Jayce is HILARIOUS. He is incredibly witty and very goofy. We watch a lot of YouTube, like Jimmy Kimmel’s old “Ew” episodes or his madlib episodes. We also watch a lot of “kids say/do the funniest things” videos. He loves music and LOVES to sing (anything from country, pop, hiphop, to worship music). He enjoys playing Nintendo switch, hide n go seek in the dark, and laser tag with the family. He also LOVES building legos or anything that gets his imagination going.
On August 31st of 2017, Jayce was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. In the time leading up to his diagnosis, he had begun complaining that his stomach hurt. At the beginning of football season, Jayce was always at the front of the pack when running laps, but slowly began creeping towards the back. He also began bruising and eventually lost his appetite (he is our EATER, so it was REALLY weird). He had his tonsils removed, but his lymph nodes were incredibly swollen. The ER doctor said to go to an allergist, but my wife had a feeling it wasn’t allergies. The night before the allergist appointment, she googled, “symptoms of 9 year old boy, bruising, loss of appetite, swollen lymph nodes” and the first result was “leukemia”. When she went to the allergist, he quickly knew that it wasn’t allergies. My wife said she and the allergist looked at each other and both knew what each other was thinking. He recommended going immediately to Texas Children’s Hospital. Jayce had moved to the back of the football pack because a cancerous mass growing from his right lymph node near his under arm had grown to cover half of his chest where he lost 1/2 of his breathing capacity. We spent the next 2 weeks in ICU while the mass shrunk small enough to continue treatment and testing.
We are currently on a 3 year journey, fighting along side him. Jayce has to get chemo, which is hard on everyone, and he receives lumbar punctures that can occasionally cause him to have severe lingering migraines. Cancer shook our lives upside down and around. We can’t participate in normal activities like going to the movies or grocery shopping. Jayce had to miss baseball and football season. We normally have to split up to get any task done; no school, no church, and work has been interrupted multiple times. Family trips are put on hold. Money is spent on parking, at-home child care, uncovered medical expenses instead of saving for vacations or for college. But, our children and our marriage are stronger because of it! Jayce even has said that he is glad he is the one who got cancer and not his other siblings. He said that he is tough enough to handle it and wouldn’t want his siblings to go through it.
Jayce has a fighter’s spirit. He has the best outlook on life. He is secure in what he looks like- even with no hair! He is not fearful. He is confident that he will get better. He is emotionally sound. Truly someone to look up to and a hero in our eyes!
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