary. In the meantime, I was trying to reach B so that he could at least check his oil before he started driving.

Our intention was to leave around 6p. We didn't leave until 9p. We arrived in Houston a little after 1a. My MRI was scheduled for 7am and B's PET scan was scheduled for 7p. So, this morning, he dropped me off for my scan and went to his. Right about now, they should be scanning his body and finding absolutely no cancer (please, LORD)!! My appt. didn't take nearly as long. So, I am sitting in a little restaurant waiting for him.

While sitting in here, my neurologist came walking in to get his morning coffee. He told me I was a bit too early for my appt. He came over and said hello before he left to go see patients. He is such a sweet doctor!

Thank you all for your prayers!

Connor

A new update on Connor...

Connor has started fluids at home and the TPN (nutrition thru his iv). Yeah! We all did a happy dance when it started. Finally, Connor will get some nutrition. He really needs to gain some weight. He's SO thin.

His sodium levels continue to rise. They were 121, now 128 and needs to be 135 and above. His breathing and oxygen is good, and the swelling on his legs continue to decrease. Praise God.

Now, for the hole in his abdomen. Surgery is not a good option for him right now, mainly because his sodium is low. He will not metabolize the anesthesia well and would possibly be at risk for seizure and not waking up. WE are looking at two other options that would be less invasive and don't involve anesthesia.

The best option is to use a fibrin glue to close the hole. It is used often in adults and has an 80% success rate to close the hole. It is kind of like "fix- a-flat." They would use local anesthesia and just use a needle to put the glue on the hole. The doctor who could do this at Children's has not done this before. She's consulting an adult doctor who does this frequently - our friend who gave us the idea - to get the information and decide whether or not she will do this. Please pray that she will decide to do the procedure and she can schedule it soon.

The second option is to put another type of feeding tube in (one that is larger than the old one) that would plug the hole. We wouldn't use the feeding tube, it would just be used as a stopper. The fluoroscopy department has to be used to guide the tube to the exact spot of the hole, otherwise it won't work correctly . This would also take a couple days to schedule.

Neither one of these are guaranteed to work. There could be other issues that make these options less viable. PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY THAT WE CAN GET SOMETHING SCHEDULED THIS WEEK AND THAT IT WILL WORK. Doctors always prepare you for the what ifs, which leave my head swimming with doubts. We really need God to resolve this issue. Connor eats and drinks constantly (even thru the night) because he never feels satisfied. We can't be sure that Dr. Rodriguez's medicine is absorbing completely.

I can't believe that God would bring us so far, to have this obstacle be impossible to overcome. I will let you know when something gets scheduled. Thanks for your prayers in this matter. Greatly needed. We just need to trust God to bring us past this new obstacle. Trusting Him is the only thing that gets us through.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
and to take him at his word;
just to rest upon his promise,
and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I've proved him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!

I'm so glad I learned to trust thee,
precious Jesus, Savior, friend;
and I know that thou art with me,
wilt be with me to the end.
(Refrain)

Recognize that old hymn?

Always believing,
Joy Cruse

Hickman Family Reunion-Sight Seeing

There were so man beautiful things to see. More than anything, I wanted to see wild animals!!!

It's hard to see, but this is a pic of Air Force Football Stadium!

Our first stop was Pikes Peak!
We drove to the top and it was amazing!
Do you see the snow (in JUNE!!)?

The beautiful mountain view on the way to the top.

More beautiful scenery...still no wild animals.

We made it to the top of Pikes Peak!

A view from the top!

Uncle P, cuddling up with his new friend in the gift shop!

There's the wild animal I was looking for...Grrrrr!

We decided to snuggle up with the only "animal" we could find!

This is our pic at the TOP of the Peak!!

Trying to get to a spot where I can take pics in the snow.
Being a Texas girl made it hard to understand how there
was so much snow, this late in the year.

My own lady bug from Pikes Peak.

Do you see what I see?
A marmot!
My first wild animal to see on the trip.

Later we went to the Cliff Dwellings. They, sadly, were very commercialized. Not like the time Mom took me to New Mexico & I got to meet the Indians she used to work with and go in their homes, etc. However, this is a pic of Ben's brother, T, showing us how small they were!
At the end of this day, I only had one seizure! So, it was nice getting to spend time with B's family without having to worry about feeling so yucky!

