Please pray for John!

In February of last year, John (age 10) was taken to the hospital for an abdominal ct scan to determine if his sudden stomach pain was caused by appendicitis. In a moment, the lives of John and his family were changed by the shocking news that John had two tumors that were possibly cancerous. Immediately, people began praying for John! This site has been set up to continually provide updates on his condition. Please consider sending a note of encouragement to John's family at the email link below.

Update ~ January 29, 2004

On the day before Thanksgiving John had his infusion port removed! This made him quite happy as he will now be able to participate in gym and full contact extra-curricular activities.

The surgery went very well although John did have a little trouble coming out of the anesthesia. When he awoke and we were ready to leave, they gave us a prescription for pain medicine. They said that John would need this by noon for pain because by then what they had given him would begin to wear off. They also warned us that he would not have much of an appetite for the rest of the day, but not to be alarmed.

Well we did not even get out of the hospital before he was asking for food! The ride home takes between 30 to 45 minutes. In that time he wolfed down one of Taco Bell's largest burritos and a medium drink. When we got home I asked him if his arm was hurting. He said, "No Daddy. See? I can move it just fine!" He then proceeded to do a series of wind mills with his arm! I quickly told him, "No! Don't do that! You will rip out your stitches!" He quickly stopped. Then on Thanksgiving Day, John was bound and determined to eat the whole house! LOL

John has had a total of three clean scans as of 1/14/2004. His second scan revealed a touch of pneumonia in both lungs so the doctor prescribed John some antibiotics and it cleared up.

For the third set of scans, John's lungs were completely clean. The doctor is not sugar coating anything. Even though the last three scans show John clean, he is still in the high percentile for a chance of a recurrence so we will all remain prayerful for a full recovery. His check-ups and scans will start to stretch out a little more now that we are approaching the one year mark but they will still be no less important. So in closing I would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support during this trying time in our lives.

P.S. Please pray for John as he struggles emotionally with all that has happened this year. He really needs your prayers.

Please let John know what state or country you are from when writing to him.

He has set up a map to keep track of this information. Thank you!

Click HERE for the story of John's trip to Florida!

