Friends, I don’t really know how to say this – but leukemia has reappeared in Jaron’s body for a third time. It IS NOT Melody’s marrow, it is Jaron’s body that has fought against her DNA. There are many options on the table, including possibly relocating to a hospital in another city. I will post more when we know more. We love y’all

Update: Jaron is being admitted to the hospital this afternoon. He has severe back pain and is so weak he can barely sit up. His weight is way down because he just can’t force himself to eat anything. They want to do some X-rays and give him continual morphine until they can determine the cause of the pain. Hopefully once the pain subsides a bit, he will feel like eating something in order to gather some strength. We will be here at least until Monday, if not longer. Thanks for your prayers. Hug your children!

Update: Today is Day 51 of Jaron’s 100 day “isolation” period. That’s not as bad as it sounds – basically he just can’t go anywhere or eat any outside food, and we have to be very careful with germs, watching for any signs of infection or fever. He still doesn’t feel very good at all – he is taking around 10 pills twice a day. Home Health came and hooked him up to IV fluids and antibiotics. Jaron was not too happy to regain another tube and briefcase of fluids, but says he’d rather be here with them than at the hospital! He has battled a virus in his eyes, which makes him sensitive to light, so he’s been keeping his eyes closed and sleeping a lot (Had an interesting trip to the ophthalmologist the other day) but it is getting better all the time. Somehow, his mouth has not healed and is still very raw and painful, so any food he can stomach has to be very soft. But every once in a while he shows a little “up-tick” in energy, so we trust it’s coming back slowly. All the numbers look really good from the transplant, so the doctors are very pleased with that! It’s just all these side effects that are hard to deal with. We had a great Thanksgiving being all together, and looking forward to the same for Christmas! Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement – we could not do this without you!

HOME. That word has special significance today – because on Day 35 of Transplant that’s where Jaron is going! He has NINE meds to take and several visits to the clinic, but as long as he can stay germ free and healthy he will be home. Results from tests show that his blood is now 100% Melody’s, and therefore there is absolutely no leukemia! He cannot go anywhere, nor eat any food from outside, but if you want to come for a visit, just make sure you are not sick and we’ll get you to wash and maybe wear an occasional mask, and we would love to see you as he feels like it! Thanks for all your prayers and support – and sing along with us as we’re “going home, to the place where I belong…”

I wanted to hold the updates, but I guess this is a good time to let you know what’s going on. We are on Day 31 of Jaron’s Bone Marrow Transplant and he is still in the hospital. He has “engrafted”, which means he has accepted Melody’s marrow. But now we deal with what could be considered “GVH” which is his body’s reaction to the marrow. They don’t know for sure that he is experiencing this, but it’s a good probability. He has consistent fever, so they are trying steroids and different antibiotics to get it down. Jaron has only occasional nausea now, but simply cannot force himself to eat, and only very limited liquids. He sometimes cannot keep down the handful of pills that he has to take. Of course, he has to prove he can eat and drink so he doesn’t get dehydrated, and be fever free for 24 hours before he can go home. So at this point he is really fighting discouragement, because despite trying not to get hopes up, we all pretty much thought we would be home by now. Everyone is worn out physically and emotionally. (Melody is on crutches with a broken foot, so she is very tired also.). So we wait, trust and pray. We believe brighter days are ahead, but it wears on you when you don’t know when that day will arrive. Thank you for lifting Jaron up in prayer. We look forward to posting good news as soon as possible! We love you all

Jaron will spend this week receiving 8 full-body radiation treatments – one each morning at 7:00 and another each afternoon between 2:00 and 4:00, followed by a specialized radiation before receiving his new bone marrow on Friday. Melody will go in for surgery Friday to donate the marrow, will stay overnight and most likely go home Saturday. She will have to miss a football game and her dance competition but will only be down for a couple of days before being able to go back to school. Jaron has had chemo all this past weekend, but has felt fine – eating very well and walking a couple of miles each day through the hallways! He says last time he just wanted to sleep it away, but this time he is going to “hit it like a linebacker!” We are very proud of his attitude and the way he is approaching this critical time. After he receives Melody’s bone marrow, it will take 25-28 days for his body to “engraft” or accept it, and if all goes well he can go home then for 100 days of relative isolation. This week Visitors are welcome for short visits, depending on how he is feeling between radiation treatments. Thank you for praying for him and Melody during this very important week!

This, of course, is a soccer ball. This is also what Jaron would be doing if he were not dealing with his current physical condition… he would be in the dorm at Hinds Community College practicing with his teammates, earning playing time on the field, and spending most of the rest of his time thinking about SOCCER and being on the team! So here’s an idea – whenever you see a soccer ball – whether it be at the park or rec fields, on TV, in a magazine, online, or anywhere – let that be a reminder to say a simple sentence prayer right then and there under your breath, for Jaron!

“Lord, let Jaron know You more deeply; let him feel your Holy Presence with him right now; heal his body completely of all cancer and disease, and give him a hope and a future that You have ordained for him!”

And anytime you want to post a picture of a soccer ball, hopefully it will get to the point that you won’t even have to say anything, everyone will just know that it means “PRAY FOR JARON!” or “I JUST PRAYED FOR JARON!” Let’s make this go viral!

SOCCER BALL PRAYERS FOR JARON!

(We will post a special prayer for Melody and Jaron both in the next couple of days.) God bless all of our wonderful friends, family and supporters!

Update: Jaron will be admitted to UMMC on Thursday, October 5 for his bone marrow transplant. Melody is the donor – they will surgically take a percent of her bone marrow on Friday, October 13 and Jaron will receive it later that day. He will be in the hospital a minimum of 28 days. We will post more details later. As we did before, we would like to ask everyone to PAUSE WITH US FOR 5 MINUTES TO PRAY for Jaron – and for Melody – at 9:00 PM on Tuesday night, October 3. We believe in the power of prayer, and that God loves to care for His children by answering our prayers. So we invite you, and anyone or any group or church that you know, to agree with us for them at that specific time. Again, we will post more details at a later time. As always, we are thankful for all our friends and family, and for your show of support during Jaron’s journey. We love you!

Jaron will start his next 29-day phase of chemotherapy on Wednesday morning, barring any setbacks with his blood counts. He will be in the hospital for just the first few days, so we anticipate him being able to come home Friday sometime. After the 29 days, he will have another bone aspiration, and if all is well he will get a week off and then begin the several-week process of bone marrow transplant around the first couple of weeks of October. We understand that a couple of potential donors have been located, and that it will take around 4 weeks to make sure they are the absolute best match for him and to get everything ready for transplant. We don’t know who they are, or where they are, but they have been located using the registry. We don’t anticipate any problems in the next few days, but it’s never fun to be admitted to the hospital, so we appreciate your prayers for him, and for our family as we juggle things around! While you’re at it, remember to pray for the incredible doctors and nurses who faithfully do a super job every day.

Update: Jaron has finished his first 29-day “new”chemo period and Wednesday will have a spinal aspiration – they will surgically take a piece of his bone out – to see how well the chemo is working. If all goes well, he will have a few days off and then repeat the same 29-day phase starting on Monday. If all goes well during that phase, he will begin the bone marrow transplant process around the first of October. This will require several grueling weeks in the hospital. But for now, we would ask that you pray for him on Wednesday as he had procedures, that surgery would go smoothly, that his blood counts would be where they need to be, and that his body would continue to be healed of leukemia once and for all. Thank you all for your friendship, your love and support of Jaron and our family, and for your prayers!