The next day, we did more sight seeing. This is Glen Eyrie, run by the Navigators, and once the home of General Palmer. It was beautiful, but I don't remember much about it as I started to have a lot of seizures this day. I had one in the middle of the tour and just had to lay on the floor. After that, B and I went downstairs and just rested while everyone else finished the tour. So, we probably missed some of the fun facts.
Next, we all went to Garden of the Gods.

Here is the family pic of those that went...

A wild animal!! ; )

Aren't these amazing?

This is called Balanced Rock.

Wasn't it nice of B to help them balance it?

Can you see what looks like a heart in the rock?
I thought that was so fun!

By the end of this day, we were all exhausted. I had five seizures and was past the point of having any energy. However, it was amazing to see God's beautiful creations!

The Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Genesis 1:1-3

Prayers, Please!

Just want to quickly beg for your prayers! We leave Wednesday evening to go to Houston. We both have doc visits.

B has all of his follow-ups at MD Anderson to make sure he is, Lord willing, still cancer FREE!!! Please pray with us that he's clean as a whistle, no cancer at all!!!

I have my follow up with the epileptologist and the neurosurgeon. The epi mentioned in a recent e-mail to me that he wanted to talk about other treatments, such as another surgery, since I wasn't completely seizure free on the diet yet. One of the surgeries is a Vagus Nerve Stimulator. They implant it beneath your collar bone and it is like a pacemaker for your brain.

Our prayer is that the diet will work (we've learned it takes time), but we need the doc to agree to be patient, too. Please may the seizures disappear!!! Thank you for your prayers!!!

Hickman Family Reunion-Play Day

After the exciting game of Volleyball the night before, everyone wanted to keep the spirit alive...So, we all went to a local park and played softball (I say 'we' as if I played-I took pictures)!


Can you see in the background of this picture? That is Grandpa & he stopped a little boy riding his bike and just struck up a conversation with him. It was just precious.

My baby (I mean slugger) up to bat!!!

It's good!!! Run....

Nana watching so sweetly!

Who are we kidding? She got up to bat!!!

So, Grandpa had to join in the fun, too!!

Nice Swing...

The Hickman Family Softball Team!!!

Uncle L...strong, huh?

Hickman Family Reunion-In The Beginning

Well, a few weeks ago, we went to B's family reunion (his Mom's side). We didn't get to go to the last one due to one of us being ill or something...So, it was exciting to get to go and see everyone. B's Mom is one of four girls! His Grandpa helped marry us!

The reunion was right outside of Colorado Springs. Due to this diet they have put me on for the seizures, I had to call ahead to every place we were going (i.e., hotel, restaurant, etc.) to see if they would allow me to bring my own food. We also had the delightful experience of dealing with TSA. I had to take so much of my food with me (pre-measured) which means that I basically broke every travel security law. However, my doc's office was wonderful and wrote a super letter that helped us get through security. They still wanted to take the whole cooler apart and look at everything, but it made it much easier.

Here we are at the airport, waiting for our flight. No seizures at this point in the day...Praise Jesus!!

On the plane!

When we arrived in CO, we took the shuttle to the rental car place. We tried to use B's dad's loyalty # to get an upgrade, but the guy didn't want to help us at all. So, we walked outside, got in our four door sedan and started to drive to the check out stand.

When we got there, the lady was so nice. B talked to her about her shoes, we told her why we were there and that we had wanted to get an upgrade, but they wouldn't let us because we had rented online. She said that wasn't true at all and to go pick any car off the lot we wanted!!! So, once we clarified ANY, we went and found a beautiful Tahoe (with only 5000 miles)! We didn't realize how much we would need it throughout the weekend, but it was wonderful.

This is Mallory! She's the wonderful lady that helped us get the best car!! She was such a blessing!
So, then we arrived at the "resort" where we would be staying with B's family. It was a beautiful location, The Hideaway. We were the only family there and so we had full run of the place. B's parents went to the grocery store for us before we got there so that I didn't have to pack everything. Also, the resort had a little fridge and microwave that I was able to use the entire time to keep my food. It created a bit of a challenge here and there, but we survived the first trip having to take every single meal with me.

