"We are in a temporary holding phase again. Waiting for counts to come up. It seemed a few days ago that Nate's counts were a big issue, but today his lab results looked very promising. He will have the weekend off, and if all looks good on Tuesday then we will start chemo again. He also has bone scans on Tuesday morning. I spoke with the doctor briefly today and he is up beat about next week. Things are very day to day as Nate's treatment is being specifically built around his response. So today is a good day and we are thankful for that. He also had a ct-scan when he was in the hospital last week and his lungs and stomach are clear of any tumor, so nothing new there (which is great news). We press on and everyone is doing well!

Ty's heart surgery was a great success. Thank you for praying for him. He should get to go home next week. Our boys will miss their friend, but we are thankful he is doing so well!"
From Jackie

"Nate finished his inpatient chemo yesterday. He was delayed a day because of a possible reaction between his pain meds and one of the chemo drugs. He seemed to tolerate the chemo fine, he didn't have any immediate problems. Nate is still feeling well and was ready to get back to the Ronald McDonald House with Jake and Luke. He got a blood transfusion before we left and his platlet count has dropped some. We are praying for a big response to the chemo, and that Nate's body can handle the chemo, which is shown through blood counts. We will be watching numbers over the next two days and praying to continue with the chemo cycle. He is still adjusting to the back brace. We wanted to say thank you for all the encouraging emails, cards, and packages. We love you all very much!!!" From Jackie

"Nate is getting adjusted to wearing his back brace. It is a little tough to sit in, but he does well walking in the brace. He is doing okay with the chemo so far, his platelets are a bit of an issue. He will have an echocaridogram in the morning before he is admitted tomorrow afternoon for more chemo. It is a routine test that has to be done before he can receive certain chemo medications. Please pray that he responds well over the next few days in the hospital and that his platelet count will not become an issue.

Our boys have made a friend here at the Ronald McDonald House, he is an 11 year old boy who will have open heart surgery on Sunday. Please pray for Ty and his mom as they are far from home and scared about the upcoming surgery.

Don't forget about our Rockwall kiddos fighting cancer! (Matt, Ethan, Devon and more)

We love you all and thank you for your prayers!!!!!!!"

From Jackie

"Nate's counts finally recovered on Thursday. He was able to start his first chemo medication Thursday night as an outpatient, which will be taken everyday for 21 days. We will go for counts every other day for about a week. If his counts maintain then he will be admitted to the hospital for two more medications, all under the guidance of Dr. Finlay. Please pray for this to happen. His back brace will be ready on Tuesday. He will wear it during the time he is out of bed. This should offer support and hopefully protect his spine from any possible damage from the tumor growth. Thank you for your continued prayers. We miss Texas and all our friends and family, but we are so thankful to be here for Nate's treatment." From Jackie

"Nate is still feeling well. He is getting adjusted to living at the Ronald McDonald house. As always, he is having fun playing the Wii and enjoying the toy room here. Most of his counts are looking good, but his platlets have not recovered yet. He got a platlet transfusion again yesterday. He can not begin chemo until his body is making his own platlets. We are praying that he will be ready in a day or two to begin. Please keep praying with us!!!

Let's not forget the other Rockwall kiddos fighting cancer:
Matt Burpee, Ethan Tate, Devon Kerr, Reese, and so many more in the area. Thanks so much!!!!"

From Jackie

"First all we want to thank everyone for all the support and prayers over the past few weeks as we have had to make difficult decisions and research what we should do for Nate.
We have decided to come to Children's Los Angeles and continue with a different form of chemo since Nate did not respond to the last two rounds. The oncologist is very optimistic, and hopeful that Nate might respond. We feel deeply that Nate is still strong and ready to fight. His attitude and spirit are just as strong as ever. He is being fitted for a back brace that should help with the spinal compressions being cause by tumor. He will sleep in this in hopes that it will help this situation.
We know it is a big job for man, but God is more than able to heal Nate by whatever way he chooses. Thank you for standing with us in prayer. We are so blessed!!!!!"

From Jackie

"Nate had his MRI this week. It was split into two days, both days showed poor response to chemo. He has had a lot of new tumor growth and this is very concerning. He will not be a candidate for stem cell transplant at this point. His counts are still low and so we will not be able to start any new treatment until his counts come up. We are planning on leaving the hospital today. Please pray for Wes and I as we make plans for the next plan of action for Nate. We are still hopeful and working on a plan for Nate. Despite everything, he has been feeling well and playing and laughing with Jake and Luke. He is a fighter, with a strong spirit. We love you all, please pray for our little angel." From Jackie

Wes reported this evening that the MRI results came back today but the tumors have spread and it is worse. There was no response to chemo. Wes is flying to LA tomorrow morning to talk with Dr. Finlay to see if there are any possible options. Please pray for Nate.

"Nate's counts continue to drop while in the hospital here in Dallas. He will get another blood transfusion today and continue meds in an effort to turn numbers around. While his counts are low, he is open to infections. They are trying to get his 6 hour MRI in tomorrow (Monday) before I leave on Tuesday to go meet with Dr Finlay, the stem cell doctor at Childrens Los Angeles (supposed to be the best at stem stell autologus transplantation in America, which means taking your own good stem cells out long enough to hit the body with very high doses of chemo and then injecting the good stem cells back in and letting them take over again, will be done three separate times to Nate over the course of 4 months, the risks are that the body could attack itself with infection while your system is depleted of the good stem cells and could cause organ failure he will be monitored heavily to try to prevent that but the reward is that the cancer is hit over the whole body harder than ever three times so if it is hiding anywhere and gone undetected like it has before it can't come back) so that we can have those results back for him to review and plan out his regimen. Thank you for your continued prayers." From Wes

Just wanted to send out an update for Nate. The Dr's have delayed the MRI at the moment. Nate was admitted this morning due to a fever. His counts are very low right now and he is at risk for infection. Thank you for all the prayers and support for Nate.