Pneumonia and an Ear Infection

Jackie called with an update. Please pray!!!! They will not be going home. Nate now has pneumonia and an ear infection. They were really hoping to go home. They were thankful they caught him with a fever so they did not have to leave the hospital and comeback right away. She said pneumonia is not abnormal to have after surgery. They are requesting NO VISITORS!!!! Nate needs to get well. They are praying to start chemo on Monday provided Nate is better.He is currently on high doses of antibiotics to clear the infection. Please continue to pray strength and endurance for Wes and Jackie.

Making a Plan for Treatment

Wes provided the following update, "We met with the oncologist today, he went over the details of the clinical trial in detail. Very long to type out. Essentially this looks like a better route than what is currently available as far as treatments. Nate should start this new form of chemo within this next week and we will be staying up here much more than we previously thought. There is a chance we may go home tomorrow if everything goes good tonight to spend a few days at the house before chemo maybe on Monday—we find that out tomorrow. We still are working on the eating and walking. We are in information overload and just need some time to let it all sink in and prepare for the next leg of the journey. We truly love all of you: the emails, visits, food, cards, letters, gifts, prayers, and encouragement has been blowing us away. We know that this will be a faith victory that all can share with others. Without a doubt we know what God can do. We will know a little more tomorrow about the treatment start date and maybe going home for a few days. Thanks again to all of you."

Finally Eatting

Wes gave the following update, "Nate is becoming more compliant and really wants to eat, he still throws up, but we think it might be due to a lot of mucus in the throat and i had to hold him down and the nurse put a suction tube down his nose and through the throat and we got a ton of mucus out. He still is hacking badly. he did want to get out of bed quite a bit today and so it was a more active day for him. his blood pressure and undereating along with the mucus buildup in the throat are now what is holding us up--the cycle seems to keep going"

Let's continue in prayer, calling upon God to help little Nate and comfort Jackie and Wes. God said, Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. Psalm 50:15". Our Father, we do call upon you now in this difficult day of trouble. We ask for you to heal Nate and deliver Wes and Jackie from this time of trouble. We ask this all for your Glory. In Jesus powerful name and for His glory we ask this. Amen

Better Day Today

Wes provided this update, "Nate is having a better day so far. He is starting to eat some and hold it down better. His lungs are starting to clear a little bit and his spirits seem up. Day by day is how we are taking it. All of your prayers, fasting, and cries to the LORD are working. Please keep it up, all we ask for is for you to keep praying for Nate and tell others about him also. Thank you so much. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you all.—Wes"

A Little Set Back

Wes provided this latest update, "As we are learning, these things are never as clear and definitive as we think they should be. For every bit of progress shown there also comes instances that can be deflating. We have faith that God is with us and that He knows what we need right now. It is, however, difficult to understand and accept certain things. Nate can walk and has for a few days now, but he has not been able to walk on his own yet, and it is looking like that may only be restored through long bouts of therapy. His legs can move and he can stand, but when you let him go, he sways to the side and falls down immediately. He is also not eating and he barely drinks. When he does drink, it comes right back up after about 30 minutes. He was taken off the IVs but has had to have them connected again because of this and not being able to maintain a normal sodium level. From conversations with the doctors and others today, it looks like we are going to be here for a while, possibly until chemo begins in early January. We were hoping for him to get at least a week or so at home, but this all depends on how much Nate does progress. We appreciate all of the prayers, and ask that you continue to lift them up. We just ask that you spread the word to others and have them pray. The Pray For Little Nate on Facebook was a great idea by Annette, Scott and Lana and it helps me to get updates to one centralized location for the whole world to read. We are all for anyone and everyone praying, fasting, crying out to God, group prayers, joining together on the Pray For Little Nate FB group, or anything else that they feel compelled to do. That means so much to us. We would also like to thank everyone for the encouraging emails, visits, and references to scripture, we are so grateful. Also keep his doctors and nurses in your prayers, we have come to know these men and women and they have shared many intimate stories with us about their personal lives and why they do what they do. Particularly Dr. Bowers, Dr. Slokar, and the nurses Sheena, Angie, Doug, and Chris who have taken special interest in Nate and us. I feel that we are in the best possible place we could be, not only do they have the rankings and the accolades but more than that they have people who are truly here to help not only Nate but our entire family to get through this. Send praises up to God and know that Jesus is listening to both you and us and that He has already won the ultimate victory, the rest of this is just faith building. May God bless you all." - Wes

Let's all continue to be praying for God's healing upon Nate and His comfort for Wes & Jackie. 2 Cor 1: 3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

A Christmas Treat, Up and Moving Again

Wes said that Nate is walking again he had not shown he could do that since the surgery. Slowly but surely he is showing all functions again. Looks like maybe they can leave by Monday before having to start chemo around January 10th. Please continue to lift up prayers for little Nate and all the Oxfords, asking for God's comfort and healing. "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles" Psalm 34:15,17.

