Thursday, July 31, 2008

in the bones

So yesterday I received a call from my oncologist and they have spotted cancer in my bones, they suspect it to be in my left pelvis, my right back 6th rib, and maybe my shoulder joints. It doesn't change much I guess except I have to take more meds to strengthen my bones so it wont spread. Today I feel good I got my mary jane club card and that is helping me put some weight on and keeps me from getting nauseous. Its good that California give the option for patients to use there medicines without being a criminal. We deserve it. I slept a lot today I'm not sure if its the chemo or the week catching up but i feel pretty good over all, I have some stomach pains and liver pains but nothing i can't handle. I'm very excited about the upcoming events, I'm stoked on the golf tournament coming up later August which sounds like a lot of fun in the sun and good golfing. We will be getting started on the golf event very shortly. I hope everyone is doing well today and will talk to you again shortly. Love Sky.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

earthquake

Ok so yesterday we have an earthquake while I was in chemo and the quake starts me and my sister look at each other and say EARTHQUAKE and we go racing for the door, I get about half way and my iv stand was still plugged in to the wall I had to go back and free it then race back under the door. It made our hospital visit very interesting got our adrenaline pumping. The overall visit was good I found out I have one of the hardest chemo's on the body for side effects so this week will be the true test of how it effects me. Right now I feel the best I have felt in over 3 months. Im gaining weight right now and my body functions are normal Im eating and digesting food well. I'm happy and positive right now so over all I feel great and is ready to fight through the hard time to come. I'm ready to kick some cancer ass. I love you all for all your support everyone of you keep my head were it needs to be in a positive and happy place full of hope and love. So you all know my plan it looks like we will go two more chemo cycles then retest and see were we are, if all is going well we will continue the total amount of cycles which is 8 total. Then we have a local doctor who practices in specializing in chemo for the individual not for the symptom which kaiser ony goes by the book for the symptom. If you would like you can look at some of his wed stuff his name of his clinic is Rational Therapeutics. His name is Robert Nagourney, and there are some good testimonials and interviews you can look at, www.rationaltherapeutics.com. Then our next mission is MD Anderson in texas there said to be the cancer gods. So I think were up to date with my plans, so I love you all and will talk to you tomorrow. Love Sky.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

wow

First things first, to everyone who put their lives and hearts into this event to make it happen, I wish I could thank you enough. There simply aren't the words to express my gratitude. I want to give a special thanks to Jason, Lisa and April. You three went above and beyond any one's expectations and produced and orchestrated something that is nothing short of an amazing movement. I also send a very heartfelt thanks to Bret and his family for hosting my benefit. Your willingness to allow us free reign of your place and everything you donated - use of your space, free pool for the night, and the proceedes of all non-alcoholic drinks - is truly beyond generous. To those who donated, from the bands to the bartenders to the individuals and establishments who gave gift certificates and all the other items (there are far too many to list), your generosity is overwhelming. I appreciate every single one of you who showed up. This would not have been a success without you. With all the love I received this weekend I know we are going to do what it takes to beat this cancer. As our shirts say F*CK CANCER! Please write a comment and let me know how your night was. I hope you all had as good a time as I did.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

We are here!


Aaron-

Sky headed out to Napa yesterday. Everyone loaded into the Fight Cancer rented RV, and started the long drive to Napa after sky had some tests done at the hospital. I could tell he was still in good spirits during the drive when i got the phone update (i had left with David 3 hours earlier) , jokingly telling me about his testicular exam and a an old Iranian doctor(i will let you use your imagination)!

So i received the call late after i had already arrived that they had indeed made it too the Bay Area and all was well. I will be doing my best to keep this site updated during the busy weekend. We hope to see all of you at the event.

I really wanna say thanks to everyone commenting everyday and leaving words of hope and encouragement. He feeds off of these comments and looks forward to reading them. As praise was given in the previous post i also want to thank you all for the tons of support you have given Sky, It is truly amazing to me that people can still rally together in times of hardships. BLESS YOU ALL!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Feeling good


Aaron-

Sky wanted me to tell everyone that the last two days have been much better and he is gaining his strength and his appetite is coming coming back. He is really looking forward to seeing everyone at the event on Sunday at Billco's. What everyone has done has been amazing, a miracle in itself. To all who have went above and beyond, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please keep the comments coming as they help keep his spirits up to know that people are still thinking of him and wising him well.

