N8 THE GR8

June 2, 2009: Nate's Graduation

2009-07-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

I went home a few weeks ago to soak up some California sun and for the main event - Nate's graduation. It was great to see how much better he is doing (he is still as thin as a rail, but I think he is one of those lucky souls who always will be). It was also cool to see how loved Nate is by his friends, his teachers, and the community at large. As promised, here are some shots of the big high school farewell (Nate is the 6th and final Sparks Canyon High School grad).

Here's a little photo shoot I did with Nate before we left the house. He's hilarious. He won't smile for photos, but he sure will pose for them.
See the toothy smile in this photo? I was tickling him to make him laugh so that we got a real smile. I love this kid.
The Sparks Family (at least those of us who could make it): Shaughanie (with baby boy on the way), Eva (who was up way past her bedtime and was thus unwilling to look at the camera), Michael (who was sworn into the CA Bar earlier in the day-congrats!), Dad (who is sort of hiding in the back for some strange reason), me, The Graduate, Benji and Mom. One of the joys of coming from a big family is getting a huge cheering section, and trust me when I say I couldn't talk the next morning from screaming so loudly.
Victory! Nate has had a banner year. He has survived high school (a feat in and of itself) and leukemia. Dad had his robes embroidered with the orange cancer awareness ribbon which was fantastic in two ways: (1) it made Nate stand out so that we could see him in the crowd, and (2) it made Nate feel like he accomplished great things even though so much of his senior year was spent in a hospital. Congratulations Baby Brother, we're so proud of you!

May 2009: From Jerry

2009-07-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

May brought a number of highlights for Nate beginning with Prom on May 9. He went with Lauren Riddle, who is a lovely girl and has ironically a neighbor since we moved into our house when Nate was 17 months old. They had a great time and looked about as great as you can.

May 21, 2009 was Senior Recognition Night and Nate was invited to attend. During the ceremonies, he was awarded a $2,000.00 scholarship from the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation. It was based on his GPA, school involvement and essay he submitted. He also received another $500.00 scholarship from the Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. Way to go Nate!!!!!

May 30, 2009 was the City of Santa Clarita's Relay for Life.  Many teams sign up to walk the track and a member of each team needs to be on the track at all times for 24 hours from 9 am Saturday to 9 am Sunday.  The relay is to raise money for cancer research. It was held at Central Park and had lots of tents and booths, along with the track, it was amazing. Nate first checked in at the Survivor Village where he was given a purple survivor shirt and medal. At 9:00 they had the "Survivors Lap." It was pretty amazing seeing him walk with so many others. During the day they had many different activities, screenings for different kinds of cancer and booths. They also sold small paper bags for $10.00 for the luminary cermony. Any person could purchase one and decorate it any way they wanted. Most are dedicated to loved ones lost to cancer and to survivors. They line them up all the way around the track on both sides. It was very sobering and humbling at 7:00 pm to walk around the track and see at least 30 luminaries dedicated to Nate, many with his picture. At 9:00 pm there was a program and they interviewed 7 cancer survivors from every age group. Nate was asked to represent the teenagers. He did a great job and made everybody laugh! They then had a candle ceremony with hundreds of people and a giant slide show lasting 45 minutes with pictures of people in the community who had died from cancer and those who were survivors. That night, Nate found out his sister Jocie had arrived as a surprise for him. She was there for both his ordination and graduation.

May 31, 2009 was a special day for many reasons. Since we had a lot of the family together Nate decided he wanted to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and be ordained an Elder in our church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a spiritual and sweet experience to be surrounded by Dad, Mom, Jocie, Shaughanie, Michael, Eva and Benjamin, plus many dear friends, some of whom have known Nate since he was born. That evening Nate graduated from Seminary. He had attended Seminary for all four years of high school from 6:30 to 7:20 am. Even when he was sick and in the hospital, his teacher, Brother Steve Snow taped the lessons for him. Which was so kind of him. We all are very proud of Nate for these righteous choices.

