Stoddard Family...

The famous Hoopernacle..owned by Jared's uncle Hal

This was the house in Hooper Jared lived in, his uncle Hal was right next door

Jared with Hal

The kids love to play in uncle Hals playhouse

Jared with his sister Angie

Jared with his mom Karen

Hal, Jared, Karen, Angie & her daughter Jessica...can you tell its freezing!

A couple of days ago we took a trip out to Hooper where Jared was born and his family lived til he was about 5 years old. Because Jared's dad & older brother Scott were killed when Jared was 6, He has always been close to his dads brother Hal Stoddard. Hal is just about the greatest guy you could ever meet! Very humble and full of love! He still lives in Hooper with his darling wife Joyce. Jared loves to go out and visit them, because if you know Jared, Jared is a true country boy through and through and would love to live out in the middle of nowhere..not that Hooper is nowhere..its just a great quiet little town. So to him Hooper is home. Here are some of the pictures we took that day.

The Final Stretch....

WOW! We are down to the final week of Jared's Radiaion & Chemotherapy. His 33 treatments of Radiation will end on Monday February 7th. It seems like its been soo long since the Biopsy, it truly is amazing how fast time flies! There isnt any new news. Jared is still doing just Great! That has been the most amazing part of all! We just kept bracing ourselves for him to get sick...but it never happened. I think only 3 times has he told me he felt a little tired. And thats about it. He has felt great, and looks great! Even with his bald head..ha ha! He has also felt strong in his left leg..he's running up the stairs! Its been really amazing. We will go in for an MRI on Monday February 14th and meet with Dr. Coleman. After the MRI we will beable to see what the tumor is doing. Hopefully it shows some sign of shrinking. The Radiation will stay in his body for a couple of months, so his tumor could continue to shrink. He will continue to be on the Chemo, just not every day, probably 5 days out of the month.
Again, we thank you all for your prayers...we feel soo blessed!

Its official...he's a Skinhead!

Just look at that Good-lookin' head! Well, I missed taking the picture right before he went to the Mansfiled's and borrowed Trents electric shaver...dang it! So by the time I got to him, he had already started shaving his head! But if I had gotten a picture, you would have seen that he had completly gone balled, in just 4 spots on his head, he was starting to look like a cancer patient! Soo we shaved him smooth! It looks really good, he's lucky he has a perfect head for baldness..ha ha! Except for his scar on the top, which is a little lumpy-bumpy! But he cant see it, so it dosent bother him. But I think he looks a little mean and rough with no hair! The girls are sad though, cause they love to do their daddys hair, but I told them it will grow back before you know it!

He is now more than half way through his treatments...yea! The doctors are still so amazed that he is doing soo well, and feels so great! Jared told me just last night, I know his sounds crazy, but I feel better right now on Chem & Radiation, than I have felt in years! Weird huh? He used to kinda drag his left leg, and stumble when he walked...now he is running up the stairs (something I havent seen him do in a really long time!) It is such a miracle to us! Hopefully its a sign of things to come!

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers, we are soo blessed to have each of you in our lives..we feel your love!

13 Treatments down....20 more to go!

This Picture was our inspiration for wanting to do puzzles....it hangs up in the Huntsman Cancer Center. This puzzle was bought by Jon Huntsman, and given to one of his 18 year old grandsons as a joke. But the grandson looked at it as a quest! It took him 6 months to complete and has....get this.....24,000 peices! It is amazing to look at...and it makes our little 1000 peice puzzles look easy! See we can do hard things!

After 3 weeks, we are almost half way through Jared's Radiation & Chemo treatments. He will have a total of 33 treatments, so if everything goes as scheduled, he should be done sometime around, monday February 7th. The only thing that will change that is if he gets sick or if his white blood count goes down too low. They take a sample of his blood each week, and so far his count has been above normal, so thats great! He has been really lucky and he has felt really good! The only side effect he has had is that he sometimes feels a little dizzy at night after he takes his Chemo pills. But other than that, he has done great! But because of the Radiation he has a few balding spots on his head. The doctor said he will just loose his hair where they are radiating him. Its hard to tell in the pictures above, but its getting a little thin...we cut it short again last night, because hes finding hair everywhere!

When we go up to the Huntsman center for his appointments, they have puzzles in all the waiting rooms, at first I thought it was a little strange, but one day while I was waiting for Jared I sat down and started working on one, and I realized it was very relaxing, and very therapeutic. Sooo, weve been doing puzzles at our house! I think weve done a total of 5 puzzles, 1000 peices each! Its really fun and its been good for Jared...and It keeps him using his brain!

1 Treatment down...32 More to go..

1 treatment down....32 more to go...that was Jared's comment as he came out of his first radiation treatment today. He asked them if I could go back with thim and take some pictures before his treatment, (I promise it was not my idea)..but I was glad to beable to see what he will be having done each time. So they made him a mask and a pillow last week. Its very important that he is radiated in the exact same place each day, so they made this mask and pillow, then they snap the mask to the table. It was awful! I have closterfobia, so to see my sweet husband lying their, with his face snaped down to a table was really hard for me. He cant open his eyes or even open his mouth to speak. I asked the Rad guys what they do if someone like me had to have treatments. They said they have to take anxiety medicine before each treatment! Yikes! I had anxiety just being in the room! So I quickly took some pictures and got out of there. His actual radiation lasts just under 10 minutes and they radiate him in 4 different places. He will loose his hair, but just in the places where he has his treatment, so he might look a little funny, but that is the least of our worries! Well just have to keep his hair short. Hopefully he doesnt get too sick! He is doing so great, Ive been soo proud of the way he has handeled all of this! Love you Jared!

