Jake’s latest news:- some good, some discouraging.

He has been feeling reasonably well and enjoying playing chamber music with friends and is doing a duet concert at school in a week or so.

He had a spell in hospital last week with tummy trouble but is physically better now. Each visit to the hospital confirms his plight and takes a little longer to get over, but he is able to be distracted mostly through music and visits from friends. We are quite good at keeping the momentum going, and try to chase away bleak feelings with hopeful ones, but it’s not easy, and we are desperately sad.

The hospital consultant seems to have reached the end of the road with curative medications, but is willing to listen to any advisors that we or friends have suggested. However he hasn’t had any replies as yet to leads to eminent cancer specialists across the world sent before christmas so we’re feeling frustrated that nothing proactive is happening to help him. We spend hours trawling the internet, but all possible therapies have such appalling side effects that we can only think they will harm him and reduce his quality of life too much. He is a bad bet for more chemo (Nelarabine was suggested by Chicago Uni) because of the likely re-igniting through neutropenia of his brain and lung problems and other horrible side effects with limited prognoses.
So now we are exploring lots of increasingly whacky and implausible herbal and alternative ideas suggested by friends far and wide, desperate to help in any way they can. It’s straw clutching but at least we feel we are doing something active to help. Patches, mistletoe injections, holy oil from a saint, shen, acupuncture, massage, suggestions have included tapping, whirling (like a dervish)…..Jacob’s certainly not up for that one! And of course prayer, but we are feeling increasingly let down by God and find it very hard to do. We rely on you and others for that still. (thank you)
He is finding it very hard to hear and is awaiting advice re grommets (enlarged adenoids have blocked his eustacian tubes so that fluid has built up in his middle ear.) It’s a problem for a musician, but also socially. We now have to shout quite loudly to be heard and the tv is more accessible with subtitles without offending the neighbours. He has all the problems usually experienced by the elderly. He feels very tired much of the time and has lost his appetite and now lost 22kg. Luckily he started with a good weight so he doesn’t look skeletal despite that loss. Jonathan and seem to relentlesly gain weight with equal ease.
That’s about it really, not very encouraging reading I’m afraid. We need a miracle now.
We still are hoping for a reply from Houston
Love Cherry