I wish to personally thank Nicole, Crystal, Carly, and Joyce for being here and doing everything around the house and taking care of Sky. To be honest you all are angels, and anyone would be hard pressed to find people as caring and loving as all of you. Please send some thanks to these great ladies for really doing all the hard things.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Home again!

sky came home yesterday and is feeling much better! today sky and i went for a walk around the block and everything was great. We are looking forward to coming to Napa and seeing everyone as well as thanking everyone who has helped with the fundraiser. I will post again when i get some more information. I will also be trying to post a permanent link for the bank account number.

Thanks everyone.
Aaron

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Saturday July 19th

Sky--

It's been a hard week, Im sorry i havent had the strength to keep the blog up to date, i am hoping that i will be at home soon and back on track. Thanks everyone for all your support

Aaron--

Sky is still in the hospital, looks to be here until at least monday. We are hoping that he will be out then, but the doctor wants him to be eating solid foods without felling sick to his stomach. The early prognosis is that the first cycle of chemotherapy is doing its job as the oncologist has said she feels the tumor has gotten a little smaller. We are encouraged by the news and hope that the next cycle will bring better news with a CT scan of the tumor hopefully showing signs of more shrinkage. Not much else to say, he wishes he could see everyone who is coming to visit, but he is on nuetropenic precautions and his white blood cells are still low and he is very susceptible to infection with his immune system this low. a kind and encouraging word on the blog will be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone again, you find out how amazing people can be during times like these.
We love you all.
Aaron

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Good News to report!


Aaron--

Well, i am happy to say that sky had a much better day today! He was in good spirits and joking with the nurses and all of us. His nausea has subsided for the most part, and he took his last chemotherapy pill of this cycle today as well too. His white blood cell count was low, but that was to be expected, and the doctor gave him a shot to speed up the process of rebuilding the white blood cells. I don't wanna get everyone's hopes up too much, but the doctor even gave Sky permission to attend the benefit, seeing as it will fall on the same weekend as what is scheduled to be his strongest days, right before his next chemotherapy cycle. So everyone pray that he will be feeling good enough to go up to Napa.
Right now he is still in the hospital, but the good news being that he was finally moved up to the oncology ward, and away from the idiots he was surrounded by before. We are hoping for a release from the hospital soon, but he has to be having bowel movements and keeping food down as well as not having any fever, which he had last night.
It was just great to see him being Sky today, as opposed to yesterday. We love you buddy! Cant wait to have you home again.

yesterday's update today.

Aaron--

Ok, sorry for the late post but we wanted to try and give the most updated news and things kept changing yesterday.

Sky is still in the hospital, but has had some "relief", in fact the last i had heard, was that he passed a solid movement! Which is great because the x-rays yesterday showed that he still had a solid block in the small intestines.

Ok, so the tumor is pressing on his lower intestines making it very difficult for him too pass any stool, this is a problem we are hoping to solve with the Chemotherapy hopefully shrinking the size of the tumor to release the restriction.

Sky was very tired yesterday, and in quite a bit of pain at sometimes, but i blame the crappy ass hospital he is in. seriously, you would not believe the level of incompetence at this hospital.
Nobody is on the same page, absolutely no one is on the same page.
His spirits are low as far as i could gather so maybe some extra prayers are needed today.
Thanks everyone i will post more when i know.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tuesday 15th details



Aaron--

Today sky still wasn't feeling to well, he was tired in the morning but as the afternoon wore on, he was able to pass some stool which was promising. He had to go to the doctor to have blood taken to check on the status of his chemotherapy and decided that it would be a good idea to head over to the E.R. to discuss his bowel obstruction. The good news is that they have decided not to have surgery, but instead try to flush it out. He will be staying the night tonight at the hospital and get an I.V. to get some much needed nourishment into his system that has been depleted due to the chemo. That is really all the information i have. Nicole and Joyce are with him now and i will be heading over to bring some comforting things to him for his stay tonight. Sorry there isn't more info right now, but i will update as soon as i hear more.

Thanks for all the positive feedback please keep it coming, Sky loves you all and was joking on the phone with me earlier from the E.R. room.

