March 29, 2013
Thank you, God, for the witness the Oxford family has been to us throughout their time since their beloved son went to be with you.
But their time of grief has not passed, nor will it any time soon. Please comfort and encourage them when it seems to overwhelm them, and allow them to cry and ask for help. Please help me be consistent in my prayers for them! In Jesus' name, amen.
Jan 28, 2013
- Nate passed this morning at 8:50am. We fully believe all that died was his body that has gone through so much in his brief six years on earth. His soul and spirit (Nate himself) never will die. God has used him to teach many people all over the world, mostly us, so much about God Himself. We praise God for giving us all Nate. Please come anyone and everyone to come celebrate his life...details coming here before too long. Nate is cancer free forever and its time to rejoice in that. Please post pics, stories, memories, etc here so we can read them and smile with you. We love you Nate and have fun, one day we all will be together once again. Praise God for allowing us to be your parents, friends, and brothers in Christ together.
God you are great and wonderful, mighty and all powerful. I praise you for the life of Nate, just a brief candle in the wind, who was here, reflected your light, and then went on to be forever with you. Glory to you in the highest, and peace to his friends and family. In Jesus' name, amen.
Jan 25, 2013, 6:30 pm
Hello everyone, we are still in the hospital here at Dallas Children's in the ICU. We were hoping this would be peaceful and quick but lots of things have gone on that have made it difficult to get home. Nate's seizures had started back and he would have some lasting as long as two hours at a time. They finally got those to stop late yesterday afternoon. He is asleep and not responding, but his hands and feet jerk back if pulled. His breathing is very heavy and sounds loud and raspy. Since it is not tumor that is coating his brain it is not the tumor shutting down the brain but actually his brain is dying off slowly and making less and less things work. It is very hard to watch because you want him to just jump up and dance on the bed and be healed because he is still here, but you know this is not good with these seizures, slow brain death, the breathing, etc. The prayer is be healed or just to be settled down and pass peacefully. We want this to be as comfortable as possible for him...get rest Nate. We would love for you to stay with us..we so much would love that...but it looks like this is your time to go be with Jesus so please God let him have peace...please God help him and wrap your arms around him for eternity.
O Holy God of mercy and grace, greatly to be praised and worthy of all glory and honor, Jehovah Rafah:
It seems that little Nate will soon be leaving this earth and this life and traveling to you. Please give him peace and rest for his little soul, and comfort him for having to leave his family so early. Comfort, too, all those who have prayed and cared for Nate for so many years. It must be the hardest thing there is, to lose a child. I know that you know more than anyone what that pain involves, because in it you had to turn your face away from your beloved. God, give peace and comfort to his family, and especially to his brothers, who are so young and may not have a way to understand the deeper issues involved here. Hold their hands, and wrap your arms around them eternally. In Jesus' name, amen.
January 23, 8:30 pm
This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but here it is. Dr Brown and Finlay reviewed the MRI and called us. The doctor was crying, they love Nate. Nate's brain has starting shutting down and the sight, seizures, confusion, hardly taking, etc is the brain dying bit by bit. Even if there was no tumor at all, Nate is close to brain death. They will be giving him some medicines to help to die in the most comfortable way possible later tonight once his brothers come to visit. From there they will try to get him home and hospice will help until the end if that has not already happened here. Right now we are going to savor every moment we have left as a family and know that God will take good care of him until we are all together again one day. I love Nate so much and have learned so much from him and will honor his life for the rest of mine. Please understand right now we don't need any visitors so we can be together and spend our time with Nate. We would however love to see as many of you who can come to his celebration of life when that does happen. Nate is a special kid and deserves a huge celebration. Thank you LORD for giving us Nate and take him in your perfect time, please don't let him suffer anymore and tell him to smile and show you his beautiful blue eyes because they have forever captured my heart and have impacted the lives of many all over the world. To God be the glory. Amen.
Lord, please ease little Nate out of this sin-sick, troubled, downtrodden world and into your Perfect Presence. Thank you for the time that you gave to him and his family. Please comfort them as only you can. Thank you for the witness they have all been to me, of your steadfastness and goodness. Thy will be done. Amen
Nate seems to be doing a little better this week. He had several transfusions...basically every couple of days he is getting transfusions. These keep us in the hospital most of the day on those days, but it is still better than having to get admitted. All of these are necessary because the time release chemo in him is so powerful that it just crashes your numbers and brings your immune system down to nothing. Hopefully this all will result in great MRIs come the 23rd of this month out in Los Angeles. The doctors out there have been working on the next step and developing a plan of action depending on the results of the MRIs and other tests. Nate is still getting over some of the symptoms of this past bout that put him in the hospital a little over a month ago. He deals with muscle weakness and still can't walk on his own, slight short term memory loss, bathroom issues, and fatigue. Some of this has gotten better and he continues to work on making progress. His cognitive and overall awareness is where he has made the most progress. Nate is still all there mentally. He says some of the most well thought out and witty things...it just blows me away what he thinks of...he truly has God's hands on him. Hopefully the other things will eventually fall into place like they have before...the brain is an amazing thing and when the cancer starts to go away and the drugs are reduced, more and more things get better every day...its a process and we've seen it many times before...both slow and fast but all in its own time. Nevertheless, we continue to pray for his complete recovery and healing here on earth and to get rid of this awful disease. Thank you all for the constant prayers...we thank God for all of you. The LORD is good and to HIM we give all praise and honor...with HIM anything is possible and HE hears us and longs to help us every day.