April 2009: From Jerry

2009-07-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

April 1-8, 2009 was spring break for Nate. He, Dad and Mom spent a week in Texas visiting Jeremiah, Marci, Ethan, Kaden (and baby Rito who is still growing in Marci's stomach). Needless to say, it was a wonderful trip. Nate had been a year ago for spring break, but Dad and Mom had not been to visit though they had tickets to go when Nate got sick. It's OK for Dad and Mom not to be their grandson's favorite people because no one will ever be adored more than Nate is by Ethan and Kaden. The love and adoration is mutual. Nate spent a lot of time playing hide and seek with them and just hanging out. It has always been wonderful to see how much love Nate has for the boys.
The day after Nate came home from TX he was asked to be the inspirational speaker at a football camp. One of the boys in our neighboring ward, Taylor Kozck, decided to have a football camp for his Eagle Scout Project. One of the awards given at the camp was the "Nate Sparks Determination Award". Nate talked to the boys about dedication and overcoming obstacles in their lives. A person who went told us he was really inspiring and, of course we were very proud of him.
Also during April, Nate's cousin Becky, her husband, Scott, and children Rilee, Ashlee and Kyller came to Disneyland for a visit. We were all excited to go see them along with Nate's other cousin Emily. Becky and her family have been so supportive of Nate and all of us through his illness. Interestingly, Nate accidently broke Rilee's arm jumping on the trampoline when she was little and she was so proud of her cast. Fun memories.
Nate's 18th birthday was on April 30th which was on a Thursday and he had class that night so the whole family (Mom, Dad, Shaughan, Michael, Eva and Benji) took him to his favorite "restaurant." In 'n Out Burger. He was a happy guy. The next day, Friday, we all went Go Cart Racing. It was so much fun. If anyone gets the opportunity to go, do it. We had a blast. Afterwards we took Nate to his favorite (upscale?) restaurant Outback Steak House. There is nothing Nate likes more than steak!

March 2009: From Jerry

2009-07-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

During the month of March Nate continued to rest, sleep a lot and see his friends. He still had to go in every single week to see his oncologist and be monitored. This meant approximately 4 hours in the hospital including having 10 vials of blood taken, ex rays and a full examination. His doctor happily reported that every week, his blood counts got better and better.
March 23, 2009 was the first day of the fourth quarter of the school year. Back in July 2008 after Nate was diagnosed with leukemia, his oncologist told him if he was lucky he would make it to graduation in June, but not return to school for his senior year. After his appointment with the Doctor on March 16th, she told him she saw no reason why he couldn't return to school for the last quarter. (Of course, Nate had asked every single week for a month). Although he had finished all his academic classes for graduation, the school was wonderful and he attended ASB, Leadership, Track, where he helped coach and was a Teaching Assistant one period and an Office Assistant another period. It gave him a sense of normalacy and he was happy just to feel normal again going to school and hanging out with his friends.

On March 31, 2009 Nate returned to the hospital to have his Hickman Catheter removed from his chest. It had been part of him for 8 months and 1 week. He made sure to ask them to give it to him after they removed it. He said he wanted to keep it to remind him that through it was how he was kept alive.

Photographic Proof

2009-05-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here is photographic proof that Nate continues to improve in both health and spirits. As of his last medical appointment, Nate is still cancer free! Even more, he will be graduating from Canyon High School on June 2nd. We'll be sure to post photos of that moment of glory in a little less than a month.

ROUND 4 OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND NATE’S REMISSION

2009-03-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

The following is from Nate's mother Marilyn:

This is a response to all of you who prayed and perhaps fasted for Nate that his doctor would be inspired on the right course of treatment for Nate. After asking you all to do that I asked that Nate he also needed to seek his own answer of what should be done in his behalf. The Wednesday appointment at which we expected the doctor, Dr. Storch, to give us an answer she stated Nate needed to get healthier prior to any decision about further chemo. February 23rd Nate went back into the hospital for round 4 of chemo. There was no option per the doctor. Nate said he wasn’t going to do this, but suffered through his normal spinal tap and injection of prepatory chemo drugs put into his spine. We admitted him as I told him he still had to have his heart function test. Dr. Storch’s nurse, Lish, cried as she talked to him and told him he could die if he did not continue on with this course. Nate did not budge then or after being admitted or through the long night that came and went. Shaughan, his sister, and I tried to explain he would be giving up his life – his future instead of one more month of painful chemo in the hospital. Due to Nate’s body not being able to handle the strong chemo the doctor was reducing the amount by half as she felt he would not survive the full strength round. The doctor told us we didn’t have a choice, but Nate continued to say no. Jerry, my husband, and I had prayed, and we felt our answer was that he needed this round as an insurance policy. If there is even only one cancer cell left in one’s body it can immediately multiply and destroy. If Nate who was in remission fell out of remission he would have to have stronger chemo than he had ever received prior which could kill him, do chemo until he was back in remission and then go for a bone marrow transplant. The bone marrow transplant has a 38% mortality rate. Nate calmly told me that he had prayed and knew he was healed and safe and did not need more chemo. Monday, Jerry also was admitted to the hospital due to a severe flu, medication going awry and being dehydrated and was in isolation. Nate could not understand how our answers to prayers were different. I told him I didn’t think they were as both Jerry and I knew he was in remission and safe for now, but that the further round would be best to maintain his health as our Heavenly Father has asked us to do all we can and then he takes on the rest. Our good bishop came and talked to him during the day as did Dr. Storch and his nurses over the past 7 months. After 30 hours of Nate refusing treatment, Dr. Storch pulled me from the room on Tuesday afternoon and said that we should go with Nate’s intuition to which I replied it was his answer to prayer. Again she said let’s go with his intuition as there was no medical statistics or anything that could show that this round of chemo mattered. If he was resistant to this strong round it could be deadly. We talked for a while and included our bishop in the discussion. Ultimately we tried one more time as the nurses came in to start the chemo as we all thought Nate just didn’t want it and would be compliant when it came down to actually receiving it. We agreed if Nate refused we would be done. Nate refused and we came home.

