Behind Every Door There is a Story

After several hours in the ER on the first night the nurse popped her head in the room and said, “Well we finally have a room for you but admissions asked if you would mind a room without a bathroom.”  Jessica face looked horrified.  “Mom they are sticking us in a closet!  You have to go check things out.”  (You can imagine Jessica’s panic at the thought of room without a mirror to get ready by.)  I went in search of our room and found a beautiful clean comfortable space that was open and would serve our needs well.   And so, Jessica was moved.

We were placed on the Leukemia cancer floor as it was the only available room in all the hospital.  With that comes great standards of cleanliness and a sterile environment protocol (which includes not having a personal bathroom in the room).  We have to wear these adorable stylish blue plastic booties on our shoes and are not allowed to carry anything out of our rooms.  We even have to spray the wheels of the beds or equipment that is rolled onto the ward.   Still our time on this floor has been comfortable and we have enjoyed our nurses.  We have learned a lot here about cancer and the people that are affected by it.  Recently, Jessica remarked, “Behind every door there is a story and a person whose life has been forever changed.”

Behind our door our journey has begun to unfold. Our lives, Jessica’s life and her family’s life have been changed forever.  This is her story.  The doctors here have confirmed that Jessica does have a form of renal cell kidney cancer; but, they have, as of yet, to identify which kind. While we don’t have a name for it, we do have a plan of action to fight it.  We have found through CT scans that Jessica’s cancer is very advanced, aggressive and has metastasized throughout her body.  This means the cancer is in and on her bones from the top of skull to her hips in multiple locations.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for this kind of cancer; and, at this time, there is no promising clinical trials.

We have been told the life expectancy is at the most four to ten years; but, because, Jessica’s cancer is very advanced the doctor has advised us to anticipate at the very most four years.   For us, now more than ever, we value every day.   We are claiming days, minutes and moments of joy.  And, we are also claiming hope and victory of a miraculous healing.  We are not giving up.  This is not the end of the story!

We will work with great diligence and hope toward partial remission and in the meantime pray for and seek out a future cure.  Jessica will manage symptoms with a variety of pain regimes, physical therapy, diet, counseling and constant contact with her oncology team at MD Anderson.  She will also be taking 10-16 days of radiation and weekly chemotherapy. We believe most of this in the near future can be done in Atlanta.  On occasion she will return to MD Anderson for scans, check-ups and adjustments to medications. 

Our story is NOT over.  In fact, we are simply starting a new chapter.  We look forward to making more memories; taking more pictures; and, holding each other’s hands during the hard times.  We look forward to finding a cure and supporting cancer research and treatment everywhere.  We are anticipating and looking for the healing God has for Jessica, whatever it might be.  We look forward to hugging our children more, slowing down and doing things we never gave ourselves time to do.  AND, we ask you to do the same!  Slow down! Make time first for Christ, second for your family, third for others and lastly even for yourself.  And when God nudges you, knock on someone’s door and ask them to tell you their story, tell them yours; because behind every door there is a story that needs to be told!

Thank you for being part of our story. 

 

Love,

The Newsome and Crowe Families

P.S.    From Chad – We want to thank everybody for donating to the fundraiser!  It far exceeded my expectations.   Again, I was blown away by your generosity.  Several people have asked how they could continue to donate and support Jessica during this time. So, I have set up a new donation button.  Using this button you can make a contribution to help Jessica and her family fight this disease.  Also note, you can make a reoccurring donation through this button as well.  We are not giving up!!!