Tyler - 17 year old fighting cancer!

Tyler - 17 year old fighting cancer!
Ready for Battle!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Surgery tomorrow morning

Everything is pretty much the same. Some good news is that Tyler's white blood count went from .6 to 2.5. He's still very critical and very septic, so please continue to pray that the infection will clear up. They are going to go in again tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM to see if they can put the feeding tube in and clean him some more.

He's starting to wake up a little more because his body is used to the sedation medicine. So, they switched his pain meds and that seems to make him drowsy. I was able to talk with him tonight, while his eyes were open for a few minutes. I guess I should say talk to him, not with him. Me and his papa Bill were in there praying over him and telling him to call on Jesus, even in his head since he can't talk. I told him how the Bible says if we confess Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He was raised from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). I must admit I started crying when I saw his big burly papa begin to massage his toes and legs, and share with him how he prays. Such love for his grandson! Tyler, who hates to be doted over, seemed to be trying to smile or say something. He didn't give us his typical 17 year old eye roll. May God be glorified!

Please continue to pray for Tyler's healing and emotional strength for the family.

Much love,
Jettie

Friday, October 12, 2012

No news is good news

Nothing major to report today. Tyler is remaining stable, although still very critical. He is undergoing another 6 hours of dialysis today. They have removed 4 liters of fluid from his kidneys through the dialysis, which is good. I also heard that yesterday when the surgeon went in again, he saw some scar tissue which is a great sign that his stomach is in the healing process.

Still praying for:
  • His body to clear up the infection
  • The swelling to go down so they can close him
  • For his fever to remain low
  • His body to remain stable and even improve day to day
  • Total healing for Tyler
  • Sleep and emotional rest for Michelle, Tim and the rest of the family

Thursday, October 11, 2012

One Week in the ICU

Today marks one week in the ICU for Tyler. They tried to go back in this morning, but weren't able to do the feeding tube. There is still a lot of infection. They are doing an upper GI today to see if there is some additional leaking or if there is an area they can insert a tube. I really don't know what all of this means, just repeating what I'm told. He will do another 6 hours of dialysis today too. They will try to go in on Sunday again for another surgery.

Here are the things I choose to celebrate today - we have 11,000+ page views on this blog in just over a week. That's right, 11,000! Thanks to the many people who are expressing their concerns and praying for Tyler and the family. God is answering prayers for us, even in the midst of still seeing Tyler in such critical condition. His vitals are staying good. He's still fighting!! I mean, a week ago, when we asked "what are his chances", the surgeon literally sat there and told us "Tyler is minute to minute. If he makes it through the first hour, great, we'll see what the 2nd hour brings" Those were really scary words to hear!!! Praise God Tyler is still with us 1 week later. We are continuing to pray for his recovery and will only give Praise to our Lord and Savior for his progress!

Love,
Jettie


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Surgery cancelled for today

They just cancelled surgery until tomorrow because the surgeon was called to another emergency. It is better, I guess, cause he is really swollen still. They have scheduled him for 10:00 am. He's back on dialysis for a few more hours tonight.

Dialysis underway

The surgery was delayed this morning. Tyler is having 6 hours of dialysis today. They started around noon. No one is allowed in the room, not even his parents. They will stop it at 3:00 and take him down for surgery. The plans for today are to try and put a draining tube in and a feeding tube in and redo some of the catheters that are starting to fall out. They will not close him today because of the infection and swelling, but will go back in Saturday or Sunday and try again.

Another Surgery

As of last night, they scheduled surgery for 9:00 AM today. I haven't heard otherwise, but have heard that his kidneys are still not working. They are planning to put him on dialysis after surgery today. His white blood count is at 0 at this point. Please pray that those numbers would go up, that his body would continue to fight this fight! We are so thankful for his doctors and nurses that are fighting with him. We are putting our hope and trust in the Lord.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Kidney Stints

Tyler's kidneys are not functioning properly. So, they went in this afternoon and put stints in both of them. Hopefully this will get them functioning again, to avoid more tubes and possible dialysis. His blood pressure is holding steady and other vitals are still good. Although his white blood cell count is still very low.

As you can see, we are still "praying without ceasing", as the Bible says, for Tyler. Please continue to pray with us.

Love,
Jettie

Tuesday update

As of this morning, Tyler is still in the same condition, sedated in the ICU. His vitals are good. His kidney number is going up and his white blood count is going down, which is not good. They are talking about maybe putting a drain in there for the kidney. The surgeon is planning on going back in tomorrow to see if they can close him.

We're still resting on the hope that God will intervene and perform a miracle here. Please continue to lift Tyler up to the Lord. Please pray for continued strength and endurance for the family as well. 
 

Monday, October 8, 2012

The latest

Tyler's vitals are good and he's still fully sedated. They're a little worried about one of his kidneys that isn't draining properly. Other than that, everything is pretty much the same as yesterday. Just waiting for his body, and the 20 bags of medicine hanging by his side, to fight off the infection. The nurses are so incredible and we're thankful to have them by his side.

Most of the family is trying to return to work today, but I know our hearts and minds are still in that hospital waiting room.We'll be back there later today though.

The outpouring of food and visitors has been amazing as well. Thank you to those that have brought us food or stopped by to hug us. We love you.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Needing a Miracle

Tyler has been out of surgery for a few hours. We had one of those surgeons with 0 bedside manner. If I had posted immediately after, it would have been a hot mess. So, I apologize if you've been waiting for an update. We've calmed down a bit, so here goes.

I'm struggling between keeping it positive and giving you the facts, but I'll do my best to lay it out for you. They opened him up and he is septic (full of infection). So they have cleaned him out again, but were not able to close him due to the swelling. Being septic can kill a healthy person after surgery, so having advanced disease and 3 chemo treatments before this began, puts him behind. But man, this kid is a fighter! And his mom, oh his mom....she is the strongest person I've seen in this. She is remaining calm and reasonable, when the rest of us aren't quite there all the time. But besides all of that, we are trusting in God for a miracle.

I don't want to put this miracle request lightly. I know people throw that around all the time. I'm not talking about some "god" or some harmony with the universe or some good karma kind of "god". I'm talking about the kind of miracle that can come from the one true God. The one that created us and knew us from the time we were in our mother's womb. The one who sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. The one that we can have eternal life through if we confess our sins and believe in Him. You broke God's law, you sinned, but Jesus paid the fine for us. And He was broken and killed for us and the miracle is that He was RAISED FROM THE DEAD by the power of the Holy Spirit! That's the power I'm trusting and asking you to trust in right now.

So please, if you are a believer in the one true God, by the grace of Jesus Christ, enter into His throne room and pray for mercy and grace and healing and peace over Tyler Joseph right now. We love this boy and we are believing in the power of Jesus that will bring glory to His name through this.

I'll jump off my pulpit now. Love you all and thankful for your prayers and concerns!

Jettie

Surgery is underway

They just took Tyler down for surgery! Praying for great wisdom for the doctors and a positive outcome!

The recovery from this surgery will be about 3 months. They are talking about holding off on all chemo until after that. We will know more when he gets out of the surgery. Gotta take one day at a time here.

The 12 of us just finished up some breakfast and singing a big happy birthday over the speaker phone to Tammy's Big 6 year old, Lydia! Happy birthday baby girl. We love you!

More updates to come.