Heath

Article in Bradenton Herald today, Jan 6, 2009

2009-01-06T12:29:00.003-05:00

Here is a link to an article in todays Bradenton Herald.

Young musician, wise beyond years, passes on,
http://www.bradenton.com/donna_wright/story/1133545.html

The lady that wrote the article met and interviewed Heath a couple of years ago.

"On New Year’s Day, family and friends of Heath Sammons gathered to celebrate the young musician’s life. May his amazing display of courage in the face of adversity be a comfort to those who loved him.
Heath died Christmas Eve, after losing his battle with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that affects children and adolescents.
On Feb. 25, Heath would have celebrated his 21st birthday. Even though he won’t celebrate that milestone celebration that marks one’s official entrance into adulthood, Heath was wise beyond his years.
I met Heath just over two years ago when I wrote a profile of him and the skateboard accident that proved to be a blessing because it revealed the tumor growing at the base of his spine.
We were sitting around the family dining table — Heath, his mom, Karis Meier, his stepdad, Jim Meier, his brother, Colt, and several member’s of Heath’s band, which had just changed its name from the Allen Litchburg Experience to Kileva.
Heath was having one of his good days. Hope punctuated every sentence as he and his family explained the treatment options outlined by his doctors.
While I listened, I found myself constantly drawn to Heath’s eyes. There was a peace there despite the harrowing chemotherapy treatments he had to endure.
“It’s going to be OK,” Heath said. “Whatever happens, it’s going to be OK.”
Then Heath picked up his guitar and let his music flow.
The network of support surrounding Heath was amazing, including an extended family of relatives and friends far beyond his hometown of Palmetto.
His father, Lt. Gary Sammons of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, told me of his son’s profound courage, his deep faith.
Heath’s mom was his stalwart advocate. Karis told me that when Heath’s illness was finally diagnosed by Dr. Phillip Tally, she asked him what she should do.
“He told me, ‘Do your homework, Mom,’ ” Karis said.
And she did, becoming a walking encyclopedia on osteocarcoma, charting Heath’s treatments, doctor’s appointments, hospitalizations and symptoms on spreadsheets and color-coded calendars.
I know the days ahead will be hard for Heath’s family and friends.
Of course, there are no words that can ease that pain, but I hope they realize that during his brief time here, Heath taught others how vital faith is to living a full life.
Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049."

Article in the Herald Tribune on Jan 1, 2009

2009-01-04T20:29:00.004-05:00

Here is a link to an article that was published in the Herald Tribune on Thursday, January 1, 2009.

Aspiring musician, 20, loses cancer struggle
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090101/ARTICLE/901010351

This article has been linked to all over the Internet. Slash really did think of Heath as a good friend and Heath felt the same way.

By Mark Zaloudek
Published: Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 6:59 a.m.

"PALMETTO - Playing guitar in a jam session this past summer with his hero, former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash, was a dream come true for 20-year-old Heath Sammons of Palmetto.
The aspiring musician and songwriter also hoped that another one of his dreams would come true: beating a rare form of bone cancer.
“He was such a fighter,” Sammons’ mother, Karis Meier, said of her son’s nearly three-year battle with osteosarcoma. “He just believed that he was going to make it.”
Sammons lost his struggle in the early morning hours of Dec. 24.
Meier said the private jam session with Slash last June in Los Angeles not only helped lift her son’s spirits as he coped with rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, but evolved into a friendship with the 43-year-old rock star, who now performs with Velvet Revolver and is featured in the “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” video game.
“It helped him cope because Slash was always just a phone call away,” Meier said. “Slash saw Heath not only as a young man who had an illness, but as a friend. They grew close.”
So close, in fact, that Slash, aka Saul Hudson, hopped on a plane to pay Sammons a visit at his Manatee County home in September after Sammons’ latest surgery.
“It was just amazing the compassion that Slash had for Heath and the friendship between them,” Meier said. “Heath believed he would be a rock star some day, and now he’s a rock star for Jesus.”
Sammons did not discover his musical aptitude until he took guitar lessons at 14 while attending the Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto.
He joined his first band, Kashmir, at 15. Other local bands, including Kileva and The Under Construction Band, soon followed. He played music by Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Eagles and Tom Petty, and also began writing his own songs.
After learning of his cancer diagnosis at 18, Sammons lent his talent to help raise money for cancer research. He played at all five of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life charity events in Manatee County in 2006.
“He was a natural performer,” said his stepfather, Jim Meier. “He was at home on the stage with people watching him.”
Sammons began performing professionally at local venues this past year.
Music helped him temporarily escape from everyday matters, including his illness.
“When I’m playing, it frees my spirit,” he told the Herald-Tribune in July.
During his Los Angeles visit, Sammons shared with Slash some of his original music, which they recorded in a private studio.
“I think I play a lot like him; not on purpose, that’s just how it went,” Sammons later remarked.
Slash later offered some encouraging words on a Web site Sammons’ stepfather created for the young musician.
“Having spent a few hours jamming with him & his friend Tommy, I got to know Heath a little better. Not only is he an awesome kid, he’s a good songwriter as well!” Slash posted on www.heathsupdate.blogspot.com.
“He definitely can play the guitar, that much I have witnessed, & pretty damn well too! Having Heath & his family out in LA was a gas,” Slash added.
Jim Meier said his stepson had a promising musical career.
Several of Sammons’ performances can be viewed on YouTube. Recollections and condolences can be posted at caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons.
Some of Sammons’ bandmates will pay tribute to him with a concert today at the Manatee County Fairgrounds from 2 to 6 p.m. A celebration of his life that includes a video tribute is planned for 11 a.m. today at First Baptist Church in Palmetto.
In addition to his mother and stepfather, Sammons is survived by his father and stepmother, Gary and Peggy Sammons of Bradenton; a brother, Colt, and a sister, Karissa, both of Palmetto; stepsisters Morgan Mitchell and Aubrey Lioce of Bradenton; and several extended family members.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Joy FM 88.1, 6469 Parkland Drive, Sarasota, FL 34243."

Related Links:Heath Sammons jams with Slash Video

2008-12-26T19:21:00.005-05:00

HEATH WILLIAM SAMMONS
02/25/88 TO 12/24/08
Palmetto, Florida

Heath William Sammons (20) passed from here into Heaven on the morning of Christmas Eve to be with Jesus. He battled a rare type of childhood bone cancer for three years with amazing courage and strength. Heath touched many lives with his outgoing personality and musical talent. His music will live on as he is now a Rock Star for Jesus.
Heath is survived by: His parents, Father: Gary Ryals Sammons and Stepmother Peggy, Mother: Karis (Eckley) Meier and Stepfather Jim Meier, brother and sister Colt and Karissa Sammons, Stepsisters Morgan Mitchell and Aubrey Lioce.
Maternal Grandparents, *Bill and Bonnie Eckley, Arthilla (Snooks) & Ed Lucier, Warren & Lorraine Sweetman, Paternal Grandparents, *Bob and Annette Moore, Step Grandparent Ted and Bonnie Meier, Aunts and Uncles: *Carl Ryals, Gary & Linda Sweetman, Rod & Barb Eckley, Denver & Laura Moore, Bruce & Chris Ryals, Melody Sweetman Carpenter & Ralph, Rich & Angie Lashaway, Eric & Teresa Sweetman and Mike & Diane Wilder.
*preceded in death
For those of you who would like to get to know Heath you can visit the attached sites:
His three year battle, http://www.heathsupdate.blogspot.com/ please visit the archives,
His faith, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons Condolences may be left on this site on the guestbook.
His music and fun times,
Heath singing: Sweet Child O Mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzEhI4SHof4
Videos: Pretty Woman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSv3aGkDBxo
The Wild Wiener
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6WGCf1GP9A
Born to Be Wild
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVtWUxSsAH8
The Killing Killer That Kills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZWHnr79jvU
Ol’ Memories
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-NvFK5FVOQ
The Magnificing Magnificents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruDWwQkkxhc
Maginificing Magnificents and UnMagnificing Unmagnificents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaqvzS8m3zk
Quiet Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aybxQwpTjw0
Fox 13 news (Jam with Slash in LA)
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=25887E7F2EF0788B7EF9DA14AD08E759?contentId=7154603&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

Heath’s celebration of Life will be held Thursday, January 1, 2009 at First Baptist Church in Palmetto at 11:00 am.

In Lieu of flowers, Memorials may be made to: THE JOY FM 88.1 http://www.thejoyfm.com/

Sweet Child of Mine

2008-12-24T13:58:00.001-05:00

Heath went to be with the Lord at 2:25AM this morning. His birthday is 2/25. He was very peaceful at the time. He had his mom and stepdad, Karis and Jim, and his dad and stepmom, Gary and Peggy, on each side of his bed. His brother Colt and other family members were also in the room. The last thing that Heath said, which was earlier, was "I need to change my tunes". Karis believes he is now playing for Jesus and we all known Jesus is enjoying Heath's music.

We are all doing well. Besides not having much sleep, Karis is doing well. She has shed a lot of tears and will shed more. She is a very strong, amazing woman with a big heart. She fought for her son's life as hard as anyone could imagine. She is at peace knowing where Heath is now. Vera Jo is making sure we have plenty to eat tonight. We have some amazing friends that we know we can call at anytime if we need something.

He was surrounded by people that loved him very, very much. He and our family have been so blessed to receive the support and love from our family and friends. Our churches and employers have been tremendous with their support and understanding.

At this time we do not know the details of the service but we are planning the Celebration Party now and we want it to be a party that Heath would have wanted.

Thank you all and God bless,
Jim

Special Prayer Request from Karis for Heath

2008-12-07T12:07:00.002-05:00

I do want to post this request here also because of the importance. This is a journal entry that Karis asked me to put on the Caring Bridge site this morning, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons.

This is Karis's husband. Karis wanted me to post a request that she wants to happen at 4PM today. She is on her way to church right now because she felt an overwhelming need to be there this morning.

Last night she had an inspiration or vision, she wasn't quite sure how to explain it. At 4 PM today she wants our house surrounded by people in prayer for Heath. She said it could be 5 people or 500 people as long as the house was surrounded. If you see this request and can't be here then she wants you to be in prayer for Heath at 4PM from where ever you are. She is very emotional this morning but I could see that this inspiration lifted her.

Heath has an amazing amount of faith that he will be healed. On several occasions he has asked people to pray for him but at this time he is not aware of this request. I'm not sure but I believe Karis may just want to fill this entire house with that kind of faith. So spread the word and join us all in prayer for Heath at 4PM today.

God bless you all,
Jim (Heath's stepdad)

Visit the Caring Bridge site that Karis setup

2008-12-07T11:41:00.003-05:00

Please visit the Caring Bridge site that Karis recently setup. It is much more user friendly for her and has some nice added features. You can sign the guestbook as well as register to receive journal update notifications, which is something I wanted to do here but can't. I've been trying to get her to post on this site but the Caring Bridge is a much better place for her to keep everyone updated. I will also keep this blog going but may just post links back to the Caring Bridge site. Thanks Jill for getting Karis on that site.

Here is a link to the site, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heathsammons.

Congratulations and Thank You

2008-10-21T21:54:00.010-04:00

We want to congratulate Patsy Skinner. Her ticket was drawn on September 20th. I believe she was out of town but Melody contacted her later that night.

We want to thank everyone that contributed from those that bought tickets to Melody and Ralph for organizing the event. Melody sent me this flier that was sent out to those that bought tickets and I wanted to post it here.

Car Drawing Update: we still need to sell 50 tickets

2008-09-15T21:40:00.004-04:00

The drawing for the car is this Saturday and we still have approximately 50 more tickets to sell. We have to cover the cost of the car so it's important that we sell the rest of the tickets before the drawing. I voted to delay the drawing but that's not going to happen. If you know someone that wants a ticket but hasn't got one then have them give Melody a call at 941-756-2847. You don't have to be present to win. Thanks to all those that have bought tickets.

Surgery Update 9/10/08

2008-09-10T22:14:00.003-04:00

Some of you may not be aware of this but Heath's been having a lot more pain and has lost mobility of his legs. Last night he was admitted at Moffitt so they could do an MRI and try to get his pain under control. The MRI showed that the tumors are growing into or around the spine which seems to be what has been causing the intense pain and problems with his legs.

Karis and Gary talked with Heath about his options and they decided to allow the doctors to operate on Heath's back to remove the part of the tumor that is encroaching on the spine. The doctors said that the surgery went well but he is in a lot of pain. He will be in ICU overnight and hopefully be comfortable enough to be moved to a room tomorrow. He will have a couple weeks of recovery time from the surgery. The doctors said that he was definitely strong enough to endure the surgery which is no doubt due to the alternative treatments he has been getting as well as his diet. They made it clear that this is just to make him more comfortable and to help minimize his pain. This may also help him get mobility back in his legs. We are still praying for a total cure and total healing of Heath's body. So please join us in praying for these things.

Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association is sponsering a charity race for Heath

2008-08-22T19:27:00.005-04:00

On Saturday September 6, the Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association is sponsoring a charity race for Heath. Proceeds from the race will go to the Heath Sammons Medical Fund. The Tampa Bay Quarter Midget Racing Association is affiliated with Quarter Midgets of America, a youth racing organization for kids 5 to 16 years old. Here is a link to there website, http://www.tampabayqmra.com/tampabay/default.html.

The following is posted on their website:

"Charity Race...
The Charity Race is coming soon! Saturday September, 6 our quarter midget drivers will be racing for a young man named Heath Sammons. Heath is the son of Manatee County Sheriff's Lieutenant/Bomb Commander Gary Sammons. Heath has osteosarcoma and it has now spread to his lungs. Heath's condition has been deemed inoperable and he has become chemo resistant. Heath's parents are doing all they can to keep their son alive and have turned to alternative medications which are not covered by insurance and as we all know is very expensive. You can visit http://www.heathsupdate.blogspot.com/ to learn more on Heath's condition. There is a fund called Heath Sammons Medical Fund at Manatee River Community Bank which is where the proceeds will go. We are hoping that Heath will feel up to coming to the event and meeting the kids and dropping the first green flag of the day! Registration fees for the event will be $30 per car and don't forget this is a double points race! I will let you know if we are going to still do the covered dish soon. This will be an awards race! Let's make this an awesome race and raise some money for Heath."

Chad Geary works with Gary on the bomb squad and he has a son that will be racing. His name is Seth. So we would like to invite everyone to come out to the race to help support Heath and to cheer for Seth.

For track information and directions, you can visit there website at http://www.tampabayqmra.com/tampabay/Track.htm

We Believe

2008-08-12T21:01:00.001-04:00

Heath and family would like to thank everyone who has been supportive through his battle. So many of you have been in prayer for Heath as well as for the rest of us and daily we are seeing God’s miracles. We are also very grateful for the financial support that we have received in Heath’s fight with cancer.

From the beginning, we have tried to help spread awareness so that we may help others that are battling similar cancers. Moffitt and Mass General have been so wonderful and without them we don’t think we could have saved Heath’s life. Now we have been forced down another path as Heath’s body has become chemo resistant. Currently, we are building up Heath’s immune systems to allow his body to fight the cancer. Therefore we have sought out several different alternative medicines/treatments and would like to spread awareness of what we have learned to help others.

We have always been open to where God would lead us to save Heath’s life. One Sunday morning, Bayside Community Church had a special quest speaker. Dr. Guy daSilva was speaking on Anti-aging and Wellness, how to prevent cancer and other diseases. Jim and I both looked at each other and knew that Heath needed to listen to what this doctor had to say. Then several months later when the chemo was no longer an option we took Heath to see Dr. daSilva. We all agreed that in order for Heath to have any chance at survival we would need to immediately change his diet as well as put him on vitamins and supplements. In addition, Dr. daSilva has offered Heath well documented intravenous therapies that are proven to effectively support the body’s ability to fight cancer. Currently Heath is seeing the doctor daily and the tumor is stable, which is a miracle. The type of cancer that Heath has is extremely aggressive since it can spread as well as double in size within 90 days. In the last ninety days the tumor has not grown and we are praying that his strengthened immune system is killing the tumor. Heath is getting stronger everyday.

We want to especially thank Dr. daSilva for praying over Heath along with his dedicated hours of research. Dr. daSilva has donated many additional hours, therapies, and supplements to help defray some of the cost of Heath’s treatments. Heath and Karis have developed a special bond with Dr. daSilva, Tina his wife as well as the Office Liaison Jessica. As you pray for Heath would you also pray for the doctor as we all work together build Heath up.

Also a special thanks to Dr. Christian Thompson DC – Christian Chiropractic for praying for Heath and donating treatments to adjust Heath’s body.

For the information regarding Heath’s treatments here are the links:

http://www.dasilvainstitute.com/ (941) 388-0940

http://themikeycenter.net/ HYPERBARIC (oxygen treatment chamber)

Thompson, Christian DC - Christian Chiropractic (941) 761-3919

Link to Fox 13 showing interview with Heath

2008-08-09T10:53:00.003-04:00

Here's the link to Fox 13 interview with Heath and Karis that aired at 11PM on 8-6-08, http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=7154603

I'm not sure how long this link will work so watch it now while you can. We want to thank Lloyd Sowers and Fox 13 of Tampa Bay for doing a great job.

Watch Fox News 13 at 11PM tonight

2008-08-06T19:34:00.000-04:00

Fox News will be airing a segment about Heath tonight at 11PM. Lloyd Sowers, co-anchor for the FOX 13 News, was at our house last week and interviewed Heath and Karis about his fight with cancer and how Slash has reached out to him.

I will update the blog with a link if they put it on their website.

Fundraiser Announcement

2008-07-21T19:38:00.009-04:00

Heath's Aunt Melody is organizing another fundraiser to help pay for Heath's medical bills.

Here is the flyer that she asked me to post.

Good scan results on June 25

2008-07-20T13:49:00.006-04:00

Heath had scans done at Moffitt on June 25. They told us that his tumor could double in size within a 90 day period because it is such an aggressive type of cancer. He has been having a lot of pain in that area but Dr. Dasilva told him that the treatments should be killing the tumor which would cause the pain. The scan results basically showed that the tumor has not grown. It's even possible that it had grown some from the time of his previous scan and to when he started the alternative treatments then shrunk a little bit. Also, he is not showing any other symptoms of the cancer. All of his other organs and lymph nodes appear basically normal.

This was very good news and is a good indication that the treatments that Dr. Dasilva is giving Heath as well as all the vitamins, supplements, juicing (or pond water as Heath calls it) and organic diet that Karis is giving Heath are working to build up his immune system so his body can fight the cancer the way it was met to.

Karis will be scheduling him to have scans in about two weeks. We thank everyone for all the prayers and good thoughts. Please continue to pray for further healing.

Heath and Slash jam together in LA

2008-06-15T21:28:00.017-04:00

Heath had a dream of his come true on June 4, 2008. Heath got to jam with Slash from Velvet Revolver. Slash is his favorite musician and now a friend.

Seven of us traveled to LA for this special moment: his mom Karis, his dad Gary, his friend Tommy Busch, his brother Colt, his step mom Peggy and me. We all had a great time the entire trip. Of course the highlight was meeting at Slash's old house in the basement referred to as “The Cave” where he built a recording studio. He sold the house to Billy Bob Thornton who by the way just released a CD called "The Boxmasters". Billy Bob gave Slash permission for us all to use the studio and we would very much like to thank him and his family for that. We didn’t get a chance to meet him but we did meet J.D. who plays electric and acoustic guitar and bass and sings background vocals for The Boxmasters. He recorded the entire jam session and sent us copies of it all. Tom Mayhue, Production Manager for Guns N' Roses was there also and he helped get everything setup and made us feel very confortable. Myriam Santos who is a very talented photographer was there as well. She was taking pictures of the entire session and will be sending them to us. We also met Billy Bob's son Will who hung out with us in the control room and he was very pleasant and fun to talk with.

Heath and Slash played two songs that Heath has composed. Slash liked them both but especially liked the second song. The look in Heath’s eyes when Slash played the first riff that Heath showed him was priceless. It was amazing watching Heath and Slash play together. Between all of us, we had two video cameras and four digital cameras. We started off in studio taking pictures/video and then moved to the control room where J.D. was recording once they started really jamming. We had a great time watching them play while we talked with Tom, Myriam and J.D.

After they played both of Heath’s songs they took a short break and came into the control room where we continued to talk, take pictures & video and just have a great time. Heath and Slash seemed to click as if they were used to working together. After a short break Tommy got his guitar out and the three of them went back into the studio and played three more songs. After that session they came back into the control room where Slash signed a bunch of different things that we brought just for that purpose. He also gave Heath a book that I believe hasn’t been released yet that shows a pictorial history of Guns N’ Roses. Slash told us that it has been 3 years since he just jammed like that and it was very obvious to us all that he thoroughly enjoyed himself as well.

I met to ask Slash on video how he felt about meeting and jamming with Heath but I forgot to do that. So I asked him to put his thoughts into words and this is what he wrote:
"Heath is someone the likes of which you rarely meet. He is genuinely sincere & good natured, doesn't have a trace of attitude & always has a spirited, up tempo demeanor whenever I speak with him. He's got a fantastic sense of dry humor, regardless of if he's feeling well or not; it’s kind of remarkable! Having spent a few hours jamming with him & his friend Tommy, I got to know Heath a little better. Not only is he an awesome kid, he's a good songwriter as well! I definitely think he has a talent for composing music & although I haven't really read his lyrics, I've heard they're really good too. He definitely can play the guitar, that much I have witnessed, & pretty damn well too! Having Heath & his family out in LA was a gas. It was great meeting everybody & hanging out & laughing & playing music. I hope he gets better & beats this cancer; the world will be that much less of a place with out him. Heath is a special person I'm glad I got to meet, even if under such harsh circumstances."

Slash and Heath have talked on the phone several times. Slash has called Heath at times when he was really down and helped give him a boast when he really needed it. Slash sent Heath backstage passes in October of 2006 when Velvet Revolver came to Tampa. They got several pictures together and Heath got to see them play up close. That was the second time Heath had seen them play in Tampa. I’ve been telling Heath that he is a future rock star for awhile now and I think that Slash would now agree with me.

Slash is a very nice and genuine person. We had a wonderful time in LA and want to thank everyone that helped make it happen for Heath. We have a large extended family of which we now consider Slash a part of. He has reached out to Heath in a time that not only met a lot to Heath but met a lot to all of us that love Heath and for that Slash will always have a special place in our hearts.

Fish On

2008-05-26T12:27:00.012-04:00

We had a very good time fishing last Saturday. I purchased this fishing trip several months ago at Buck and Vera Jo's Grace Class auction. It's a yearly auction where members of the class donate and/or find friends of theirs to donate items or services. The proceeds go to missions and other things that the class agrees to sponsor. Every dime is used for a great cause and always to help spread God's word.

I'd like to thank June Bug for donating this fishing trip to the Grace Class auction. I can't remember exactly what price I finally paid for the trip but I remember Buck bidding me up to almost the full value of the trip. He knew I wanted it and he has a knack for knowing how high he can take you and then back off. It's always a lot of fun watching and bidding.

We had a great time and plenty of "Fish On" battle cries were heard. We caught our limit of Trout, one Flounder, about six Silver Trout, several undersized trout, plus hooked into a couple Spanish Mackerel and a Snook. Thanks again to June Bug for donating the trip. I will be using him again. For more information about fishing with June Bug, visit http://www.SnookQueenCharters.com/.

Thanks Aunt Melody for making one of Heath's dreams come true

2008-05-20T00:22:00.003-04:00

Heath will get to spend some time with his favorite musician. Heath’s Aunt Melody has been in contact with Slash of Velvet Revolver and helped arrange something very special. Slash has booked a recording studio in L.A. where Heath and Slash are going to jam and record one maybe two songs together. You can only imagine how much this means to Heath. I can’t say enough about how wonderful we all think Slash is for reaching out to Heath like he has. I’m also sure that Slash will be impressed with Heath’s talent and they will have a great time.

Moffitt appointment with doctors 5/1/08

2008-05-19T23:50:00.002-04:00

Karis and Heath met with the doctors at Moffitt on Thursday. The doctors do not think that the Chemo is working. They have ruled out any kind of radiation or surgery or further chemo at this time. The doctors at Moffitt and Boston, as well as Dr. Agresta in California and Dr. D’Amato in Georgia are all looking for a new Clinical Trial for him. The Sarcoma Annual Meeting is May 30th thru June 5th. We are praying that they all put their heads together and come up with a protocol for Heath. Karis is looking at alternative medicine at this time and is in touch with MD Anderson for a Clinical Trial with Whey Protein also known as Glutathione. She spoke with the Clinical Nurse today. Heath is on a strong vitamin regimen as well as an organic diet and organic juicing. He will be meeting with two different natural doctors this week. The chemo has been hard on his body and this vitamin protocol should boost his immune system and bring his antioxidant levels up.

We are asking for your prayers as we are praying for a miracle. The doctors have been amazing and we are not giving up.

Scan results

2008-05-01T15:31:00.002-04:00

Heath had CT scans with contrast this morning. He had to drink 3 big bottles of barium sulfate: one last night, one early this morning and one on the way to Moffitt this morning. He's been feeling nauseous from the chemo he had on Thursday and he was running a fever all weekend so drinking that stuff was not easy for him.

They were able to get a good look at what is going on now. The scans from March didn't show much because there was so much fluid in the right lung. Now we have a good scan to compare against in six weeks after he gets two more cycles (four rounds) of chemo. That should tell us if this protocol is working.

Today's scans showed two tumors. One on them was in the area that they spotted back in January and thought it could be scar tissue or a tumor. It was too small to do anything with at that time but it has grown to 3-4 cm. It is in the back part of the right lung. The second tumor is much larger and is located at the bottom of the right lung. They said that it is in the pleural lining and that it had grown inside by the bottom of the right lung and outside around the liver. The good thing is that this tumor is showing signs of necrosis (cell death) which could mean that the chemo is working. This is the tumor that caused the Pleural effusion.

Thanks for all the prayers. Keep praying that this chemo is working.

Links showing Heath playing with The U.C. Band

2008-04-24T21:28:00.005-04:00

Heath has been playing with a great group of guys. The name of their band is The Under Construction Band or U.C. Band. These guys are all older (my age and up) and they have been playing together for a long time. They are also known as F-Troop.

Heath plays lead guitar. They have told me how amazed they are at Heath's talent and Heath loves playing with them because they really have a good time.

Here is a link showing Heath playing the National Anthem on April 11th at the Palmetto Relay For Life Cancer Walk. I filmed this on my little camera so the video is a little choppy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtuHT0FgswM

Here's a link showing video from later in the evening. The U.C. Band was playing Satisfaction. I started running out of memory so I was only able to catch part of some of the songs. I believe they played for a little over one hour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI7puyvC_Mg

2nd round of chemo has been completed

2008-04-24T20:52:00.003-04:00

I discovered a new setting for this blog and now Karis can post here as well. I've gotten a little behind again so that should help me keep this blog up to date.

Here's the update:
On April 10th, Heath was given another round of the Gemcitabine chemo. That night he played a gig with his band, The U.C. Band, so he seemed to take it fairly ok. The next night he and his band played at the Palmetto Relay For Life Cancer Walk. I'll post more on that later.

One week later on April 17th he was supposed to get a round of Gemcitabine and Taxotere but his blood counts were too low so they delayed it for one week. Today he was given the Gemcitabine and Taxotere chemo. He had a reaction to the Taxotere which was also very scary because he thought he was having a stroke. They stopped the infusion for about 15 minutes and then continued it more slowly. They said it wasn't common but that it does happen sometimes. Next time they will start with a slower rate and then increase it as they go.

Next Thursday he will be getting more scans. This should give us some idea if the protocol is working or not. Please pray that the tumors are shrinking.

3-30-08 Update

2008-03-30T00:29:00.002-04:00

Heath had another round of chemo on Thursday. Last week he got Gemcitabine. This week he got Gemcitabine and Taxotere. This round completed the first of six cycles. He will start the second cycle in two weeks.

He went and played with his band Thursday night after getting the chemo and had a good time. For those of you that don't know, he's an extremely talented musician and getting better all the time.

The Gemcitabine chemo seemed to make him a bit nauseous a couple days after getting it but it only lasted a couple days last time. He's feeling it today so hopefully it doesn't last long. He's also not sleeping very well because of the restless leg symdrome. His attitude is still very good.

That's all for now. Thanks for all the prayers.

Chemo went fine

2008-03-21T08:12:00.003-04:00

It was a long day for Heath but everything went ok. They were able to access his port but that part was stressful. Keep praying that this chemo will remove the tumors completely.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Update on 3-15-08

2008-03-16T12:18:00.003-04:00

Heath is recovering well and he is following a strict diet plan. His attitude is very good and he is eating and drinking what Karis is giving him. For the most part it's pretty good because she's done her research and is a very good cook.

The doctors at Moffitt and at Mass General meet every Thursday to discuss their cases. They have been in communication with each other and have agreed on how to proceed. Needless to say, that alone is a major stress relief.

He goes back to Moffitt next Wednesday for labs and has appointments with 2 different doctors. He will start chemo on Thursday. I didn't want to go into all the details of the treatment at this point but he will not have to be admitted because it is an outpatient protocol. It is also a protocol that has had proven results and not a clinical trial.

Keep praying for healing of Heath and guidance for us and the doctors.

Coming home today

2008-03-07T09:17:00.002-05:00

His chest tubes were removed yesterday and he will be coming home today. His spirits are still very good and positive.

We will be meeting with the doctors early next week to discuss treatment. Please pray that the best decisions are made and the best treatments are available.

I will try and keep this blog updated next week since a lot is going on.

Thanks again.

Update after surgery

2008-03-04T18:47:00.002-05:00

Heath had surgery Monday around 12:30. After the surgery, the doctor came out and said that they found some tumors. They biopsied the area and confirmed that it is a spread of the initial sarcoma from his sacrum. The only thing we know is they said he would need more chemo.

He is in pain but doing ok and his attitude is just awesome. Please keep him in your prayers.

Sorry, I had the wrong time. The Surgery is not scheduled yet.

2008-03-02T15:11:00.003-05:00

The surgery is not scheduled yet. He may go at 8:45 AM if there is a cancellation but that is unlikely. He may get scheduled for noon or it could be 5PM. If that doesn't happen then he should get in sometime Tuesday.

Sorry for the confusion.

Heath is scheduled for surgery at 8:45AM on Monday, 3/3/08

2008-03-02T12:38:00.003-05:00

As of now, Heath is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 8:45AM.

Heath was admitted into Moffitt on Thursday due to fluid in his lungs. They quickly realized that his right lung was collapsed due to being filled with fluid. They called it Pleural effusion. It was so bad that his heart was being pushed over. They put in a chest tube to start draining the fluid. So far they have drained 10 liters of fluid. Initially, they said it could be pneumonia or cancer that is causing the Pleural effusion. They have sent off a sample of the fluid to biopsy it. They will not have results on that until probably Tuesday.

Going back a little, on January 2 they found another spot on his right lung. They decided to just keep a close eye on it because it was very small. Karis moved up the follow-up scan because Heath has been coughing and not feeling well at all in his chest. Plus she didn't want him to get x-rays here and then have to get them at Moffitt.

He had more w-rays last night so I'm guessing that the doctors looked at them this morning and decided to schedule surgery. They said that he still has fluid on the bottom 3 lobes of the right lung. They are going to perform a right video assisted thorascopic surgery to remove the remaining fluid with a possible right pleuroresis (process to make the lung stick to the wall) and possibly remove the spot that they found back on January 2. They will look at the rest of the lung if possible.

That's all I know at this point. We do ask that you try and check this blog for updates to help reduce the amount of time that Karis needs to spend on the phone for several reasons. Feel free to call me for updates if needed.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers

Heath is recovering nicely from surgery

2007-10-09T20:04:00.000-04:00

Heath's surgery went very well. They removed the 3 small pieces that they saw on the scan plus a couple other suspect pieces. Unfortunately, the doctor said the 3 initial pieces were cancer. We were told that they probably were but still. It was the same kind that he had before. The other pieces that they took out turned out to be nothing.

He is recovering very well. They already removed his chest tube because the lung re-inflated very quickly without a lot of drainage. He might come home tomorrow but he will still have a lot of pain.

At this time we don't know what the doctors will want to do next; we just hope he doesn't need anymore chemo. Karis said that we will meet with Dr. Summers and his ARNP-C, Joe Garrett, in a couple weeks and probably meet with Dr. Agresta on the same day.

I can't say enough about the compassionate and professional care that Heath received from the Surgeon, Dr. Summers, and his ARNP, Joe Garrett, and the nursing staff at Moffitt.

Scan results

2007-09-06T08:22:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately they found a couple spots on Heath's right lung in one of the scans that they did on Aug. 20th. On Aug. 27th, they confirmed it by doing a Chest CT scan. We are very optimistic but it does suck (sorry but that's how I feel).

We met with the Thoracic Surgeon at Moffitt on Wednesday and he went over everything with us. Heath is scheduled for surgery on Oct. 8th to remove 3 very small pieces of his right lung. They will be able to tell us almost right away rather or not it is cancer. Then they will send it off to confirm.

Dr. Agresta scheduled Heath for another Chest CT Scan on Oct. 1st to get another look before they operate.

Please pray that the spots will be gone before the next scan so surgery is not even needed but if surgery is needed that it isn't cancer and the doctors will proceed with the correct treatment so this will be the end of it.

Upcoming Scans Aug. 20th

2007-08-03T15:53:00.000-04:00

Heath has his checkup scans scheduled for August 20th.

He is having a lot of anxiety as you can understand and has had problems sleeping because of restlessness. Please pray that both of these things go away and for good results from his scans.

More on Miles for Moffitt

2007-05-03T12:35:00.000-04:00

If anyone is planning on attending, register under "Sarcoma Speed Demons". That is the team that Dr. Agresta is in and we will be too.

Miles for Moffitt

2007-05-01T10:40:00.000-04:00

We are all planning on attending the 2nd Annual Miles for Moffitt on May 12, 2007 at the University of South Florida to help support cancer research and to cheer on Dr. Agresta, Dawn and other staff members that we have gotten to know and love. Join us if you can.

"Miles for Moffitt has again partnered with SunTrust Bank to present the Second Annual SunTrust Miles for Moffitt run and walk to benefit the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Last year’s successful event attracted over 1300 participants and raised over $50,000 for the state of the art cancer research being done at Moffitt."

For more information about the race, go to http://www.milesformoffitt.com/about/

To register online, watch a video preview for 2007 or watch a video from the 2006 race, go to http://www.milesformoffitt.com

Almost Done

2007-04-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

They hung Heath's last bag of chemo last night. That's a very welcomed milestone. It's been a long year. Dr. Agresta just came in to congratulate Heath on finishing his chemo.

I just wanted to take time to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and support.

Dr. Agresta brought a young lady up yesterday that is writing a book and she had some questions for Heath. We have met a lot of nice people and want to stay involved somehow. I will keep this blog updated from time to time on what we are doing to stay involved and when Heath needs to visit the clinic.

Thanks again

Last round of Chemo 4-9-2007

2007-04-09T13:27:00.000-04:00

Karis is taking Heath to Moffitt for his last round of chemo. Heath is ready to get it started so it will be over. He should be home on Friday, I think.

I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. Please continue to pray that all his treatments have done their job to keep him cancer free forever.

Cancer Walk at the Beach on 3-9-2007

2007-04-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

On March 9th, we went to Coquina Beach for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Anna Maria Island. Heath's band wanted to play but all the members were not available so part of the band and some other friends got together and jammed for a couple hours in front of all the volunteers and workers. We didn't spend the entire night out there but stayed very late and we had a great time. Of course, the crowd was very impressed with their music. Here are a couple of pictures:

Manatee River Community Bank will have 2 teams participating in the Relay For Life of Palmetto. Karis and I will be in one of the teams and we will be staying the entire night. Heath's entire band will be available and playing so please come out and watch them. The opening ceremonies are at 6PM and Heath's band will play shortly after that. Show your support and come out for the opening ceremony.

Karis is a team leader for MRCB Rocks Too. Click here if you would like to donate to this wonderful event.

Click here for more details about Karis' team MRCB Rocks Too.

Here is a link to the Relay For Life of Palmetto,
http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=191938

Here are a couple of links for more information about American Cancer Society's "Relay For Life - A Team Event to Fight Cancer",
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/par/content/PAR_1_Relay_For_Life.asp
http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/

Next Chemo scheduled for Tuesday, 2/27/07

2007-02-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

Heath had an appointment at Moffitt on Monday. Karis, Allen and Bonnie (Karis' stepmom) accompanied him.

Heath's platelets were still a little low but the doctors all agreed that it was safe for him to get a three day round of IFOS/ETOP with one day of mesna at the end. After this round, Heath will have only one more round like this and he will be finished.

This worked out very well as far as the timing because Heath wanted to play Tigerfest before his next round. His band will be playing at Tigerfest on Saturday night, 2/24/07, at Palmetto High School. There will be several other bands playing that night from 4PM to 9PM. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door.

Come see Heath's new haircut. He's had such a long break that he has hair now, and yes he did get a haircut today. If you can't make it, don't worry I will definitely have some pictures to post.

Scans done and more chemo scheduled

2007-02-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

Karis took Heath up to Moffitt last Friday. Heath had an MRI scan and a PET scan.

We met with Dr. Agresta yesterday to go over the scans, to talk about the next round of chemo and to do labs and check his blood counts. He said the scans looked great and there was no activity on the tumor, meaning it appears completely dead. He did say that he needs to go over both scans with the radiologist but from what he could see they looked very good. Also, his blood counts are in great shape. Last time they checked his blood counts, a couple weeks ago, his platelets were still low.

He wants to go over the exact amounts of chemo that Heath has already had before he makes a final decision but he thinks Heath will only need two more rounds of the ifos/etop/mesna. He did imply that he will probably be in for up to 5 days for each.

One funny thing happened during the appointment. Before Dr. Agresta came in, his nurse practitioner came in to talk to us and get to know us a little before Dr. Agresta came in. At one point she asked Heath what he does with his free time. He smiled and looked at me and I laughed and said "she asked so show her". He got on the computer and went to his latest video on youtube "Pretty Women" and started it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSv3aGkDBxo. She laughed all the way through it. She wanted the link to all the videos and said she would show it to everyone. Heath got a big kick out of that. One thing Heath has mentioned is he thinks he can be an inspiration to other cancer patients "when they see what this kid with cancer is doing while he is going through his fight with cancer".

Thanks and keep praying

Heath and Allen Productions

2007-01-16T17:33:00.000-05:00

Heath's been back home for about a month now and he has been feeling pretty good. He is still having some leg pain and trouble sleeping but other than that he is doing great.

As a matter of fact, he's been also feeling very creative. Heath and Allen have been making videos and uploading them to youtube. All of these videos were created in less than one day and were filmed/edited/portrayed by none other than Heath and Allen.

This is a link to there youtube profile. They have made 5 short movies. Heath also made a skateboard video from some of his old videos. He wanted to do that because he can't skate anymore because of the cancer in his sacrum.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=sidthesloth11

These videos are absolutely hilarious. Take a look and rate them if you can. They are very talented and may be famous some day, seriously.

Coming Home on 12/22/06

2006-12-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

Heath's Proton treatments were supposed to be done on Thursday, 12/14/06, but the machine was down for several days. Karis already had plane tickets to come home late Friday night. She talked to the doctors and they said that he needed all his treatments and skipping any of them could be very bad. Since she already had the tickets to come home and since we had several things planned on Saturday and since her husband missed them terribly and since the hospital was reimbursing them for the tickets back, they came home for the weekend.

Heath, Karis and Quinten flew back up on Monday and they will be back home for good on Friday, 12/22/06.

Heath's back is doing much better. It looked like he had 3rd degree burns in a 7 inch diameter circle where they are radiating him but it is healing very well from what Karis said. His blood counts are much better also. His platelets were still low today but they are going back up on their own so he didn't need any transfusions today.

We are very grateful for everyone's support in helping through this process and for the wonderful care Heath got at Mass General in Boston. Heath has 3 more months of chemo treatments back at Moffitt in Tampa. He should be cancer free at that point so keep praying for that outcome.

Heath's blood counts are very low

2006-12-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

Heath was at the hospital all day getting transfusions. They gave him 3 units of blood and 6 units of platelets. They are also trying to give him an extra boast because he will be traveling home Friday on a commercial airline. He was feeling awful before the transfusion but Karis said he felt much better afterwards.

Karis told me this morning that Heath's Proton treatment for today has been cancelled because the machine is down. Luckily they had an extra day on their schedule before they are flying home so it shouldn't be a problem. As you can guess, Heath is very much ready to come home.

Overdue Update

2006-12-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I've been very busy but that's no excuse. Here's a quick update on Heath.

Heath went into Mass General last Thursday to start another round of chemo. This is the second round of Ifos/Etop that he has had in Boston. It kept getting delayed because his platelet count was too low. The radiation that he is getting is an area where there is a lot of bone marrow which is causing his counts to stay down and not recover. He was done with the chemo last night but they were going to keep him in the hospital until his radiation treatment today at around 1:30PM.

Heath has about 10 more radiation treatments and then he is finished. He should be home on the 15th and I know he is very ready to come home. This is one big step towards his cure. He will need more chemo at Moffitt but I'm not sure of the details. Keep praying for Heath's healing and that he is healthy enough to fly home on the 15th.

Also, Heath's grandmother was admitted to Manatee Memorial. I don't think they completely know what's wrong but keep her in your prayers as well.

Fun times with family in Boston

2006-11-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

We all had a great time last week seeing some of the sites. Gary, Peggy, Colt and Karissa came up to Boston to spend time with Heath. Gary, Peggy and Karissa flew up on Wednesday; Colt and I flew up on Thursday.

We started off going to the Boston Museum of Science. Here are a couple of pictures.

This is a picture of us all while we were waiting to go on the Duck Tour, where we saw parts of Boston by land and by river in an old World War II amphibious landing vehicle. Karissa and Allen got to drive for awhile.

Here are some pictures at the New England Aquarium.

Prayers needed for Heath and Jonah

2006-11-14T10:28:00.000-05:00

Heath has been doing ok lately but has had some problems since his last chemo. His blood counts were so bad that he had two different days where he had to get blood and platelet transfusions. He was very weak for several days and didn't have much energy to do anything. He is also having severe pains in his right foot. The doctor says that it is probably caused by inflammation from his radiation treatments but we are not completely sure what is causing the pain. They want to start him back on pain meds to try and get the pain under control. He is still getting daily Proton radiation treatments. He may start his next round of chemo on Friday or Saturday. Please continue to pray for healing and strength for Heath.

We found out that Dave and Patty's grandson Jonah was diagnose with leukemia. