6 posts tagged “cancer”
so ... im heartbroken to say the least ... but here is my sister's blog post ... i feel it's appropriate for HER to tell YOU where we are now with my nephew.
""One of the things Thomas’s oncologist is good at is warning us when we’re about to hit the big stuff. Phrases like, “I have bad news” give our minds time to race to emergency stations and brace for what’s next.
So, I have bad news.
Thomas’s MRI results from last week showed that his tumor is back. It is inoperable. We have discontinued chemotherapy.
We
are sad, intermittently, or underlyingly: it's hard to believe this is
real when Thomas is riding around on his trike and "talking" on a
plastic measuring cup held to his ear. Off the chemo and not
experiencing effects of the tumor yet, he's a handful, squeezing the
fun out of every moment of the day.
I don’t know exactly how the immediate future will look. There are conversations and meetings to be had, some easier than others. I think the next couple months with him are going to be golden, so we're going to try to focus on that.""
that said... im destroyed. one moment i am fine and then next im hysterical. this is all so surreal, i feel like this is something i'm watching on Oprah or something I would watch on Extreme Home makeover. It's crazy. it's so NOT fair. they have fought so hard... i cant help them. I can try and be strong ... i know... that's what my sister needs. but I want to hold him in my arms and tell him everything is going to be alright... i want to take this pain away for my sister. but i cant. she is loosing her baby, my brother is loosing his son... my family is loosing their 1st grandbaby ... i am loosing my nephew. i am so angry, i am so sad, i am so heartbroken. this is just all too much. I know that thomas will be in a better place, but we wont. we'll still be here without him. we will still be here....
Thomas is doing alright. His surgery was last friday and things were alright. In his routine scan they do after surgery they found another tiny part of the tumor that they missed and had to go back in. So on Tuesday they went back in and did surgery again. But, after THAT surgery he is doing well now. He is resting and starting his slow stage recovery.
So, although the whole situation sucks. It's nice to know he's doing better. Now we have a long road of Chemo ahead of us... SO ... keep the Bickle Family in your thoughts.
I know it's been forever since I've written, but that's mainly because I still don't have a computer of my own that has internet access. Brian's laptop broke, mine had been broken, my desktop has a cpu fan out and the wireless card I have in it isn't strong enough to pick up what we have set up here at the house. BUUUUUUT, anyways.
I start school on the 27th. I am only taking one class. Intro to Business, Mondays 7-945pm.
It shouldn't be hard at al
Thankful has a new meaning this year. Before I have always been thankful for my family, friends and everything else that I have. I have always made sure I tell everyone how much they mean to me. This year Thanksgiving means so much more. I have so much to be thankful for. I have watched my Nephew Thomas Bickle, fight brain cancer. He is alive and every day getting stronger. It's been a long year, He has survived TWO brain surgeries, all before his 1st birthday. THAT is something to be Thankful for. .... SO THANKFUL Thomas is an amazingly sweet kid and watching my sister and brother-in-law deal with everything has been hard. It's amazing to think that maybe by this time next year, Thomas will be a healthy 2 year old. It's not just the cancer, Thomas because of where the tumor was, had to have a tracheotomy which has made EVERYTHING more difficult.
and this thanksgiving, i thank the little guy who's opened my heart so wide, and the community who poured its heart out to my family and continues to do so.
http://thomasbickle.blogspot.com/ Show us someone who inspires you.
Six months ago, Thomas
Bickle's family gathered as they waited for news about the surgery that
would remove a cancerous tumor from the 7-month-old's brain.
Last month, they all piled back into Children's Medical Center Dallas
for a decidedly gleeful occasion – Thomas' first birthday. The cake
declared, "How fun! He's one!" The party also marked the end of chemotherapy, and the next leg of Thomas' fight.
"Hopefully, the really, really hard part is behind us. Hopefully,"
Thomas' mother, Sarah Bickle, later said. "So we figured, let's stop
here and have some really good cake." Thomas still charms
the nurses with his handsome smile. His mother hangs onto her wry sense
of humor despite exhaustion. But little else has remained the same.
Ms. Bickle, who taught at Jasper High School in Plano, reached out to
the school district community early on for financial help. Her husband,
Scott Bickle, quit his job at a science education company to take care
of Thomas full time. They worried about meeting regular expenses – plus
health care costs – living on only half the family income.
Since then, they've switched roles. Sarah stays by Thomas' side, and
Scott teaches at Plano's Hendrick Middle School. Students and staff in
Plano schools, as well as friends, family and strangers, have
contributed about $40,000 to the family, Ms. Bickle estimated. "It's amazed me what kind of chord we struck," said Ms. Bickle, who is grateful for the help.
Many donors were parents who watched their own children battle cancer.
"They could see what was ahead of us," she said. "It was better that we
couldn't." Thomas has had several surgeries and
procedures, and chemotherapy was a nightmare, Ms. Bickle said. They
still spend a lot of time in the hospital. The biggest setback happened
just before Thomas' birthday: His tumor had come back.
"That was quite a surprise for us, but also very bad news for Thomas,"
said his oncologist, Daniel Bowers. Still, surgery that followed went
well, and tests have looked promising. "Certainly there's
reason to be optimistic with Thomas," Dr. Bowers said. It's been tragic
to watch Thomas' parents go through this with their first child, he
said, but the couple has been remarkably devoted, he said. Thomas has now entered his next phase – radiation.
Fighting cancer, Thomas turns 1
05:39 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 12, 2006
"We really don't know what will happen next," Ms. Bickle said. "Radiation is our best bet, but it's also our only bet now."
During a recent visit to Thomas' hospital room, he was sleepy following a minor surgery but waved an arm to get attention while the adults in the room talked. When he's feeling well, Ms. Bickle says, he likes to walk around the perimeter of the room by grabbing onto furniture.
Stretched nerves that affected his vocal cords silenced Thomas months ago, but now he's babbling and even yelling when he wants some attention. "He only has one volume," his mom proudly reports – loud.
Ms. Bickle deftly changes Thomas' diaper despite the myriad colored wires running along his growing body. When they make unexpected early-morning visits to the hospital, the Bickles hand over a pamphlet they've made that spells out Thomas' condition to new nurses and doctors.
"You do what you have to do for your kid, and it doesn't seem like it's that much. It's totally overwhelming, but it's not like more than you can handle. It's whatever your kid needs," Ms. Bickle said.
To donate or check on Thomas' progress, visit www.thomasbickle.com.
