Physical Therapy and Trach Collar

Tyler is now on a trach collar and off of the ventilator! One less tube is a good thing. He doesn't like the sound the oxygen makes, but he'll get over that. He's not talking, but he's more alert and nodding and giving thumbs up. He also started 2-3 hours of bed physical therapy this week. He actually likes it a lot and it's going really well.

Please continue to pray for comfort and relief from pain for Tyler. Please also pray that the chemo will do its job in shrinking the tumor, but not have too many ill effects on his stomach, kidneys or any other major organ.

All we have is gratitude

It's so hard to put into words the emotions our family is feeling about the event last night. It was completely overwhelming to see blessings flowing endlessly throughout the day from all of you.  And all we have is gratitude to offer you!

Tyler's Aunt Cheri and Aunt Patty manning the front table

I walked into the hall on Thursday afternoon and was struck immediately when I saw that the entire building had already been transformed from volunteers over the last day or 2. Tables and chairs were set. The food stations were ready. There was a box of donated t-shirts for all of our family that read "Team Tyler". And I cried. There were tons of volunteers already in motion. I took my son back to my parents for a brief nap and when I returned an hour or so later, the room had a busier buzz and now everyone had their blue t-shirts on...and I cried.

Alenna and Blake getting set up

Our little ones - Lance, Billy, Lydia, Alenna and Blake had their tables set up. Duct tape purses, hot chocolate, bracelets that read "Keep Fighting Tyler", "Stay Strong Tyler", "Hope", etc lined the tables. And I cried.












ALL of the food was donated from various people...including salad, veggies, meatballs, pasta, sauce, desserts, ice cream, etc. There were 75+ baskets and auction items donated to the event to raise funds. Looking at all of them so neatly organized and given so freely made me...well, you guessed it...cry! Then there were piles of people coming in. I mean hundreds of people! We knew many of them, but certainly not all. These pictures don't do it justice because this was only the upstairs. There were more downstairs, I just didn't find a moment to snap a picture. People coming from everywhere. Family, close friends, friends of friends, people we've met in the ICU waiting room, people that didn't know us at all but have been reading the blog. It was so unbelievably overwhelming and we were all emotional about it.

When the evening started to wind down, our family sat around and enjoyed the feeling. We were so full of gratitude and for the first time in the last few weeks...we laughed and smiled and joked and stuck around and just hung out talking about how much love we had felt that night...outside of a hospital waiting room. It was a nice release. Again, I didn't have the opportunity to take too many pictures while we were sitting around, but here are just a couple.

I want to avoid writing specific names because there was so much generosity poured out over this event and I would be bound to leave someone off the list. But, I do feel we need a shout out for some that worked so hard to pull this thing off. First, Tyler's Papa Bill did an amazing job at coming up with the idea, promoting and selling tickets, and getting monetary and auction donations. And, Tyler's Uncle Don (who we've always referred to as the "social director" of the family) got auction items donated, organized the whole place, cooked the food and kept it coming (with a team of people). The entire family and some really close friends, worked so hard organizing, setting up, getting baskets together, cooking and running the show. We had so many compliments on how smooth things went and how organized it was even though there were hundreds of people around. We never even ran out of food for 400+ people. We cooked and went through every bit of 60 lbs of pasta! Whoa!

We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers, time, effort, energy and donations. We are so very blessed. We raised a lot of money that will directly benefit Michelle and Tyler. Of course, Michelle didn't leave her son's side even for this event. I know she is grateful that you have made it possible for her to continue sitting at her son's bedside and not worry about bills or finding another job while this is going on with Tyler. That security is something that is irreplaceable. Thank you from Michelle, Tyler and the rest of us!

Much love (and in tears as I end this post),
Jettie

Another Rough Night

Tyler had another rough night. We think they may be trying to wean him off of too many medications at once. So, they are still trying to figure out a good regimen for his pain and anxiety. His heart rate reached 170 and he was running a 103 fever.

On the positive side, they are talking about doing the tracheotomy collar tomorrow and start some bed physical therapy. His kidneys are still functioning well too.