Lord, you are glorified each and every time Nate makes progress. This family knows who you are, and always gives you praise regardless of how Nate is doing. I pray that you will decide to heal him totally, here on earth, if it is your will. If not, then I pray that Nate not have to endure much more of this, but will soon be in your arms.
Nate has been having up days and down days. Sometimes he doesn't really want to do much beside sleep. It is hard to see him like this. When he does participate, he asks very good questions and makes a lot of sense so we know he is still the Nate we know. His next MRIs are on Jan 23rd in Los Angeles on the brain and spine and several other tests. We will decide what to do depending on the scans. Hopefully the fatigue and disinterest is drug related and not tumor. Some of the drugs he is on..particularly the steroid is known to do that. We appreciate all your prayers, thank you again for your continuing to go the Father on Nate's behalf. We know that HE is with Nate and has great plans for him. Praise to our Almighty Father. Amen.
Lord, thank you for giving this family such steadfast faith. Thank you for the many people to whom this resonates and witnesses of your faithfulness. Thank you for Nates up days.
Lord, I pray that Nate's lethargy and disinterest is the side effect of the medications he's on, and not the cancer returning. Please keep him in the palm of your hand, and give him a long and productive life. Amen.
1/21/13
Nate is in MRI right now..they are having difficulty getting his sedated body to be still because of all the tremors he is having. It is vital for him to be still to get good scans and the next step would be to put him on a breathing tube which freezes the body. The anesthesiologist said if that has to be done there is a very high risk of him having a stroke due to how high his blood pressure has been...right now 152/123. Without accurate scans proper treatment can't be assessed is the dilemma. Thank you for this prayer and specifically for the scans to be clean of tumor and give the doctors accuracy to move forward with a way to help him. We know God is with Nate and hears our prayers...praise HIM.
Dear Father, Nate is having such a hard time. His little body is giving out on him, and is racked by tremors. He needs to be still for the MRI, so that's the first thing I want to ask of you today. Please calm his tremors so that the doctors can get an accurate assessment. Please don't let him need a breathing tube! I pray that even as they watch, you will heal Nate entirely. You know that I was studying about miracles in Paul's day. I know that miracles happen, Lord. I know that you heal. Please heal Nate. In Jesus' name, amen
Nate seems to be doing a little better this week. He had several transfusions...basically every couple of days he is getting transfusions. These keep us in the hospital most of the day on those days, but it is still better than having to get admitted. All of these are necessary because the time release chemo in him is so powerful that it just crashes your numbers and brings your immune system down to nothing. Hopefully this all will result in great MRIs come the 23rd of this month out in Los Angeles. The doctors out there have been working on the next step and developing a plan of action depending on the results of the MRIs and other tests. Nate is still getting over some of the symptoms of this past bout that put him in the hospital a little over a month ago. He deals with muscle weakness and still can't walk on his own, slight short term memory loss, bathroom issues, and fatigue. Some of this has gotten better and he continues to work on making progress. His cognitive and overall awareness is where he has made the most progress. Nate is still all there mentally. He says some of the most well thought out and witty things...it just blows me away what he thinks of...he truly has God's hands on him. Hopefully the other things will eventually fall into place like they have before...the brain is an amazing thing and when the cancer starts to go away and the drugs are reduced, more and more things get better every day...its a process and we've seen it many times before...both slow and fast but all in its own time. Nevertheless, we continue to pray for his complete recovery and healing here on earth and to get rid of this awful disease. Thank you all for the constant prayers...we thank God for all of you. The LORD is good and to HIM we give all praise and honor...with HIM anything is possible and HE hears us and longs to help us every day.
Lord, you are glorified each and every time Nate makes progress. This family knows who you are, and always gives you praise regardless of how Nate is doing. I pray that you will decide to heal him totally, here on earth, if it is your will. If not, then I pray that Nate not have to endure much more of this, but will soon be in your arms.