That night it came to me very clearly that when I asked many to fast and pray that Dr. Storch would be inspired to make the right decision for Nate’s treatment that she had been inspired to make the right decision. Our prayers and yours had been answered. The answer came through Nate holding strong to that which he knew was right by asking Heavenly Father. Nate later told Jerry and I that he had fasted (going without food or water for a period of time) and prayed, and he got his answer. After getting his answer he continued to pray and was compliant when I asked him to pray about very specific treatment options. I told him thank you for his strength as he had submitted to the Father’s will. I have no doubts that this journey which started 7 months to the day we choose to stop chemo was an opportunity to learn to do the Father’s will. Nate gained his own testimony that the Lord gave him many answers during this time including early on that he would live, and then to stop putting further poison in his body that could have killed him in another round. We have had the opportunity to learn and do the Father’s will, to focus on one main objective as a family, to learn to love differently, to be tested, and to endure. Nate’s journey is not done as he has a hearing loss in his right ear, his left pinky finger has nerve damage that extends into his hand and wrist, his left heel has an open bed sore that is slowly healing, his back aches and he still has a Hickman catheter surgically implanted to be removed sometime this month. Our natural athlete is on the sidelines coaching others, getting school work caught up to graduate in June and regain his strength. He still sleeps with me some nights and needs food and pain killers at times.

I want to thank anyone who reads this for their faith and prayers as that has been the most important help anyone can give to unitedly petition our Father in Heaven for help. We, as a family have seen miracles with our Nate, within our family, and with those who for whatever reason there had been challenges in the past – these were forgotten and love replaced frustration and anger. Thank you for the donations that provided for Nate an operation not covered by Kaiser that we felt as parents was important. Thanks for the food brought, articles written, fundraisers, the bone marrow drive (yes Nate does have a basic match if ever needed), thanks to those who came and spent time especially the Patterson family for ensuring we got to go to church and had some family time each week, thanks for the donations of the computer, IPOD touch and much else. Continue your prayers for Nate to totally heal as we all have healed in this opportunity. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct they paths.” ~Proverbs 3:5-6 Those words are true. We have been strengthened by this experience so far and will continue to be. Thank you very much.

Update on Nate

2009-02-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

The last 2 weeks have been good for Nate. He has gained 8 lbs one week and 4 more the next. He has hair growing and his color looks good. He is just enjoying having a normal life. Although it has hurt he has worked out at the gym with his friend Kris. He is also working hard on completing some school work. Dr. Storch, his Oncologist told him he looks better than she has ever seen him look. She did tell him Friday that it would probably be 2 weeks before he has to go back in for Round 4 of chemo.

Nate found out last week he got accepted to BYU. He is excited, but also has some mixed emotions. Our prayer is he is healthy enough to attend. He continues to keep us laughing with his sense of humor. Eva, his niece has fallen in love with him, so watching her "crush" is pretty cute.

We continue to feel your love and prayers and will keep you updated on Nate's progress.

Nate's Journey Continues……………………….

2009-01-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, January 29 Nate, Mom, Dad and Jocelyn met with Nate's Oncologist and Hematologist. It was a good meeting and we are all cautiously optimistic. The good news is that Nate is in a documented remission and his bone marrow showed no cancerous cells. The Dr. explained however, that another 2 rounds of chemotherapy increase the chances of a patient staying in remission by 25 to 30%. The Dr. doesn't feel Nate is anywhere near being strong enough to with stand another round of chemotherapy right now. Of course, Nate would like to be done with the whole experience, but the Dr. says she will see him weekly and continue to monitor his blood, bone marrow, heart and kidney functions and overall health. When she feels he is strong enough round 4 will occur. Nate left the hospital 2 weeks ago at 100 pounds and was 104 last week.
On Thursday, he had gained 6 pounds and is now a whopping 110. Nate is impatient like any 17 year old to continue his normal life and activities. He also has a slight documented hearing loss is his left ear and a greater loss in his right ear. This is due to one of the many antibiotics he received when he was septic this last time. He is seeing an Audiologist and Ear Specialist to see what can be done.
Thank you all for your love, prayers and continued support and interest. We are all grateful and will keep you updated about Nate's progress.

