A great weekend and back to the hospital

This last weekend was great for Nate. He had been out of the hospital for over 3 weeks and had been getting his energy levels up. On Friday he went to his sister Jocelyn's wedding rehearsal dinner and jetted out a few minutes early to go to his football game. He dressed for the game for the first time this season to the surprise of his teammates. He was a made a captain for the game and all of his family was their to see him walk on the onto the field. To see how far he had come in the previous weeks to get to this point was amazing. When in the hospital his goal was to make it back onto the field for his Sr year for at least one game. He first warmed up with the team and helped the special teams unit warm up. He walked out as a captain and was introduced last by the announcer and the whole stadium went wild which gave his family both tears and chills. He did not make it in to play but we were happy to see him dressed and walking. Below are some pictures of this moment. The last photo is of Nate with his nephews Ethan and Kaden. A few great things about his team are that the teammates all wear #15 decals on their helmets, they all close all team meetings with a team cheer of SPARKS and in all the years that we have been going to Canyon games we have never seen the name stitched on a uniform. The support has been humbling and appreciated.

On Saturday Nate went to Jocelyn's wedding which was beautiful. Here are some photos of the day. It was special that the whole family could be together. Nate hung tough the whole day but I think his nephews and niece wore him out by the end of the evening.

Nate entered back into the hospital to start his second round of chemo this last Monday. It was a great weekend. He is expected to be in for 10days of chemo and then 3 more weeks to recover from this round. Nothing is specific in terms of time but we hope he will be home for Thanksgiving and that this round is much easier than the first round. Nate is stronger this time around as he was much sicker when he went in the first time. Our prayers are that his body will take this round chemo well and continue to fight. He also knows more of what to expect and is managing everything better. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Coming back in the hospital has not been the easiest as he was just starting to enjoy his time out of the hospital. He still loves visitors and hearing from friends. Below are a few photos of him a few days ago of him with Kaden and Ethan before they head back to Texas. Last night was a fun night for his as his friends spent the night in the hospital with him and he is trying to keep moving and stay as active as possible to keep his strength up.

Progressing

I just thought I would give you a quick update on Nate. He has been out of the hospital now for 3-4 weeks and attended school for the first time the other day. Although tired it was good to see familar faces and feel like a normal teenager. He still has lukemia but his doctors gave him additional time out to rehab as my sister Jocelyn is getting married on Saturday. Nate has been out on the football field giving pointers to the other kickers and trying to regain strength. His progress has been great considering that 6-7 weeks ago his prognosis was grim. He will be dressing on Friday night for his football game and his goal is to get in for one play to say that he played his Sr season. He is doubtful to kick but he may hold for one of the kicks. This is most likely his only chance to play this year as he starts his second round of chemo on Monday. We are proud of his progress and just the fact that he will dress is amazing and we are all excited to be in the stands to watch him dress. This last week has been great for him to be able to feel like a regular teenager for a a few days and continue to gain strength before he starts up his second round.

Positive News

Nate has the bone marrow aspiration on Thursday and we just got word that the first round of treatment went well and there is a large reduction of cancer cells. It was also determined that he could continue to rehab at home for the next two weeks. What this means is that he will be home for Jocelyn's wedding on the 18th which is great news.
Nate will be re-admitted for his second round of chemo on the 20th and we pray for continued response to the therapy.
Nate is progressing well and enjoying a full appetite. He is working to get his stamina up and it has steadily improved since he arrived home 10 days ago. So far this is the best news that we have received since he was first diagnosed. We know that there are many trials to come but for now we are enjoying the first of many victories in this fight.

Nate was well enough to attend his first football game this last week and attached are some photos of him at the game.