1/23/13
Update: Yesterday and overnight have been very eventful. First off, regarding the MRIs and other scans and what we know for sure up to this point: Nate has a very active brain right now that is causing things to go on all over his body that the ICU doctors have been trying to find how to correct. The two main concerns right now in the eyes of Dallas are the constant seizures he has been having both seen and unseen and his blood pressure along with heart rate staying so high. As of right now, because things could change instantly throughout the day, both are finally being controlled they believe. To get both of those under control has been a huge fight. Nate has been put on multiple meds of extreme amounts to make that happen and though so far that has worked, the body can't keep getting that amount of meds just to stay within functioning range. Second thing, we know from the scans that Nate has a lot of excess water in the brain that is not being absorbed and circulated the way a normal central nervous system would do. The ventricles in his brain are very large right now. When looked at here in Dallas the reasoning is degradation from a source that can not be pinpointed. In other words, might be tumor that is not located, might be past treatments, might be the seizures, and might be that the brain is just plain wore out. The radiology findings here read very vague and general and not much can be learned from them. The great ICU department here in Dallas is trying desperately to help Nate get to Los Angeles because the oncologists and the brain team here have decided that he is not a candidate for anymore treatment or procedures that may or may not correct the situation. This is where Los Angeles and Drs Finlay and Brown come back in. We have been down some hopeless looking roads before with these doctors and so far they have done more than could have ever been expected. We would have definitely been sent home almost anywhere else and quite possibly everywhere else so words can't describe our gratitude to them. We also want to make this clear we do not feel negative toward any other hospital, institution, or doctor out there...so many people in Dallas, Ft Worth, New York, Duke, Seattle, and Denver have agreed to help him before and gave it their best effort and attention at one point or the other...Nate is a very complex case and not much has made sense over the years and the most logical thing to do was to just stop. We as his parents and his doctors in Los Angeles have without a doubt pushed this thing further than advised or the range of the normal range of comfort. The reason has always been because God has allowed Nate to stay very strong through all of this. No doubt that Nate in the world's eyes should have been dead a long time ago. Even his LA docs and me and Jackie are amazed at what God has blessed Nate with. Why? I don't know except to keep giving the praise to God.
Yesterday afternoon I overnighted the MRIs to Finlay and Brown. They have been talking extensively with the ICU doctors here in Dallas and the cooperation has been fantastic. LA will review the scans sometime today very thorough and include anyone that might help them further to decide whether or not there is a sliver of a chance that anything more can be done. As optimistic, out of the box, and cutting edge as they have been, Nate's best interest is always paramount and these doctors genuinely love him...we have literally spent hours and hours with them through the years and this is more than just doctor and patient. We as his parents and they as his doctors and friends will only proceed forward if it makes any kind of sense. We want God's will to shine here and this decision to be made with the wisdom HE has given all of us...both them and us...these are God fearing men and acknowledge that much more than just what they have done had kept Nate alive. Please pray for them, us as his parents, and for Nate. We want God's will to be done. If after careful consideration, thought, prayer, and research then the decision is no more then the ICU here will stabilize him and we go home on hospice...if the answer is yes, then Nate will be flown in Dallas Children's medical plane hooked to machines to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Nate will immediately begin the next step. This is a big couple of days and does not need to be taken lightly so when they make their decision may not be today. They are agreeing to one more chance to evaluate the situation and discuss with us in detail their decision and thoughts...that is more than we could be expected...they are truly doing this out of love. We will post more once we know more...please pray for all of us. Praise God for HE is in complete control and HE hears our prayers for wisdom. To HIM be all the glory...thank you God thank you Jesus!
Great and Mighty are you, o Most High, King of kings and Lord of lords. You are high and lifted up, you are glorious and wonderful in your power! Glory to you both now and forever! Amen!
Lord, each time I get an update from Wes, my heart is in my throat. I don't know this family, but through all of this, I have had the great opportunity to join with them and many, many others to pray for Nate. I am most blessed by this. So today, I join my prayer to that of those who are now praying for this family. They have glorified you throughout. They are willing to hear your will. Please make it abundantly clear to them, and give them, especially Nate, the strength and courage to go on. In Jesus' name, amen.
Nate has been having up days and down days. Sometimes he doesn't really want to do much beside sleep. It is hard to see him like this. When he does participate, he asks very good questions and makes a lot of sense so we know he is still the Nate we know. His next MRIs are on Jan 23rd in Los Angeles on the brain and spine and several other tests. We will decide what to do depending on the scans. Hopefully the fatigue and disinterest is drug related and not tumor. Some of the drugs he is on..particularly the steroid is known to do that. We appreciate all your prayers, thank you again for your continuing to go the Father on Nate's behalf. We know that HE is with Nate and has great plans for him. Praise to our Almighty Father. Amen.
Lord, thank you for giving this family such steadfast faith. Thank you for the many people to whom this resonates and witnesses of your faithfulness. Thank you for Nates up days.
Lord, I pray that Nate's lethargy and disinterest is the side effect of the medications he's on, and not the cancer returning. Please keep him in the palm of your hand, and give him a long and productive life. Amen.
Lord, I bring before you now my little brother, Nate, who has been such a witness for us as he and his family have suffered through his cancer. Now he is being rushed to the hospital, which is always frightening enough, but in this case is terrifying to those who love him. If it be your will, please heal Nate. If not, please take him peacefully, without pain, and with joy on his face as he comes near to you. Give his family and loved ones and all his many friends comfort if this is his last day. Lord, I know that what you do is perfect, fulfilling the purpose for which he was born on this earth. I pray that his purpose is not complete, and he can remain among us a little longer. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