Kicking Cancer

2009-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Nate came home on Wednesday and has been sleeping a lot to start getting his strength back. We keep thinking that we have an idea of what each round of chemo will be like be each one brings its own challenges although I think that we are now expecting the unexpected.
Nate is focused on gaining strength and if the previous rounds are any indicator as soon as his strength returns he will be focused on returning life to normal.
The next step will be a bone marrow aspiration to asses his white blood cell count. Following that we will sit down with his doctors and discuss a bone marrow transplant, more rounds of chemo and other options. We will keep you posted.

Latest Update

2009-01-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

The week between Christmas and New Years was difficult. After Nate returned to ICU, his kidney's failed. He had surgery on Sunday, December 28 to place the dialysis catheter in his left femoral artery (last time it was in the right) and they began dialysis. Nate was pretty sedated and out of it, but slowly improved. They moved him out of ICU on Sunday, January 4 and were able to remove the dialysis catheter on Tuesday the 6th. He also had a very severe bacterial infection in the blood and therefore had fevers between 104 and 105 until a couple of days ago.

After the call went out for platelets, the response from everyone was very humbling. From Wednesday, December 30 to Sunday, January 4, he received 3 units of platelets and 3 units of blood daily and everyone was a designated donation for him. We appreciate everyone's efforts.
We also received the wonderful news this past week that The City of Hope identified a perfect bone marrow/stem cell match for Nate. Although a transplant is not in the plan for the immediate future, it is great to know we have someone if and when this is necessary. Nate's Dr. hopes he will be one of the 25% of patient's who go into complete remission from the chemotherapy and never comes out.

We are grateful for each one of you and for your love, prayers and support.

Call for platelet donations!!!

2008-12-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

One of the procedures which helps Nate's body recover from chemotherapy is receiving blood platelets. Because platelets only have a shelf life of five days (they must be used within 5 days of donation), hospitals sometimes run short, especially around the holidays.

Nate (and other people in his situation) needs your platelet donations. To donate platelets, please contact the blood donor center at your nearest Kaiser Permanente. Though it is possible to donate through the Red Cross, it takes longer to reach specific patients (i.e. Nate) than donating directly to Kaiser.

Thank you for your love and support.

(An earlier version of this blog post directed you to the Red Cross for platelet donations--sorry for the confusion.)

Christmas and back into ICU

2008-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was a little different this year, but still good. Dad spent the night Christmas Eve with Nate and Christmas morning, Mom, Shaughan, Michael and Benjamin came down to the hospital to open gifts. Eva couldn't come as she had been sick and couldn't get close to Nate. Although Nate was really fatigued, he enjoyed opening his presents and seeing Meghan and Zane Patterson Christmas afternoon.

Unfortunately, Christmas Eve Nate started getting sick. He was up almost all night with severe body pain, high temperatures and vomiting. He slept a lot on Christmas Day, and on Friday the 26th his temperature went up to 105 degrees and stayed there. He also tested positive for a bacterial blood infection. On Friday night, they moved him to ICU and downgraded his condition to serious. But Nate continued to go downhill. He became tachycardiac, had irregular heart beats and was dehydrated. They were able to bring his temperature down, but by Sunday, they had to place a urinary catheter and put him on oxygen.

On Sunday evening, the doctor determined his kidneys were failing and dialysis would be necessary. His dialysis regimen is difficult, lasting 4 to 6 hours each day. They thought the dialysis would also help his heart symptoms, but are concerned that the chemotherapy could have caused some heart damage. We pray that isn't the case. Nate is on permanent oxygen now and is heavily sedated, so he is not always aware of his surroundings.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We all appreciate them so much.

How to Join the National Bone Marrow Registry

2008-12-17T15:01:00.001-08:00

For months now, dear friends and family all over the world have been asking how to have their bone marrow tested to see if they are a match for Nate. The generosity you have shown has been humbling to say the least. Because of the interest expressed, we thought it would be useful to post how to join the National Bone Marrow Registry. The good news is that not only Nate but thousands in his situation could benefit from your generosity should you choose to join the registry. More good news is that testing only requires 4 swabs of your mouth. The less-than-good news is that is costs $52 a person to obtain the kit to be tested. If you are still interested, please register and buy the kit from the National Marrow Donor Program which can be found online here: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/Join_Now/join_now.html. If you have additional questions, please post them in the comments section and we will try to answer them to the best of our ability. Thank you for your kind words, your prayers, and your willingness to help!

