Jay hasn't been very healthy the last few months. The infection in his neck led to another hospital admission and surgery. He was home just in time for Christmas.He is on IV antibiotic 4 times a day and his port has to remain accessed which means he is limited in what he can do.

Jay also has a fungal infection in his lungs. He has had countless xrays, two CT scans, multiple lung function tests, and seen 3 different specialists. He was going to have a lung biopsy but the most recent scan shows the nodules are too small to get a good sample. Fungal infections are incredibly common in imunocopromised people. Because of the chemo this made Jay susceptible to the infection that he is currently dealing with.

What does this have to do with finding a cure? The chemo used to treat leukemia is so strong and needs to be given for such a long time (2.5 years for girls and 3.5 years for boys) that it takes a huge toll on the body. Jay's been on chemo holds because his liver enzymes go crazy, he needs IVIg transfusions because his immune system is so low, he has required more than 20 blood transfusions, and the list goes on. The most serious complication of chemo for Jay was when he got an infection that led to him being septic and put on life support for 3 days. This is why we need a cure.

Our Team in Training fundraising goal was $16,961 because it represented Jay's age at diagnosis (6.961 years) plus $10,000. It was a big goal but an important one as we honored him with raising money for a cure. Then we beat that goal. And the closer we got to $18,000 the more I thought about that number. 18. An adult. As the parent of a child with cancer that's a scary number. Will he ever be an adult? Will blood cancer make him, like so many others eternally a child? Team Jay raised $18,000 so no parent has to ask themselves that question. Together we will find a cure. And when my baby is all grown up we will celebrate together.

The Florida Gator's football team and all of Gator Nation have been a huge source of support and inspiration for Jay and our whole family. Jay was able to attend two football games this year due to the generosity of the athletic association and a family that had a child with caner when he was little. Along with those tickets came their story and whole lot of hope that life gets better.

Jay has also formed some very special relationships with members of the Gator football team. He tells everyone that his best friend is Chris Thompson! Josh Grady also takes extra care to check on him and send his support. Jay gets the biggest smile on his face when he sees a player wearing one of his wristbands on the filed! Jay will also tell you that the best moment of his life was when he talked to Coach McElwain and shook his hand before the game!

The support of Gator Nation goes well beyond football as organizations across campus have embraced Jay as one of their own!!

Even during a recent hospital stay Jay was cheering on his beloved Gators!!

As of tonight Jay will have spent a total of 125 nights in the hospital since he was diagnosed 21 months ago. Only about 30 of those days were for chemo, the rest have been for complications from treatment. He currently inpatient with an ongoing infection in his neck from the ant bite he got in February. His white blood cell count is elevated which confirms the infection. He is getting IV antibiotics as well as oral antibiotics to combat the infection. He hasn't really been eating much and overall feels pretty lousy. He is also starting to have swelling in his face and jaw. He had a CT scan with contrast 5 days ago and so the doctors don't want to re-scan him yet and expose him to more radiation. Everything with his treatment is a balance of keeping the cancer away, keeping infection away, and not exposing him to anything that would cause more complications in the future.

No child should have to go through this...

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