Thanks and One Love.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Hoping for relief


From Aaron:

Sky has already gone to sleep today, he was very tired and uncomfortable for most of it. Tomorrow he may have to be admitted the the hospital because he is having difficulty passing bowel movements and it is making him very uncomfortable. The tests came back on his lungs, and he indeed has cancer spots in his lungs as well. I know the news posted today is not great, but we thought that everyone would still appreciate the update, good or bad. Nicole and Crystal are here taking care of Sky, and Joyce arrived tonight too, so he is well taken care of. We are praying that all goes well tomorrow, and he gets the relief he needs. Sky, we all love you very much.

Also, we need to get volunteers together for the event, so if you have time on Sunday the 27th, and would like to donate it to a worthy cause, please contact Jason or Lisa to let them know.

We have received over $1,500.00 in donations through the website and countless donations from businesses, individuals, friends and family. The amount of work all of you are putting in makes me choke up. All of you are the definition of true friends.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Wamu Account #

Well, Washington Mutual lied to me, they told me all you needed to do was say the name of the fund, wrong! Here is the account number # 940-062171-3 . Sky Jackson Medical Fund.
Once agian, thanks everyone.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Saturday July 12, 2008

I feel much better today, I'm just really tired. I slept a lot. My family and friends had a cleaning party today, I don't think my house has ever been this clean. My sister has been amazing, I don't know what I would be doing without her right now. She has been staying with me every night and making sure I get all of my meds on time. Crystal, Amanda, Carly, Gabe and Lara have been have been so helpful with everything and doing what women are suppose to do. I wish they were all my wives, except maybe Crystal and Gabe (cause that would be weird and illegal). Beaver bought me a screen door today, Trevor and Anthony installed it. It only took them three hours but it works great. I'm hoping for a good day again tomorrow and I appreciate all the comments and love everyone has been sending me.

MYSPACE CAUSE

Aaron--
We are very happy to announce that there are so many people helping sky now that it has gotten beyond my control. Although I'm very excited that everyone is doing so much to help, i have some concerns.

The Cause started on Myspace.com, does not donate directly to sky's fund like it says, but rather to the American Cancer Society, a noble cause to say the least, but right now, its not gonna help Sky.
We ask that you do not donate to the cause page, and also that the person who started it, please contact me as i'd like some thing changed on the main page.
as of right now, the only safe places to donate to sky's fund are on his blog through paypal which is completely secure, and at Washington Mutual itself. That is straight from the source, those are the only places you should donate cash too.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Friday 11th

Today has been the roughest day I have had so far. The chemotherapy has caught up to me and I am feeling very ill and tired. I am still remaining positive that I can beat this, it is just going to be a tough fight. With all the support I have been getting I know I can defy the odds. I am thankful to have such a supportive group of friends and family. Please keep the comments coming, it brightens my day.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Donations are coming in!!

Aaron-
Again i want to extend my thanks to everyone helping out, you have all been fantastic! We have been receiving a trickle of Paypal donations and are just a few hundred shy of our first thousand!! We will need much more money for outside treatment so please for those who have yet to donate we implore you to dig down and try to find a way to help out in these hard times. You can be assured that all proceeds will be going to Sky's treatment.
Once again to all those who have donated and left kind words of encouragement, God Bless,
Sky will update his blog later tonight for all of you wanting to know about his day.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

wed the 9th.

Today was a good day. I doubled up on the morphine and got to go golfing with my brother, mother, James, Zeb, Jeff, and Aaron. I had a great time. I also got to get the fluid drained from around my lungs today and my breathing is great so thats good. They took 2 liters out. On the bad side of that it looked like it was cancer in the lung lining, its not for sure yet we'll know next mon or tues. At this point its not a big set back since I'm already set back quite a bit. We have a benefit concert and silent auction in Napa arranged on Sunday, July 27. Brett at Billco's generously agreed to host the evening from 3-midnight, located at 1234 3rd st. If you would like to get involved or donate to the auction please contact Jason Smith at 707-812-4954 or Lisa Blackman at 707-815-3689. More details will be posted shortly. I personally, from the bottom of my heart, feel so blessed to have friends and family like I do. I love each and everyone of you. You have made this whole process so much easier on me. I am as strong as I can possibly be right now, and a lot of that I owe to you. Thanks. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Donate added

Aaron---I added the secure donation button, it will link to sky's medical fund. Please use often :)

Donation and Visiting Information

AARON---Sky started his first Chemotherapy today and it went well. His spirits are very high and we are desperately trying to raise money for a second opinion at an established cancer center. We have set up an account at Washington Mutual Bank, "Sky Jackson Medical Fund" is all that is needs to be said at any branch and it will get to his account. We are also trying to gather donations from businesses for two different silent auctions to be held in Napa and Orange County as well. For Napa donations contact Lisa Blackmon, and for orange county donations contact me or Trevor.
We will soon have a link on here to paypal donations online.