3rd Round of Chemo Update

2008-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

Nate and his friend Justin Wilson

Tomorrow is Nate's last day of his third round of chemo, and it couldn't come too soon. This round of chemo is eight times stronger than any of his previous rounds and has been really hard on Nate. For the last few days his temperature has been around 106 degrees, but thankfully dropped to 102 today. Even though this round is intense, Nate is determined to get out of the hospital within 40 days. Please remember him in your prayers so that he can reach his goal.

As noted in the last post, last Saturday Nate's good friend Justin Wilson organized a bone marrow drive on Nate's behalf. Our local paper, The Signal, ran the following outstanding story written by a Canyon High School junior named Megan Scherich. It is so good, we thought we would post it in its entirety

Bone-marrow Drive for Local Scout

What would you do if you were an Eagle Scout?

Not only do they learn to tie complex knots and start fires without matches, but they also fight to save lives.

Justin Wilson, a local Boy Scout, chose to fight for Nate Sparks.

Wilson organized the "Nate Sparks Bone Marrow Drive" at Canyon High School on Saturday to help his longtime friend find a match and aid him in his battle with leukemia.

Wilson chose the bone- marrow drive as his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project to show people "how simple it is to get screened and save lives."

"It doesn't take much," said Ben Hopkins, a Boy Scouts leader.

Although membership in the National Bone Marrow Registry is a long-term commitment, it is an easy way to help those in need of a match, like local cancer victims such as Sparks and Bob Corrales as well as diagnosed Americans nationwide.

Many of those who attended the Sparks screening wanted to give their support any way possible.

"The Eagle Scouts showed us how easy it is to get screened: four swabs you swirl in your mouth," volunteer Clarence Scherich said. "If that's all it takes to help somebody, it's certainly a sacrifice any of us can make."

Stacey Ranhofer, who has no connection to Sparks, heard about the drive and decided to participate.

"It touched me," Ranhofer said. "God bless them. I hope they find a cure."

The drive drew a great number of supporters, and Vivian Abernathy of City of Hope proclaimed it to be an "amazing turnout."

In only the first hour, more than 100 donors took four generous swabs of saliva each.

"Santa Clarita comes out stronger [for bone-marrow drives] than any other community I have seen," Abernathy said.

Such benevolent support from the Santa Clarita Valley is a great inspiration and hope for Sparks and his family. "I think they will find a match, I really do," said Nate's father, Jerry Sparks.

During the screening, Sparks visited with family, friends and participants, laughing and joking as usual. Throughout Sparks' treatment, despite the difficult journey, he has maintained an optimistic attitude and is living as normal a life as possible.

"What amazes me is that Nate is still doing his schoolwork," said Lisa Hillquist, a family friend.

Nate looked pointedly at his mom and said, "Wonder why?"

Marilyn Sparks, Nate's mother, shared her favorite "treatment story" about Nate.

While delirious he talked "about driving down Sand Canyon in a red convertible with his dog, Buddy, whose head was sticking out the window."

Through difficult times, the Sparks family preserves its lifestyle, filled will optimism, love and laughter.
"Nate has inspired me with his positive attitude, even throughout painful treatments," Jerry Sparks said.

Nate's outlook on life and his situation has inspired his family, Justin Wilson, the Eagle Scouts and the Santa Clarita community.

"I thank everybody for everything they have done," Marilyn Sparks said. "But most of all, thank you to everybody for your faith and prayers."

"Words cannot express our gratitude," Jerry Sparks said.

Megan Scherich is a Canyon High School junior.

Generous volunteers swabbing their mouths so that their bone marrow can be tested to see if they are a match for Nate

Bone Marrow Drive Last Weekend: Thank you Justin!

2008-12-12T08:13:00.000-08:00

There was a Bone Marrow Drive last weekend at Canyon High in support of Nate. It was organized by Nate's friend Justin Wilson for his Eagle Scout project. The day of the drive this article was published in the Signal newspaper.

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/6661/

A few days latter a follow up article was published that spoke to the turnout of the drive and the link is here.

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/6785/

Attached are some photos of the day. We would like to thank Justin and the Wilson family for their efforts. The level of support for Nate has been overwhelming and we appreciate it. We would also like to thank all of those that were tested as this could help not only Nate but all of those fighting this disease.

Nate was re-admitted to the hospital to start his third round of chemo this Monday. It is a much more intensive round than he has previously received. We will keep you posted on as to his status.

