Donte Now

Sunday, August 12, 2012

‎8/12/12

I have bad news and good news. Jason fell yesterday after getting out of bed. He started to lose his balance and before I could grab him he fell forward into the wall and window hitting his head and scraping his knees. For me, it was just like the other time he fell. I was telling him to lie down because he was trying to get up and was shaking so badly I wasn't sure if this was a seizure or not.

I took him to the ER where they did a CT scan. It revealed a small amount of bleeding in a couple of area's on the right side of his head (where he had surgery). They sent the scans over to Dr Baird who reviewed them and according to the ER Dr (which I didn't like one bit) he said that it wasn't too worrisome (not sure exactly what that means - bleeding to me is worrisome). 

The good news
 is that Jason said that yesterday was the best he has felt in a while....minus falling of course. We were just talking about going to feed the ducks and Makaylin and I were singing Adele's song "crazy for you" to him right before he fell. He says even after he fell that he felt fine.

So my worst nightmare about returning to work has now come true….what if he were to fall and no one was here to help him? If anyone is willing to help us I would really appreciate it. I can’t tell you how scary it is to watch him fall face first toward the wall….twice now. I am so worried that one of these times (God forbid this happen again) that he could end up really really hurting himself.

Family and friends – please let me know if you can help be here for him. I have set up a schedule and will be trying to fill the time when I am away from work. My brother has been here most of the time and I will be asking him what times/days he won’t be here so I know when I need someone to come over. I know for sure I will need someone on the 14th. Thank you in advance for your help.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

‎8/8/12

Jason has been extremely tired and sleeps 16-22 hours a day. I am not sure if it is the aftermath of the radiation treatments, normal healing, or a combination of everything. He hasn't eaten much in the last 24 hours and the Cellect that he took tonight with his vitamins made him throw up. I am guessing it was because he hadn't eaten anything. Hopefully he is feeling better tomorrow. 

This week has been really hard. Monday I went to work and was crying at my desk talking to my friend because I am just having a hard time dealing with everything. I really am trying to hold it together but this new reality of working, taking & picking up Makaylin everyday, getting home late and then trying to find time for the kids is really exhausting. If it wasn't for my brother being here since I returned to work I would be a bigger mess than I am. Thanks Jes ♥ 

I got a message from CTCA that they are trying to schedule Jason's surgery to replace his skull flap on 9/14. Jason will need to have a CT scan that will allow them to make him a custom skull flap. I have concerns about them replacing it with anything other than his real skull, but his surgeon said that once it is removed it is dead anyway.

We found a company that offers free flights for cancer patients. It is called Corporate Angels (thanks Bonnie). We have to register with them 3 weeks before we need to fly out so hopefully CTCA will let me know by the end of this week.

I have left his surgeon 2 messages asking for more details about his MRI, the skull flap and the possibility of swelling causing complications....I have not received a call back yet. It is hard to be patient during this time in our lives. 

Thanks to all the wonderful people that have helped us and continue to help us! I don't wish this upon any of you but I hope you know that if you ever needed us we would be there for you as you have been here for us. 

I have learned how precious life is and how most people take it for granted, including me. I would encourage all of you to make sure that you tell the people that you love you love them and enjoy the simple things in life. Don't put off something you want to do because you think you can't do it. The week before Jason starting experiencing headaches we had talked about going down to the Great Cat Worlds Park. We were both on vacation for a week. We talked about it and realized it how much it cost to go and decided against it, as we were saving for our wedding that was planned for 6/20/13. I can't tell you how much I regret not going. 

I also realize that we are not the only ones that are being faced with a life threatening illness. I have been reading other people's stories on indiegogo and I am so heartbroken. I have read many stories but one story broke my heart into pieces. Tammara is pregnant with her first baby, Annabella Rose. She recently found out her daughter has Ectopa Cordi, which means her heart has developed outside of her chest cavity. Not only that but her liver has done the same. Her baby has a 0% chance of survival. I reached out to her through FB and let her know how sorry I was for what she was going through. I can't even imagine. I wish things didn't have to be this way for us.....as I wish things didn't have to be the way they are for an innocent baby. I try to find the reason's for these things but it is so hard. 

Again, thank you for your continued support. I am afraid our journey will be long but will be a journey worth while especially when the day comes that we can say that the MRI shows no more cancer and Jason is back doing the things he loves to do.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

‎8/2/12


We had Jason's MRI images sent to Tulsa for Dr Baird to review. His response to Jason's nurse nagivator @ CTCA was "MRI looks great, no concerns" Which is amazing news but I was hoping he would tell us more details. I am going to call him directly just to see if I can find out anything else. 

Today is my 3rd day back at work. Jesse Garratt (My wonderful brother!) has been at our house this week helping Jason. Thank you Jes!!!


Check out what Julie Lipchitz made! It is great! Thanks Julie!


