Short update

It has been a very long time since anything has been posted to our blog, and we will be surprised if anyone ever looks at it again, but it is a nice place to help us remember what has been happening.

For today, I will report on three notable events that have happened since the last post.


For the most happy event, we welcomed our sixth child to the family on September 14, 2014.  The pregnancy was a challenge for Dawn, but we are quite happy with this little bundle of joy and her chubby, kissable cheeks.  She is a delight to have in the family and is loved by family and friends alike.  I'm sure as we get back into updating this blog that we will share multiple pictures.

Yesterday one of our favorite families left PA to take a job on the other side of the country.  Words are inadequate and internet privacy concerns must be observed, but this family has been such a wonderful part of our family over the last 5 years.  We have spent weeks in the Outer Banks with them.  We have gone on several camping trips and hiking expeditions.  There have been innumerable babysitting exchanges, both short term and long term.  We have shared many meals and many more desserts with them.  We are sad to see them go, and gladly consider them family.

Last week, J started to have some pain in his left back.  I was still at work at GWV.  The older girls were at string lessons.  Dawn asked me where appendicitis would be.  The poor guy could barely move.  It is odd for kids, but the chance of a kidney stone causing pain in that area was decent.  I said that she should call Knapper Clinic and see what they wanted him to do.  They had him come in immediately.  I picked up the girls in Bloomsburg.  I remember on the drive home thinking over and over, what if this is cancer, and then dismissing it as just normal parental worrying and that it was probably nothing.  I arrived at Knapper and let Dawn leave with the kiddos and get to church for Young Women's.  They found a small amount of blood in his urine and suggested we do a renal ultrasound.  I arranged for a STAT after hours outpatient ultrasound and we went over to radiology.  I sat down next to the sonographer as he performed the exam.  When we looked near the bladder, there was a large mass.  The radiologist reading the exam thought an MRI was the next step and we quickly  were admitted through the emergency department and had an MRI performed.  There were multiple masses.  The plan was then made to admit J to the hospital and plan for a surgical biopsy.

Thursday was a day of meeting people from oncology and surgery.  Friday, the surgery finally happened.  The results came back as diffuse large  b cell lymphoma and plans were made to undergo chemotherapy, which has been begun at the time of writing.

One of the neat things that has happened since this started is the outpouring of love and support to our family and to J from friends, family, ward members, and community members.  We have had many offers to babysit, bring food, run errands, pick up family members from the airport, and even help J with bodily functions in the hospital.  It is wonderful to see people rise up in times of need and show the goodness inside of them.  That's not to suggest that these people are not already nice, but I am not always in the proper location to see what they do for others.  It has been a great blessing to be a recipient of so much love and support.

We will probably make a separate blog to keep track of his treatment updates.