Nate & Justin

Nate's sister Shaughanie making a poster

Donors signing up to help

Donors swabbing their mouths

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

Nate had a great Thanksgiving with his Mom, Dad, Shaughanie, Michael, Eva, Benji, and Jocelyn and Zack who came from DC to celebrate. Nate ate lots of delicious food, hung out with his friends, played Guitar Hero, watched movies, showed everyone his favorite youtube videos and played UNO. Actually, while playing Uno, sweet Nate didn't want to give any of his Draw Four cards to his sister Jocelyn. He kept them as long as he could and usually got stuck with them in the end. Lest you think that his kindness hurt him, please know that Nate won the game. Moral of the story--being nice to your sister pays off. More than anything, Nate is just trying to be a normal teenager when not in the hospital. Right now he's just trying to put on weight and get stronger before his next round of chemo which will start next week and will be 8Xs stronger than previous rounds. Please keep him in your prayers. This Thanksgiving Nate is grateful for life, and his family is grateful for Nate in their lives.

Playing UNO with Zack

Nate showing Eva how to rock Guitar Hero

Second round of chemo complete!!!

2008-11-20T05:53:00.000-08:00

Nate was released yesterday so he will be out of the hospital through the Thanksgiving holiday. We are excited to see him home and have the second round of chemo come to a successful conclusion. There is a meeting with the transplant team on Friday the 21st and we will have more information after that as to whether he will have a bone marrow transplant or a stem cell. There are more questions than answers right now on the transplant but as we receive more information I will keep you updated.

The Signal which is the local newspaper in Santa Clarita called us up a few days ago asking for more information on Nate and published this article today. The link is below. We appreciate all of the support and love that we have received as a family. Initiatives such as the tennis tournament have turned this challenge into an opportunity for our family, friends and community to learn and be a a part of something bigger than ourselves. We thank you and love you all for your prayers, love and efforts.

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/6121/

Here is a photo from Sr night where he was honored by teamates and busted out of the hospial for a few hours.

Nate update

2008-11-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Nate went back in for his second round of chemo therapy on Oct 20th. The normal course consists of 10 days of chemo, 10 days of down time where the chemo takes effect and attacks his white blood cells and 10 days to recover and then go home. Nate looked strong after the chemo and it took a bit longer than usual for the chemo to really hit. He currently is starting to recover from the therapy. He has been nutropenic for the last 10 days which means that his white blood cell count is so low that his immune response is compromised and he cannot fight infections.
Last week on November 7th he was released for a few hours to go the is football game where it was the last home game, the senior players were honored and it was homecoming. He was excited to go and get out and see his friends. It was great to see him post he anaphylactic reaction that he had to the platelets a few days prior. Nate was honored by his teammates with a football signed by the team. It was a good night for him but tiring and he ended up sleeping most of the rest of the weekend.
Currently he is sleeping a lot (similar to how any teen would and then some) and is hoping to be released in the next 10 days. My parents will be meeting with physicians this coming week to discuss a bone marrow transplant and we will keep you posted on that possibility.
Nate appreciates the visits, prayers and well whishes so please keep hem up.
If I receive photos from Sr. night I will make sure to post them.

2008-11-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Nate reentered the hospital on Monday, October 20th for his second round of chemo. He finished the 10 days of chemo on Thursday, October 30th. He has been reacting to this round of chemo shockingly well. There has been little nausea and his temperature has been pretty normal. Nate didn't need any blood transfusions until Halloween and has been getting platelets or blood daily since then. Nate has been feeling well until yesterday when he had an allergic reaction to his platelets transfusion and went into anaphalatic shock. Thanks to quick-acting nurses he was given steroids, benedryl, and oxygen which saved his life. He still has hives over 80% of his body but he is doing better and starting to improve.
If you are B positive or O blood type, it would be great if you could donate platelets in Nate's name as supplies are dwindling. Thanks for all your support and prayers. We'll post again soon.

A great weekend and back to the hospital

2008-10-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Nate is home!

2008-09-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

Nate was able to come home last night after 61 days in the hospital. Next Monday, September 29 he will check back into the hospital as an outpatient where he will be sedated and have a bone marrow aspiration done. We will get the results either the following Wednesday or Thursday and it will tell us how well the first round of chemotherapy worked. He will then be scheduled to be readmitted to the hospital for the second round of chemotherapy. The time frame on this will depend on his overall health. His liver is still inflamed and he needs to put on more weight and generally be more healthy before chemotherapy. His hope is that he will be able to be out of the hospital for his sister Jocelyn's wedding on the 18th. The photo below is of Nate and Jocelyn at one of Nate's games last year.

We know Nate is here with us today because of everyone's faith and prayers. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

September 18th

2008-09-18T06:56:00.001-07:00

Nate's health continues to improve. His kidneys are functioning again, so he no longer needs dialysis. Nate is sitting up more and starting to walk again. He can receive visitors and loves when his friends stop by. Thank you to all who have tried to help Nate eat more, he is starting to gain weight because of your efforts and we are so grateful for your generosity. The doctor is hoping to get Nate well enough to go home for a week or two before starting his second round of chemo, which both he and his family are really excited about.