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Help Strike Out Cancer

Click on the photo to make it larger


Please save the date and attend this event to help Jason.  
September 29th 5:30-8:30 pm

Sunday, July 29, 2012

‎7/29/12


It has been 3 months since Jason was diagnosed. Time seems to have gone by fast and slow at the same time, if that makes any sense at all. The radiation has been very hard on Jason and he has decided that he does not want to continue treatments any longer. When we went to the doctor the other day, he asked us if Jason had been hit or if anything had happened to him because there was a small amount of blood in his ear. The blood was dry. Nothing (thankfully) has happened to him. Could this be from the radiation? I don't know, but it certainly couldn't have been from anything else that I can think of.

We have been faced with so many tough decisions and this one is not any easier. Although, we do know that the best decision is what Jason feels is the right thing to do. Only he knows exactly how he is feeling and has learned through this experience to listen to what his body is telling him.

We said a prayer yesterday for God to help us make a decision and for all of the alternative treatments we are doing to help him.

This is a picture of Jason with his mask on for radiation. I wasn't even sure that I should post this picture but I want our friends and family to really have a good understanding of what he has been going through. This has been really hard on him both mentally and physically. He said he didn't think that radiation was going to be as hard as it has been on him.

Jason is so important to me....It is hard for me to watch him go through this. I wish I could do more.....I wish I knew more answers. I love him so much ♥

7/27/12

We are still working on scheduling his next surgery. Looking forward to having it behind us. Jason is doing good. Still really tired and sleeps most of the day. 11 treatments to go. Went to the doctors today for a follow up. I got another paper copy of his MRI. It is all so very confusing. I have requested the the MRI images be sent by FedEx to Dr Baird for review. He should have them on Tuesday. 

If you can please take the time to help out with one of these fundraisers. Our family and friends have spent a lot of time and effort putting these together and we could really use the help! The money raised will continue to go to Jason to pay for his alternative treatments not covered by our insurance. We also have a ton of medical bills but our first concern is getting Jason better.

***VOLUNTEERS NEEDED @ Centenial High School in Gresham - JULY 28th and 29th LINK THE PINK/RELAY FOR LIFE EVENT***
There will be a booth during this entire event Saturday at 10 am through Sunday July 29th 10pm. I am hoping that others will be able to come down and man the booth for Jason. The longer we have someone there the more links we will sell which means more donations for Jason's cause!
We will be selling gray links starting at $1.00 each. If you would like to volunteer your time then please contact Katrina Mascher (360) 241-0635 or krmascher@gmail.com.

***ORDER BY JULY 30th - PARTYLITE***
Through this Saturday only. 50% of your purchase will be donated to Jason! Go to http://www.partylite.biz/sites/camsflameslit/fundraisers-products to view the 3 products and 10 fragrances available for this fundraiser, then call Dena with your order 503-654-4924 it is that easy! Checks or cash only. Online ordering is not available for fundraiser.

***ORDER BY JULY 31st - DECALS & MONKEY FISTS ***
You can purchase a $5 decal that says "My Friend Battles Brain Cancer" Or it can say "My neighbor" or "My nephew" or "My Cousin" or whatever you want it to say. You can also purchase a brain cancer awareness ribbon decal for $2.50. A portion of all Proceeds will go to Jason Wilsons Benefit Fund. To place your order call Casey Sallee 503-396-6927 or email caseysallee@boatcscg.com. You can also order a monkey fist keychain. 

Friday, July 27, 2012

‎7/26/12

Jason has completed 21 of 33 radiation treatments. He is so tired and has lost some hair but is still as handsome as ever! I return to work next Tuesday...*tear* I also am in the process of scheduling his next surgery in Tulsa.

I wanted to explain the reason for all the sites. I am not sure if any of you have been wondering but in case you have here is an explaination =) 

The We Love Jason Facebook page is a great way to share Jason's story with friends and family however some of our friends and family are not on FB so we also have the Caring Bridge We Love Jason page as well. 

In addition, there is the www.fightingforjason.org page...this is the site that we share with everyone and is the site that is printed on the wristbands. This is the easiest way for those not on FB or caring bridge already to see the updates. We have met a lot of people through out this process and have shared that website with them. It also is a way for people to donate and we appreciate everyone that has donated to helping Jason fight cancer!

I recently have been searching FB looking for glioblastoma survivors and came across a few pages that were very helpful to me. So that made me think that there must be others that are searching for the same thing I am! So I created another page called Glioblastoma Fighter on FB which will allow people who are searching for answers as I am to find our page and ask us questions as I am doing on other people's pages. We are really hoping that we can connect with other people sharing the same experiences and be able to help them as well!

I update the same thing on all of these pages so you do not need to go to ALL of them as they all have the same information...the only thing that you may be interested in is seeing other people's responses like on the new Glioblastoma Fighter page.