9/1/14 - Scans This Friday

Hi All!  We hope you had a wonderful summer!  It's been a handful of months since our last post, so we wanted to bring you up to speed on how things are going on our end :)  

First and foremost, let me give you an update on Jas.  Going back to May, Jas had a stent sewn in to try to fix his esophagus.  The goal being to help his esophagus heal in the shape of a circle so food can pass through a wide opening.  Well, we went back in July to have the stent removed and unknown to us it had popped the stitches and fallen into his stomach many many weeks prior.  So... that was discouraging as Jas had experienced some serious pain the first two weeks of the stent being in.  However, what the Dr. shared with us was that based on the shape of Jas' esophagus after having the stent in place for even a couple weeks, it more than likely wouldn't have fixed the problem even if it had been in place for the full two months based on the shape it already went back to - the hourglass.  The conversation then turned to what other options we could consider for the future.  To be honest, they have tried most everything and none of the other options did we consider to be good ones at this point in time.  Which leads us to the final option we are proceeding with.  To see how long Jason can possibly go without a stretching before it gets scary more or less.  So, here we are now 2 months out from his last stretching and back into unchartered waters.  The Dr. hopes that Jas' esophagus opening will plateau at a point and hopefully it will be something Jas can learn to live with.  That is what we are praying for as well!  Time will tell!

Also, this Friday, Sept 5,  Jas has his next round of CAT scans and additionally we are meeting with his Sarcoma Dr. as well as his Esophageal Dr., so it will be a long day!  Please pray for our minds to be guarded this week with God's promises and to be blanketed in His peace that passes all understanding leading up to and including Friday.  As some of you know, the week leading up to scans can be a really tough week emotionally for both of us, so we would really appreciate your prayers!  And of course for the scans to be CLEAN is a big request too!

Besides that, we had a really enjoyable summer!  We were able to visit family & friends in Ohio in June, go on fun camping trips, Dutch Wonderland, Believe Big race, PPF FUNomenon, OSU Football game (Thank you Dodges!), etc.  It all went by so fast and was super fun!  Now Taylor (5.5 yrs) has her first week of Kindergarten under her belt and Tyler (almost 8 months) is rolling around everywhere, babbling a lot and has 2 teeth :)  Where does time go?

Here are some pics below from our summer.  Thanks again for your prayers in advance for our family this week!

With Much Love,
Jas, Meg, Taylor & Ty

Dutch Wonderland

Jas ran a 15K trail run and T her first 1 mile race

PPF Funomenon

He sure misses his sister now

Go Bucks!

1st Day of Kindergarten, Ready to Go!

5/4/13 - The stent is in!

Hi All!  

We wanted to send a quick update on Jason and his procedure this past Thursday.

The stent is in and there were no major complications.  Praise God!  While he was in quite a bit of pain the night of the procedure and the following day, he is at a point that he can now manage the pain without having to take any prescription pain meds.  So while he does have pain, it is less than the last time around and can be managed w ibuprofen - another HUGE Praise to God!

If all goes well from here we will head back to the Dr. in early July to see how his esophagus is reacting to the stent and decide whether or not to leave it in place for a month or two longer.

At this point our biggest prayer request is that the stent helps his esophagus re-shape correctly to fix the problem go forward.  Also, that the pain continues to remain manageable or go away completely.

One thing that God continues to humble us in throughout our journey is how there are so many others that have it much worse than us!  I bumped into a dear friend of ours' mother at the hospital while Jas was in his procedure.  Wow, it was so humbling to quickly catch up with her, as she recently lost her son in law to esophageal cancer who was diagnosed just 6 months prior to Jas.  He left behind a family of four kids and a wife who continues to battle brain cancer.  Again, humbling and a good reminder to us of how thankful we need to be that what Jas is dealing with at this time is an inconvenience, not life threatening.  What an incredible blessing from our Lord!  Very different from where we were at a couple years ago Praise Jesus!  We are so thankful for this extra time we have gotten to have with Jas!

That's it for now!  Thanks again for your continued prayers for us, it means so much to our family!

With Much Love,

Meg

4/30/14 - Trying a Sew In Stent

Hi Friends and Family!  

We wanted to send a quick update out and ask for your prayers for Jason this Thursday, May 1 please.

He will be undergoing a new procedure where they will be using a smaller stent and sewing it to his esophagus wall.  His Dr. hopes that this will help Jason's esophagus heal in the correct shape (a circle vs oval) over time.  If all goes well, they will check the status of the stent 1.5 to 2 months out from the procedure and then, depending on how Jason's esophagus wall is reacting to the stent, determine whether or not they can keep it in for a month or two longer.

One big positive with this procedure is that they can use a smaller stent than they have used in the past so Jason will hopefully not be in as much pain.  Plus with the stitching, it should stay in place vs fall into his stomach.

If you can please pray for the following:

1. That this procedure is effective in helping the esophagus heal correctly and eliminating future stretchings.

2. For Jason to experience no pain or complications.

3. For God to open our eyes to how he wants to use us through this procedure and this hospital visit.

Many thanks!

With Much Love In Him,

Jas & Meg

1/31/14 - Fantastic news!!

Hi all!  We wanted to send out a quick celebratory post before we head to bed :). (Yep it's 8:30pm.  We have been up since 5:30am, got home at 5:30pm and have a newborn.  We are desperately needing sleep!)

The stretching went well smoothly today.  We still need to keep praying for clarity as to whether we stick to the stretchings every two months, proceed w a sew in stent or try self dilations (yikes), however are so grateful that we had a two month breather from the hospital this last time around.  The longest ever in the last two years!!!  Thank you Lord!

As for Jason's scans, everything came back clean PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE THE LORD!!!!  It was so nice to see the team again, celebrate the fantastic news with them and show them pictures of our new little man who was born on the 2nd year anniversary of Jason's surgery.  Our Dr. thought that would be another reminder for us to think of him every year when we celebrate another year of Jason being cancer free and Tyler's birthday :)  God continues to blow us away with how he perfectly timed Tyler's arrival with such an  important date in Jason's journey, to remind us yet again that He is in complete control!

Here are some pictures our dear friend Tania took for us.  Man she is an incredible photographer!!!

We Love how our friend Tania captured the scar from Jason's surgery to be a timeless pic of what sweet timing God planned for the arrival of Tyler!  This will always be dear to our hearts!

Our friend Tania had this outfit specially made for Tyler knowing how much Jason loves to hunt deer. Look at those cute little antlers and tail. :)

So the plan is to continue scans every 6 months for this next year and after he hits the 3 year mark of being cancer free to go to once a year.  And until we receive clarity from God on Jason's esophagus we will keep getting stretchings as needed.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and loving texts, calls and emails today.  We are so blessed to be showered with your love!

With Much Love,

Jas, Meg, Taylor and Tyler

1/30/14 - Next Round of Scans This Friday

Hi All!  We wanted to send a quick message out there to ask for your prayers for Jason this Friday please.  

He will start his day with having a stretching Friday AM.  Praise God he lasted two months this time - the longest in 2 years!  Then he will have his CAT scan mid day,  He will we then end the day meeting with his esophageal team of Drs mid afternoon to review the results of the scan. 

It will be a LONG day for sure!  This will be the two year mark from his surgery, which is a very BIG milemarker for this type of cancer especially.  The chances of this cancer returning after the 2 year mark drop significantly!  So please pray for clean scans :)

Thanks for your continued prayers for our family!  

Much love,

Jas, Meg, Taylor and Tyler

1/9/14- Tyler Reid Wiles has Arrived!

Hi All!  We wanted to share the exciting news that Tyler Reid Wiles has arrived.  6 lbs and 6 ounces, 20 inches long.  

He was born on such a special day for our family, January 9 at 11:17pm, the anniversary of Jason's esophaghectomy.  What an incredible gift from The Lord!  

This scripture says it so well!

1 John 5:14 &15 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Enjoy the pics!

With Much Love,

Jas, Meg, Taylor and Tyler