Knox Knocks Cancer

While we celebrate The Lord’s Day, a snow day, and Ellie’s Birthday, we also get ready for the next step in Knox’s journey. Tomorrow, Knox and Buck leave for Philadelphia again for six weeks. Since Knox’s T cells didn’t last long enough last fall, a new T cell collection was done in November. We knew this day would come (actually later than expected) for us to return, but Thanksgiving, Christmas, a couple of birthdays to celebrate, and other normal life stuff has taken over our day to day activity. Now that the time to leave is here, we start to feel the emotions that come with the reality before us. Just as last summer, we will be gone for six weeks, there will be a week of chemo this week, his T cell infusion on Tuesday the 9th, and then time to have many tests and follow-ups to see if the T cells are active. Please pray for our travels, for peace that can only come from knowing Jesus, and for the T cells to work for a long, long time. We’ll update throughout, but keep praying...

Knox Update - First of all, thank you for continuing to pray for Knox and all of us...this journey continues to have unexpected layers...Knox's second dose of T cells have given out and he again has early B cell return...again, we are thankful that there currently aren't any signs of relapse, but with nothing going on in his body to run surveillance, there's that concern...while in theory, the short lived T cells could have had an effect on any remaining, undetectable leukemia, clinically it's considered unlikely and thus further therapy is needed...so, after discussions on what to do, we have decided to re-do the CAR T therapy, but with a newer version...so, Jessi and Knox will head to Philadelphia tomorrow morning and will be there for a few days...Knox will have T cells collected on Wednesday, then they will come back home...from there we will wait for the T cells to be engineered and then we'll go back up (guessing January sometime) and will be there again for 6...

Quick Knox Update - Knox and Jessi have gotten back from Philadelphia...Knox has received a new dose of T cells and we are back to praying that they will last for a long, long time...they are currently in transit to UVA for bloodwork and he will go back to UVA in 2 weeks for more follow up...Knox is doing well and back to "normal" life...so, we pray that these T cells will grow and circulate for many months...he is already scheduled to go back to Philadelphia sometime in January for another dose of the T cells...we are praying that his current T cells will not give out before then...while we pray for his healing, that these T cells will be present and active for a long time, and that the Lord will use the success of this treatment in kids like Knox as another means to promote His glory, we are also thankful that he is able to receive these treatments and be doing well at this point...remember our entire family as this has been a complete effort and all of these sort of days h...

***This was written on Saturday, the 3rd, so his start at the clinic is actually today, the 5th** Knox Update - Knox is now roughly two months from getting his T cells in Philadelphia...those T cells recognize the B cells in his body and get rid of all of them, good and bad...so, when tests are done to see how his T cells are doing, they are looking for the presence of B cells...this past Wednesday Knox had bloodwork drawn and there are B cells present...thankfully, there’s no indication of his Leukemia returning, but it does mean that the T cells have given out...ideally the T cells circulate for at least 6 months, 12 is great, and anything longer is a bonus....thankfully, the B cells have not started to hide their markers so that means T cells can still find them and get rid of them...also, thankfully, he has extra T cell doses/boosters preserved just for this, not so uncommon, situation...therefore, he is headed back to Philadelphia tomorrow for (what we are guessing) 3 weeks...he w...

Knox Update - With great praise to the LORD, I am glad to say that Knox and I are home from Philadelphia. We actually got home Tuesday evening after reviewing test results with the staff at the clinic in Philly. The last couple of weeks really felt long as we inched closer to returning. Six weeks is a drop in the bucket in the scope of time, but the days often went slowly. However, we are super thankful for both the treatment option, the people who took care of us, the place we were provided to stay, and the means to enjoy our time there. Also, not lost on us, are the many children who require longer stays and more treatments. We both are thankful for where we are and praying for many others who continue to endure very difficult situations. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, so it wouldn't take much to find current situations and families who are pleading for the life and health of their child. We, too, continue to plead to the LORD for Knox's health. His te...

Knox Update - Hello to all who will be reading this! First...we make our boast in the Christ ALONE and are unashamed of the gospel of Jesus...He is our HOPE and SALVATION both in life and death...for this reason we can face these trials knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus... We are so thankful for each one of you...admittedly, we can not know everything that is being done for us by so many people, but really, what testament to your kindness and God's goodness that His blessings are too great for us to even measure and know fully... Knox and I have about a week left, if all continues to go according to plan...tomorrow is a big day as Knox will have his post CAR T bone marrow procedure that will be the first results of exactly how the therapy is working...we really haven't had any anxiety about it, but I imagine as the sun sets tonight and I watch him sleeping, it will be on the heart and mind and will require all of God's grace to be co...

Knox Update - We had a great weekend...Jessi and the kiddos were able to come visit and left earlier today...it wasn't normal, but it was good as we celebrated Knox's 10th birthday on Friday and Jadon's 18th birthday on Sunday...We miss them already!! Looking ahead, we have about 2 weeks left...tomorrow is the next follow up with bloodwork/labs and we expect that will continue to show good results as it has so far...next week, however, is the first big test of how these T Cells are doing...Knox will have a bone marrow aspiration to see if there's any Leukemia (expecting that be negative since it has been for a while now), but we will also find out if there are any B cells present which is an indicator of how the T cells are working...other than this, life here is pretty uneventful as we wait, work, get started with some school work, and enjoy being with each other... Praise the LORD for continuing to meet our every need and so much more...for our family being together ...