Again, we hope to see you all at the fundraiser Thursday. We have some really great donations pouring in that we'll be giving away as raffles and auction items. If you can't make the dinner, please consider donating on line by clicking here: http://www.gofundme.com/1drbvk.

Some Progress

Tyler continues to make progress. He has been breathing on his own since Thursday! They are talking about removing the ventilator soon. He will still have the trach, but he would be able to talk if he covers the air hole. His blood pressure is good and he hasn't been running a fever. He has also tolerated the chemo well so far. We are all happy his kidneys are still functioning well.

Today will be the 5th day of chemo in a row. Next week will be more telling of how he tolerates all of these chemo treatments from this week.

We are still praying that the infection will be completely cleared and the swelling will continue to go down. They've also finally got his pain and anxiety somewhat under control. We're praying that his new regimen will keep him comfortable, especially when the chemo effects kick in.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. We praise God for every victory, although they seem small at times.

We are hoping to see you all on Thursday at the fundraiser.

Chemo Underway Again

Well, Tyler has had 2 days of chemo treatments so far this week. They are keeping a really close eye on his kidneys to make sure they continue to function even with the chemo treatments. The doctors said we probably won't see any effects from the chemo until today or tomorrow.

Tyler continues to be sedated and on some really heavy pain killers, but that isn't preventing him from waking up. Again, he's very emotional when he wakes up...crying, pointing, sometimes beating his chest. It's such a heartbreaking thing for us to see and we can't help him, or even know what he's asking us, to give him an answer. It's very emotionally draining for all of us. Please continue to pray for strength for this family and that the doctors would have great wisdom in managing his pain and agitation.

If you want to donate blood - see below

Tyler is in need of blood transfusions. Tyler is O+ and can receive O+ or O- blood. If you want to help Tyler and are one of these blood types, we have a prescription set up at the Red Cross so that you can donate directly to him.

The blood is only good for 21 days and you can only donate every 8 weeks. So, if you can't do it this week, we'd love if you can wait a few weeks. We have lined up quite a few donors already (such a blessing...Thank you!). We'll send a few reminders out as we need more.

If you're type O blood and eligible to donate, can you email me directly if you'd like to donate. Send an email to jetfields@yahoo.com with your full name and the Red Cross MI location you would prefer to donate. We'll get you set up on the list and let you know when we need you to donate.

If you're not type O, giving blood saves lives, so go ahead and make your appointment today anyway!

Thanks everyone! I'll leave you with some nice shots of Ty at his graduation last May.

Starting Chemo Again and Needing Blood

The oncologist, and the other doctors on Tyler's team, have agreed he is stable enough to start chemo again! It's strange to be excited that he can have chemo. But, we're thankful for this news because we're back to the cancer battle after this 3 weeks or so of a huge set back. The cancer treatment is more complicated now, with the stomach issue, so they are going to give him small doses instead of the aggressive doses of chemo they started with earlier this month. That will start tomorrow.

Tyler is also in need of blood transfusions. He took 2 full bags yesterday. Tyler is O+ and can receive O+ or O- blood. If you want to help Tyler and are one of these blood types, we have a prescription that we are setting up at the Red Cross in Warren. Someone will be dropping that off later today there and getting everything set up. Starting tomorrow (hopefully), you can go there and tell them you want your blood to go directly to Tyler and they will clean it and bring it to him daily (if anything changes on this, I will post an update). Here is the address for the Red Cross:

Red Cross
13260 E 11 Mile Rd
Warren, MI 48089


Please continue to pray for Tyler. The chemo is a double edged sword with the stomach complication, but they have to address this tumor! Please also continue to pray for Tyler's pain management. He is waking up a lot and is in pain, uncomfortable and crying. It's so heartbreaking, especially because he can't talk with the ventilator. He's our baby and we hate seeing him this way! So continue to pray for strength for those that love him so much. Thank you!

I was just looking back at some of the posts and wanted to again thank you for your prayers. We give God all the glory for choosing to answer. 3 weeks ago, we feared Tyler would not make it through this stomach recovery. We were in need of a miracle. We praise God that he has made it this far.  Last Thursday, I asked for some specific prayer points in this post. He answered many of those requests. Praise Him!

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10)