It has been seven months since Jackson was diagnosed with a rare and malignant brain tumor.  Seven months since we went to the ER for what we thought was simply pneumonia or a stomach issue.  Seven months since the anesthesiologist came out of a “routine” CT scan with tears in her eyes and told us our baby had a brain tumor.  

A lot has happened over the last seven months.  Jackson has had four surgeries.  One to release the pressure in his brain, one to remove the tumor, another to place a permanent shunt to help regulate the fluid in his brain, and yet another to insert the Broviac catheter (tubies) into his chest.  He has had five rounds of high dose chemotherapy and he has had two bone marrow transplants.  He has had six weeks of radiation which includes being anesthetized five days a week.  He stopped walking and he stopped talking.  He relearned to walk and he relearned to talk.  He stopped eating and drinking and was fed intravenously.  As the effects of the chemo wore off he began to eat and drink again.  He lost his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes and has re-grown his eyebrows and eyelashes.  He has spent virtually every day at the hospital and well over fifty nights in the hospital.  He has had more doctors appointments then I can count and taken more medicines then most take in a lifetime.  He has had eye tests, hearing tests, heart, kidney, and liver tests, all under anesthesia.  Through it all he has cried and thrown tantrums but he has also smiled, laughed and played with his little brother.  He has been brave and strong and we are very proud of him.     
It has been a long, exhausting and emotional seven months but new years eve, 2008, was his last day of radiation treatment.  It usually takes four to six weeks to see results, if any.  Jackson’s next MRI is scheduled for January 27th.  Depending on what the MRI shows we will make a decision on whether or not he will do more chemotherapy.  For now, after seven long hard months, Jackson is getting a much needed break and going home!  Happy New Years to all our friends and family who have been supporting us on this journey.