Grandpa, B's brother, & Nana

B's Aunt N, his Mom & Dad

B's cousin R & his wife M. Uncle L, too!

Everyone just hanging out and talking. L, Aunt A,
Aunt J (she played the violin at our wedding), & Uncle R.

Uncle P & C

Everyone decided they needed a good game of night volleyball.

You can't see much b/c it was so late & dark, but I got to go get the car and move it down so they could use the headlights! Though only a short distance, I still get so giddy about driving!

A picture of the back of the Hideway.

Not a single seizure all day! Praise the Lord!!!

p.s. I was going to make the reunion one big post, but I have way too many pics. So, over the next few days, I will be posting more about reunion. Keep watch!!

From Connor's Mommy!

www.teamconnor.org

We've had a roller coaster of events the last few days. I'll start with my thankful praises first. I'm just amazed to see any improvements at this point. Connor's appetite continues to improve. He's hungry almost all the time now. He's so excited. He keeps saying, "I think my appetite is back." This has changed quickly. A week ago Friday, he wouldn't eat or drink anything. This week has brought big changes in his appetite.

Secondly, his breathing and oxygen levels are much better. 4 weeks ago, in Plano Presby Hospital, his oxygen levels were around 88. That is why they recommended the oxygen at home. Now, his oxygen levels are around 94-95. Isn't that amazing? His resting heart rate was in the upper 140's. Now, it is around 115 (normal range). Also, the swelling continues to decrease on his legs. The water is coming off his legs so quickly, there are usually small puddles at his feet. His back is more comfortable when he sleeps now. There's no other explanation for these changes except that the tumor is shrinking/softening and relieving pressure on his lungs and blood vessels. Also, his white count continues to soar. It was up to 46,000 and is now at 40,000. Patients with this amount of tumor burden usually have a very low white count. Praise God for all this!

WE are just show shocked and overwhelmed. After almost 6 months of a downward spiral, we just keep pinching ourselves that we are actually seeing the EVIDENCE of improvement. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 It's so awesome to finally see some evidence of what we've been believing for so long. Don't get me wrong. I know we still have huge hurdles (MOUNTAINS) to climb, but it is so encouraging to be going in the right direction.

Now, for the new prayer requests. We've been having problems with Connor's feeding tube. It's been leaking. The swollen stomach pulled the skin away from the tube, causing a leak. The leak got worse and the hole got bigger. Last night, the feeding tube was dislodged ( and out came all the food he'd just eaten). We rushed down to Children's ER. The surgeon looked at it and he just pulled the tube out. Right now, Connor has an ostomy bag to collect the food he is eating as it come out this hole. It's quite an interesting site. About 30 seconds after he eats something, the food comes out this hole. PLEASE PRAY WE CAN GET SURGERY SCHEDULED WITHIN THE NEXT TWO DAYS TO CLOSE THIS HOLE. He's getting no nutrition right now. Monday, Home Health is supposed to hook Connor up to TPN (nutrition that goes directly into his blood stream). This TPN with Connor's increased appetite should help him gain his weight and strength back. His face is so thin, it is shocking the first time you see him like this.

Secondly, his sodium is really low. They kept him overnight to see if they could raise it. The sodium level didn't come up much. We understand why it is low - he's sweating out all this fluid and losing salt this way and his food just leaks right out of him. We just don't know why the sodium level won't rise. PLEASE PRAY THAT THE SODIUM LEVELS WOULD RISE. Low sodium will make him at a risk for seizures. He should be coming home this afternoon.

Thank God for his wonderful grace and mercy and Connor's improvements. Please continue to pray for old and new prayer requests.

1. complete healing on earth
2. tumor shrinkage
3. his breathing and heart rate would stay in the normal range
4. his appetite would continue to increase
5. sodium levels rise
6. surgery soon to close the hole in his abdomen.
7. Glorify God through all this!
8. Grace to get through each day.

"They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave. Let me give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of His works with songs of joy." Psalm 107:18-22

Always believing,
Joy Cruse