Radiation Treatment....

We went back to the Huntsman yesterday, to the Radiation department. They made Jared's mask for his treatments. Its like a wet cloth that they put over his face, and as it dried, it hardened to the shape of his head. Its got lots of holes in it so he can breath. But they will put this on him each time before treatment and bolt it to the bed, to help make sure he gets the radiation in the same place each time. Each treatment will last about 4-5 minutes. They are thinking he will have 30 to 35 treatments.
We will go back next thursday to have a run through and to discuss his treatment plan. Then his Chemo & Radiation will both start the following monday on December 20th.
Hopefully he will beable to tolerate having both together, every day, for 6 weeks.

Radiation...

We went up to Huntsman today and met with the Radiation doctor, Dr. Shreeve. Jared had a mask made for his head, for his radiation treatments. This will help so that he will get the radiation in the same spot everytime he goes. His radiation treatments will start next monday on December 13th, his treatments will be every day, monday through friday, for 6 weeks, for a total of 30 treatments. It sounds like alot, but it will be the most effective way to help shrink his tumor.

Jared's treatment plan...

Today we went up to the Huntsman Center and met with Dr. Coleman, Jared's Neuro Oncologist. Ironically enough, Jared was originally diagnosed with his brain tumor 11 years ago today, on December 7th, 1999.

They had all the results from Jared's biopsy tests back. His tumor is still an Oligodendroglomia, but they are now considering it a grade 3 instead of a grade 2. It has both grade 2 and 3 possibilities, but they are treating it more agressively, as a grade 3. Also the last test we were waiting on was the 1P19Q deletion test. This test result shows that his 19th chromosome does not have a deletion (the legs are attached) which to us means that he will need to do both Chemo & Radiation to have the best results. We were hoping for just Chemo, but we also know we also need to be aggressive with this tumor.

We are waiting to hear back from the Radiation doctor, Dr. Shreeve, but it sounds like we will most likely start radiation next week. Radiation will be every day, monday through friday, for 6 weeks (30 treatments). He will also start Chemotherapy the same day. His Chemo is called Temodar. Its a pill he will take every day for six weeks. It has pretty low side effects. He might get nauseous, tired, and lose a little hair just where his radiation will be, but it should grow back. After the 6 weeks are over, he will continue taking the Chemo, but just 5 pills a month (on for 5 days...off for 3 weeks, then repeat) he will take Chemo for a least 6 months, maybe longer.
Our hope is that by doing the Chemo and Radiation together his tumor will shrink up to 20 percent, and more importantly, stop growing.
He is still in good spirits. I am soo proud of him and how well he has handled all of this. Its alot to take in all at once, but he is doing a pretty good job of staying positive. I am so grateful for Jared, and Im very lucky to be his wife!

Jareds MRI films...

Here are Jared's MRI films from November 23rd. Its looking down from the top of his head. The MRI cuts his head into slices, to make each film. Above are three of the slices taken the day after his surgery. Thats why his head looks a little swollen with fluids. The whitish cloudy spot in the middle is the tumor. It measures 3 inches wide 3 inches deep and 5 inches from front to back, about the size of a grapefruit. You see now why the doctors always ask Jared if he gets headaches or has blurred vision, its a miracle that he dosent. The white egg shaped spot in the bottom right of the tumor is where the original biopsy from December 1999, was taken. The dark little dime size spot in the bottom left is where they took tissue out for the biopsy just 3 weeks ago today.

Jared got all but one of his 28 staples out last tuesday. We left one in, it didnt look quite ready yet. Amy Frei our friend and neighbor is a nurse, she was kind enough to take out the last staple last saturday..she is very brave! His head is looking good and his hair is already growing over and through the incison, its amazing!
We go tomorrow to meet with Dr. Coleman, his neuro oncologist. Hopefully they will have the 1p19q deletion test back, and they will have some treatment options for us.

Overall Jared is doing soo good! I am soo proud of how he has handled this soo far. He has more faith than he realizes. We feel the spirit in our home. We know that the Lord is soo mindful of us! Thanks again for all of your love and prayers!

Alot to be thankful for.....a Thanksgiving to remember...

Ouch...28 staples..Steve had to count them for me, cause I couldnt look at it for that long!
The Feast!

Family....
and more family....
...and even more family!

This Thanksgiving will always be one to remember for me. Its the most difficult thanksgiving Ive ever had, but I feel soo blessed to have Jared home and getting better every day. I just want to hold onto him and never let him go. It definitely makes me stop and realize what is most important to me.

I am soo grateful for family, they make everything better. Im grateful for great friends & neighbors, they come to my rescue again and again...how will I ever repay them. Im grateful for modern medicine, and caring doctors & nurses. They have been wonderful. Im grateful for the gospel in my life, and the peace & strength that it brings. Im grateful for great kids, they give us a reason to fight. And Im most grateful for my sweet husband. He has shown me what it means to fight for what you love most. I know this has not been easy for him, and he has a long road ahead of him, but I think he has found an inner strength he didnt know he had. And thanks to soo many of you for your calls, your love, and your support.

If our trials make us stronger, then Jared is a rock. He's my rock.