Anyone planning to visit Sky in the coming weeks has to take precautions, if you have been sick recently or have been around anyone sick we would have to ask that you keep your support to phone calls and internet posts until you are better since Sky's chemo has reduced his immune system. Those with small children should be aware that runny noses and coughs can cause serious health risks for Sky.

Sorry for the long post, but we have a few more requests:
If you are coming to visit, and we hope you are, please only bring things that are on the following list as increased people here puts a strain our resources.
Here is the list:
Bottled water********
paper towels
toilet paper
hand sanitizer-(must be used to see him)
surgical masks-(must be used to see him)
100% fruit juices.

For now that is all we need, please dont bring anything extra as we are on a surplus of trash here.

Thanks everyone so much, we really appreciate your help and love.

First day of my new life

I woke up feeling great. I had a good night rest. I feel really good about today. I am excited to get started on beating this cancers ass! Today we do a chest CT, possibly drain the fluids around my lung, and shortly after we start chemo. I have high expectations this chemo is going to work. I feel like it is going to work. I'll write as soon as I'm done.

Monday, July 7, 2008

monday brings no better news

we have finally had the oncology meeting. The news was unsatisfying and hard to swallow. I start chemo tomorrow morning. I was diagnosed with "POORLY DIFFERENTIATED CARCINOMA WITH UNKNOWN ORIGIN" at a stage 4. AKA "THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT IT REALLY IS NOW". The time frame to keep looking for answers is limited and we are jumping straight into treatment. They gave me statistics for 70 patients 50% did not get past 6 months. 35% made it over a year. 15% have made it close to 3 years. with no remittance. we plan to change statistics permanently.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

July 6th

-sky-Today went by fairly fast, got to see good friends and am now getting anxious for tomorrows doctor visit. everyone please keep your prayers coming and your fingers crossed. I will update tomorrow's news when i get home from the doctor and will let everyone know good or bad.

-aaron- Sky ate some food in the afternoon after a tough morning again. Carisa's friends and family who know sky came by today and visited with him. James also came over for a bit. Nicole and Joyce have been awesome and have been staying with sky at night. God bless all of you who have showed support and love, it is greatly appreciated. We are continuing to remain positive that tomorrow will bring better news and more hope that we can start a solid treatment plan for recovery. We love you all.

One Love.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Saturday

There is a pain in my chest that is bad. It has been one of the more painful days. I'm praying that I don't have cancer anywhere in my chest, but it sure does feel like it. Overall mentally I am holding up well. With it constantly hurting I don't get a chance to forget it. On the positive side I think I have gained three pounds and I have been eating great. I'm tired so I am headed to bed now.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th

I wish all my friends and family a Happy 4th of July. It's a beautiful day and is going to be a beautiful evening. I feel good today and I am thankful for all of my family and friends. I hope everyone enjoys the fireworks tonight.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Heard from the Doctor

I heard from the doctor today. I have been officially diagnosed with cancer but still do not know what type it is or where it originated from. We will not get anymore information until Monday. I feel good today, vicodin works.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Wednesday

I got some good naps in today. It was a lot slower pace than the other days, which was nice. I found out that I don't like percocet. My mom and my sister are trying to trick me into going to the hospital, but I'm smarter than them. I know all of the hiding spots. My liver hurt today and breathing was a little uncomfortable but other than that I'm doing good. Still no news from the doctor, hoping to hear from them tomorrow. Aaron cooked a good meal tonight.

Looking forward to a good night sleep.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

tuesday

I found out today that the test results are not coming in till maybe thurs at the latest monday. Today's pain was a little worse but I'm tough and Its getting better now. I have the best family and friends possible. The waiting around is starting to wear on me. I'm getting a lot in order with help from my family. And I have been eating good trying to gain some weight. Jeff Beaver bought me a recliner and it has helped me so much with my comfort he's a good friend. We had a BBQ and it was nice it was at the top of long beach views over look the ocean and L.A. to Catilina Island. Time for bed I'll write tomorrow.