A little Stressed today

Wes gave us this update today. They noticed Nate was getting a little stressed last night and the blood pressure monitor kept going off with an extremely loud and annoying sound. After much discussion and prayer they feel they need "down time". They are amazed at the outpouring of love and concern and in no way want the prayers to stop. Nate is have the surgery of a port being put in today and the physical therapist is with them now.

A Diagnosis and a Plan

Wes, Nate's father, spoke with the research specialists for Nate's form of cancer, for 1 1/2 hrs. He has a rare form of medullablastoma of which there are only about 500 cases a year. It will take Nate about 4-5 days to heal from the extremely tedious surgery he had on Monday. They will put in a port before sending him home. Wes & Jackie will see the doctor again next Tuesday for a lengthy information sharing time and they will make the decision of whether to choose the form of treatment.
Radiation is used with caution at young ages due to the affect it has on the intellect of the young. Nate will be 3 in February 09, and may qualify for some radiation. It appears he contracted this about 3 months ago and it became aggressive 1 1/2 months ago. They want to try to start treatment January 10th. He will be in the hospital for 3 days then 3 weeks at home..then 3 days at hosp etc for one whole year. NO MORE SURGERIES WILL BE DONE! Wes wants everyone to know that they have been blessed in so many ways each step of this ordeal. 1) he had symptoms that caused their doctor to recommend the Children's hospital 2) the wonderful surgeon 3) the experienced doctor (and they REALLY like him and want prayers for him) 4) last but not least, the unbelievable support of friends and family that believe in the Almighty God, Creator and Savior.

First Post

Nate Oxford is one courageous little two year old boy. His mom and dad, Wes and Jackie, started noticing that he was complaining of headaches and that he was throwing up in the mornings of and on for a couple of weeks. They went to the doctor and when the doctor was unable to come up with a reason for his symptoms, they headed to a local children’s hospital for testing the week before Christmas, thinking that he had reflux issues, or at worse a stomach ulcer. They found out after a MRI that Nate did not have reflux or an ulcer, but instead they heard the news that no parent wants to hear, Nate had tumors on his brain and his spine. Surgery, today was successful, but there are still several other tumors that still exist.

How to Help

Sometimes, the first response when hearing about a situation like Nate's is the desire to help. Nate's family asks that if you feel this desire, please join them in praying for Nate. Pray, fast, and cry out to God for healing for little Nate. Going before God on behalf of Nate is the best thing that you can do.

There is no denying that medical care, especially extended stays in the ICU, will be financially draining and stressful to a family. Many people have asked for a way to help relieve some of the financial strain on the Oxfords, so a fund has been created for Nate at Washington Mutual. The account number/name is #4942119193 Jacqueline M. Oxford FBO Nathan E. Oxford.


iPray for Nate t-shirts
Many have asked about how to order the “iPray for Little Nate” T-Shirts. You can order these directly from Lana Moore at lanamoore@tx.rr.com or message her directly through Facebook.

At the request of the Oxford family, the price of the T-Shirts has been reduced to $10 just to cover the cost of the T-Shirts & shipping so that these can be available to everyone to help spread the word to pray for Nate.

The T-Shirts are blue with white lettering.
Front: iPray
Back: for Little Nate (with the www.prayfornateoxford.com below)
Adult sizes: S M L XL XXL $10.00
Children sizes: S M L $10.00
If you want your T-shirt ready for pick up at the Benefit Night, please send $ to Lana before Feb 1st. Please contact Lana by email so that you can make sure and get yours for the benefit! If you cannot make it to the Benefit Night, then we can mail you your shirts to you at no additional cost.

Our continued prayer is that Nate will be completely healed and God will be completely glorified.

About Nate

Please join us for praying for Nate Oxford. He is one courageous little three year old boy. His mom and dad, Wes and Jackie, started noticing that he was complaining of headaches and that he was throwing up in the mornings off and on for a couple of weeks. They went to the doctor and when the doctor was unable to come up with a reason for his symptoms, they headed to a local children’s hospital for testing the week before Christmas, thinking that he had reflux issues, or at worse a stomach ulcer. They found out after a MRI that Nate did not have reflux or an ulcer, but instead they heard the news that no parent wants to hear, Nate had tumors on his brain and his spine. He just turned three years old in February. Please leave comments of encouragement and prayers for the Oxfords.