Alex Update

The following are two e-mails I received today updating on Alex....please continue to pray for them.  Thank you so much to those that already have and said they would!!  I am not sure who is sending the updates but I will do my best to keep you posted.

Alex has been in surgery for a little over and hour (expected time of 3-4 hours). The oncologist met with them this morning and explained some more details. I will send you all a more official update when I hear from Andrea again in a bit but I wanted you to know quickly how important our prayers are right now.


The oncologist indicated before surgery that the preliminary diagnosis is that this looks like Stage 3 Neuroblastoma and that the tumor is across the line of the spine. It is deeply embedded behind his bowels and surrounded by lots of blood vessels. He is going in laproscopically but indicated that he may have to cut him open to complete the surgery due to the amount of blood loss that Alex could face. The Oncologist also indicated that his preliminary diagnosis indicates that the the cancer is in Alex's lymph nodes. They have taken bone marrow samples and will know those results shortly too. They are installing a Chemo line as well during the surgery.

Please pray for big miracles today. I will send out an update after she calls back but I wanted you to know right away so you can be praying!!

I know you probably all feel as I do that you want to rush over there, hold them, check in on them, etc. However, let's all try to give them some space right now. I promise to update as soon as I hear



Update #2


Alex is out of surgery and is in recovery. He has been awake smiled, laughed a little, and even drank some juice. He is now back to sleep and is getting some much needed rest.

The outcome of the surgery went as well as to be expected based on the information they received this morning. There were no other visible signs of the cancer found during the surgery. The tumor that they removed was biopsied and had healthy and cancerous cells inside it which is a good sign that the cancer had not completely taken over the mass.

He is officially diagnosed with High Risk Stage 3 Neroblastoma. They are running gene tests and bone marrow tests. The results of those could indicate that the cancer could be more progressed but we won't know those until the end of this week or early next week.

The Dr. indicated that this is treatable but that the survival rate is still low. This is the best case they could have after the preliminary findings. The plan is for Alex to keep the chemo line in until late February or March depending on how things go over the next few days. At that time they will remove those lines and begin fighting with a more aggressive Chemo treatment and possibly another surgery.

Andrea and Erik are exhausted but somewhat encouraged by the news this evening. Obviously they have a long road ahead and there will be plenty of opportunities for us to help and reach out to them (meals, babysitting, etc). For now please continue to pray for them and as we hear more I will let you know how you can help.


Thank you!


Kimbra