* * * * * * * * * * *
Update ~ Friday evening, May 23rd
John is out of surgery and in recovery, doing well.
The surgery took 2.5 hours (less than the 3-6 hours they were told to expect). The tumor was not entangled in the internal organs and tissues as they had feared. It was hooked to a vein, but they were able to get it loose easily. The tumor had grown slightly larger than a football. They are to expect the biopsy results on Tuesday.
If all goes well in his recovery, John might go home on Monday!
Thank you all for your prayers on John's behalf!
* * * * * * * * * * *
Surgery Scheduled ~ May 23
Please pray as John will undergo surgery on May 23 at 7:30 am.
The tumor did not shrink because either it has no cancer and never did or the cancer in it is different and does not respond to the chemotherapy that he was given. All of this will be answered when the tumor is removed. The doctor has explained to us that a teratoma tumor is composed of muscle, bone, and cartilage which means that if any of these parts were to become cancerous that it will attack that particular part of his body. It is urgent that it be removed as soon as possible.
The surgery will be done at the University of Indianapolis hospital. The Dr. doing the surgery is Dr. Richard S. Foster, a leading tumor specialist. (He is the same surgeon who operated on Lance Armstrong, winner of the tour de France bicycle race. So you see he comes highly recommended.) But as always God is the greatest physician and we all pray that the lord will be there guiding the surgeons hands as he performs this very delicate operation.
John will be in the hospital for approximately seven days. The doctor has told us that there is a slight chance that John may lose one of his kidneys, but he won't know until they go in and look.
So we ask that at 7:30 a.m. (eastern) on May 23, that you all please pause for a moment to say a prayer for our son John.
Sincerely,
Russ and Dianne
* * * * * * * * * * *
2nd Round Complete ~ April 21
John finished his second session of chemotherapy on Friday, April 18th.
PRAISE: During this stay we noticed that he did not have as much nausea as he did the last time. We were very happy for this, but it was not until Sunday night at church that we learned exactly why he did so well. After the service John's Sunday school teacher sat down with Dianne and told her about John's prayer request from the previous week. Last Sunday his class had prayer instead of regular class. John's prayer request was that he would not get sick during his chemo this time ... and he didn't! He only had very mild nausea that passed pretty quickly ... so our prayers whether from young or old can be answered when we ask!!!
PRAYER REQUEST: During his stay they discovered that he has begun puberty again. They ran some tests to determine whether or not this was natural or if the other tumor was taking over. The tests concluded that he was going into puberty naturally, though too early. We had some discussions with the doctor and he said that if things were left to go on this way John would not reach his natural height. John will have to have hormone shots for up to three years ... one per month at $1000.00 per shot. The doctor is checking with the insurance company but he said that it should not be a problem. Please pray that the insurance company agrees to cover the shots.
John also had another MRI to check on the status of the abdominal tumor. We should know the results of this on Thursday, April 24th. They will also check his counts at this time and begin his hormone shots.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Chemotherapy Round 2 ~ April 14
John spent much of yesterday (April 13) in the hospital because he spiked a fever. The chemotherapy drugs weaken his immune system, so they have to pay close attention to even minor fevers. He was given a course of antibiotics and permitted to come home for the night.
John returned to the hospital today for his second round of chemotherapy treatments, but the doctors were concerned that he was dehydrated so he had to have iv's. They expect to start the 2nd round tonight or tomorrow. John will probably remain hospitalized into the weekend.
As was stated in the last update, John is now bald due to the treatments. One of John's young classmates recently shaved his head bald so that John wouldn't be the only one in class without hair. :o)
* * * * * * * * * * *
Update ~ April 9
John's next chemotherapy treatment is on the 14th of this month [April]. This will be his second treatment.
Two weeks after this one he will have another CT scan to check the status of the tumor. If it is shrinking, then he will have two more sessions of chemotherapy and then surgery. If the tumor is not shrinking, they will do surgery after the CT scan.
John is now almost totally bald. He is a little nervous but he is a trooper so please pray for him this week.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Update from John's Father, Russ ~ March 31
John had his blood count check up today and it goes as follows:
White blood cell count for non-cancer people is 5000 - 9000 ... John's count today is 4100. Not too bad, but he has to take three extra days of his Neupagen to raise his count a little more.
Hemoglobin count normally is 11.5 - 14 ... John's count today is 12.9
Platelet count normally is 150,000 - 400,000 ... John's count today is 177,000
ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) normal is 1500 ... Today John is at 1400. If he falls below 200, he must avoid large crowded areas as he will be at high risk of infection.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Update from Russ (John's father) ~ March 22
John has now undergone three chemotherapy sessions with no ill affects (ill effects meaning no nausea or vomiting which can happen with chemotherapy). He is resting well at night but is beginning to become more tired, more easily. His appetite is up and down as expected but not alarming as of yet.
The tube in his chest is called an "infusion port", not a stint. There are three types (1. the port is under the skin but the access tubes for the medicine are out side the chest requiring constant care. (2. the port is under the skin completely and is accessed by inserting a special needle through the skin and into the port which is made of a special material which can with stand multiple punctures before needing replaced (most likely John's will not need replaced ) (3. is the same as #2 but is a double port meaning he can get the IV's at the same time.
Well, must go now. John is excited about having his own web site. He was laughing saying WWW.meJohn.com Ha Ha.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Update on March 20, 2003
Originally surgery was scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, to remove the abdominal tumor. However, on Monday the 17th the doctors shocked us all by saying John does indeed have cancer. They began chemotherapy treatments at 8 pm on Wednesday, March 19. John will be in the hospital receiving the treatment for about 5 days. They will let three to four weeks pass and then will do another 5 day treatment. One month after that they will re-evaluate and decide whether to remove the abdominal tumor at that time. In addition, they will decide whether to cease the chemotherapy treatments or do two more courses over 2 months.
John seems to be holding up well under the chemotherapy, though he is expected to lose all of his hair.
Please send your prayers and get well wishes to John at the email link below!
* * * * * * * * * * *
New Update ~ March 5, 2003
God continues to move!
Continued testing of the first tumor that was removed February 25 has so far revealed no cancer cells! The tumor that was at first declared malignant is seemingly non-cancerous. They will conclude the testing soon and have the final results.
In the meantime, the other tumor approximately the size of an orange is still present in John's abdomen causing him pain and discomfort. During an appointment with his family physician today the tumor was undetectable by touch. Apparently it has shrunk, moved or completely disappeared. John will see his surgeon soon and we will know more then.
Sometime in the next week or two they will perform surgery to remove the tumor in the abdomen. If that tumor is found to be non-cancerous John will have two follow-up appointments at one-month intervals. If no further problems are detected, the doctors will remove the chemotherapy port!
We are so thankful and praising God for His hand on John's life. We deeply appreciate all the people of God who have come together in prayer for him.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Post-Operative Update ~ February 25, 2003
Thank you for your prayers on John's behalf.
He is out of surgery and doing well. They intend to keep him sedated through the night. Doctors successfully removed one of the two confirmed masses and put a "stint" in his chest to prepare for the administration of chemotherapy.
The mass is confirmed to be malignant and has been sent off for further tests. They have not received the results of the pre-operative CT body scans and bone scans, so they do not know at this point if the cancer has spread.
Once they receive those test results, they will determine whether to administer chemotherapy and then remove the remaining mass(es), or operate and then do chemotherapy.
We deeply appreciate your continued prayers. Please share this email freely with those who will pray!
* * * * * * * * * * *
Second Prayer Request ~ February 25, 2003
John has been taken into surgery early ... at 10:30 am Eastern time. I wanted to let you know, for those of you who have said they want to be praying as he goes in. Thank you all so much for your prayers on his behalf!
* * * * * * * * * * *
Initial Prayer Request ~ February 24, 2003
Our 10 year old nephew, John, is in the hospital in Ohio. He has at least 2 tumors and we don't know yet if they are cancerous. Tomorrow (Tuesday) at Noon Eastern he will undergo surgery to remove one tumor. They will place a stint for chemotherapy while he is under anesthesia. They will test that tumor to see what they are dealing with. The plan is to use the chemotherapy to shrink the other tumor as it has grown rapidly and is located in his abdomen. Before the surgery they will do a full CT scan to see if they are dealing with any more tumors. They will also perform other tests, such as bone scans.
All of this is very unexpected as he only began experiencing stomach pain last Friday. Please pray for his parents (Russ and Dianne) as they deal with this. His two siblings are being cared for by local grandparents.
Please, please share this with any prayer groups you are a part of. Let's lift John before the Lord!

Graphics Courtesy Of:

Copyright: Genesis Treehouse