Good News & A Call for Food :)

2008-09-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Good News #1: Nate is out of the ICU and back in PEDS! The medical staff is happy to see Nate, and Nate is happy to see them.
Good News #2: Nate is playing video games again! This is good for both morale and finger mobility. Please feel free to stop by and challenge Nate to some Tony Hawk.
Good News #3: Nate hasn't had to have dialysis for a few days! This is great because it means that his kidneys are functioning better.
Good News #4: Nate is eating again! His current favorites are Trader Joe's black licorice, peanut M&Ms, Twix, homemade white bread and candy Runts. The doctors really want him to consume a lot of protein and N8 ate almost 4 oz. of beef yesterday. He is back to drinking milk. Also he's allowed to have fresh fruits and veggies now, so Nate is downing as many strawberries as he can get.
Here comes the call for food: It is important to the doctors to get Nate walking and packing on weight before his next round of chemo. So if there is anything you can think of to bring or send to encourage Nate to eat, please do so. We're looking for some culinary/dietary inspiration.
Thank you for your faith, love and prayers. Our family is so grateful for the way our friends have sustained us and we know that Nate's improvement has been a group effort.

Update from Jocelyn: September 10

2008-09-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

I got to go home to CA last weekend to visit Nate and it was so good to see that he's doing better everyday. I was with him when they took his breathing tube off because he was doing so well on his own. He hasn't moved back up to peds yet because it has been full, but we're hoping that something opens up today. The staff in peds was fantastic to work with and they love Nate so that's where he'd like to be. Right now Nate is working with physical and occupational therapists to stretch and strengthen his muscles and is doing a great job. Another piece of good news is that Nate's appetite is coming back, carbs seem to be his favorite in the form of spaghetti and white bread. We'll post another update soon. Thanks for everything!

Another step in the right direction

2008-09-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update but Nate is set to move out of the ICU today and back upstairs to the pediatric floor. His need for oxygen has ceased and his kidney function is coming back so he doesn't need as much dialysis as before. He should be able to start having visitors soon, we'll let you know when. Lastly, we are awaiting the results on his white blood cell count to ascertain how the first round of chemo went. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, please keep them coming.

Quick Update

2008-09-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

Nate is doing better each day. 3 weeks ago it seemed like for every piece of good news there was 4 pieces of bad news to go along with it. Now it is the opposite. He is making progress and we hope that he will be getting out of the ICU in the coming week and back up on the pediatric floor where he can start having visitors as that is always a help in raising his spirits. Last night was Nate's football teams first game I know that he wishes he was out there with his teammates of Canyon High. Speaking of Canyon, there was a blood drive in his name last week and there were over 500 individuals that donated blood with more turned away due to capacity. We appreciate the love and help. Nate has needed a lot of blood these last few weeks and your help is appreciated. I will post and let people know when Nate is able to receive visitors.

Nate's Senior Photos: Thank You O'Conner Photography!

2008-09-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

A special thank you to Mike O'Conner, Dan Hamrick, Linda Johnson and all the staff at O'Conner Photography for coming to the hospital to take Nate's senior pictures. Most of all thank you for your generosity, love and concern.

Good article by the Signal on Nate

2008-08-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/3694/

I thought you would all like to read this link which is an article by local paper the Signal.

Thank You Cowboys!!!

2008-08-27T14:52:00.001-07:00

Thank you Canyon Cowboys for coming to the hospital to donate blood on Nate's behalf! You are fantastic teammates and friends.

The Latest (Updated by Jeremiah)

2008-08-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been rough on Nate. I arrived back in CA on the 10th of Aug and he was finishing up his last few days of chemo. We were prepared for him to get sick which he did but he just kept getting sicker. On Monday he was fairly mobile but by Tuesday we were lucky to get him out of bed and across the room. Tuesday was particularly rough as it was the day of football pictures with the team and he had hoped that to attend. His doctors although reticent were ready to let him go to the team photos but the 30 minutes prior he started having poor blood pressure then would become tachycardic (heart beats too fast).

Wed he became immobile and his low grade fever began to spike.
Thursday he had an echocardiogram on his heart and developed diminished cardiac function. The physicians were trying to figure out if the issues were caused by pericarditis which is an infection of the sac around the heart or sepsis which is an infection in the blood.
Friday the fever persisted, fluid on his lungs was discovered and his kidneys started to not function well to the point that he was moved to the ICU for better monitoring
The ICU was busy and crazy. Nate seemed to stabilize but his kidneys got a bit worse and on Saturday his legs started to swell and moving at all became difficult.
Sunday it was more of the same and the concern was that he was averaging less than 200 calories a day, the fever continued and ranged between 101 and 105.
I left on Sunday and I was scared as each day seemed to have more and more bad news. He was fairly stable and did not seem to truly belong in the ICU. Nate began to realize that he needed to fight the disease instead of just enduring it and getting back to his life. The week physically was difficult and draining as his white blood cell count was bottoming out due to the chemo and all of the fore mentioned issues. Emotionally it was difficult as he missed the team photos and school started that Thursday.
Monday Aug 17- Nate was moved to Telemetry (a step up from ICU) but not back the pediatric floor that was much friendlier. It was decided that his issues were being caused by sepsis and he was receiving many drugs to treat this but the fever persisted and the kidneys got worse and the cardiac function was increasingly becoming alarming.
Tuesday 18th- Telemetry was the pits! Again more of the same without much good news. Again decreased kidney function and cardiac function. The swelling got worse and started to move to his abdomen.
Wed Nate was moved back to the ICU and things did not look good and all of the fore mentioned issues persisted as well as his liver started to fail and swell.
Thursday was the low of all lows. I received a call as did all of the family that Nate was going into surgery around 3 and they were not sure if he would make it. We were all asked to come home. It was a stressful flight. Nate’s kidneys were failing and dialysis was needed but he had liquid around his heart that needed to be drained and all of his organs were swollen and his body had no clotting factors to stop any bleeding. He did make it through but when I got in on Thursday night it was rough to see him on the ventilator, tied down, on dialysis (where the clean his blood for him)
Friday he got off the ventilator and some swelling went down. The fluid around his heart did not refill and this was the first day where there was more good news than bad. In fact his white blood count started to come up which means that his immune system can start fighting his infections.

I write this now on Tuesday the 27th and progress is coming. Nate is still in the ICU and continues dialysis and we are hopeful that we will be released up the pediatric floor this weekend and deemed stable. 2 weeks from now we would like to see him released to go home for a week prior to coming back for another round of chemo.

We would like to thank all his friends who have come by and would ask that you wait to see him until he is out of ICU but he is buoyed by your thoughts, prayers and visits. Thank you to all that have and are donating blood and platelets in his name as he has needed almost 2 pints of blood a day and platelets on a regular basis. This is currently the best way to help. 40 football teammates came down via bus yesterday to donate blood and I understand that over 400 students and staff at Canyon are donating blood on Thursday in Nate’s name.

We thank you and we will keep you updated. We would like to especially thank Meghan and Cathy Patterson and the whole Patterson clan for their assistance. Thank you to all others that have assisted our family in this trying time!

Photos and stuff

2008-08-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

This is some stuff and pictures from the first few days after he was diagnosed with AML and early in his treatment. Sorry, we have not been the most dilligent in updating the blog. Here is another photo of Nate post the hair cut with his mohawk/mullet.

3 days after he was diagnosed with cancer and 2 days after he had surguery for his central line for his medications Nate had some Sr. photos in the hospital room next door. Obviously these were prior to the mohawk and mullet. We'd like to thank O'Conner Photography for coming out to the hospital to photograph Nate.

Leave it to Nate to look GQ, during clothing changes in the hospital.

2 hours after his Senior photos were taken, Nate started chemo.

A few days into chemo we brought Nate's dog in for a quick visit. You can see from the glasses photo that Nate is a joker. The favorite has been the fake fart machine but the fake puke was a good one to get nurses and visitors.

Nate has had many friends and visitors which always cheers him up. We're so thankful for all the love and support that has been expressed by friends and family all over the world. Both Nate and our whole family have been strengthened.

Here are some great photos from his last football game his Jr year with his two nephews Ethan and Kaden. Ethan was the one who picked out the fake puke for his cool uncle in the hospital. Nate isn't just his favorite uncle, so much as Ethan's favorite person on the planet. Kaden is on the same Nate-adoration bandwagon.

We'll give you a status update on Nate shortly.

The Diagnosis

2008-07-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nate was diagnosed with leukemia on Thursday, July 24th, and AML specifically on Friday, July 25th. He started chemo on Monday, July 28th and thus is on the road to recovery. Here is a photo of Nate after his Hickman catheter was inserted for his chemo. Classic Nate.
Nate has, unsurprisingly, proved very popular since he was admitted to the hospital. We'd like to thank everyone who has visited, called, prayed, and fasted for Nate over the last week. Nate, and his family truly appreciate your kindness. Here is a photo of Nate with his friends Mack and Robert watching a movie.

Nate's brother Jeremiah gave Nate a pretty sweet fauxhawk on Tuesday and has some great photos of it. Until he has time to upload those, here is a photo of Nate headed out on his first walk outside the hospital with his brother Jeremiah and his sister Jocelyn.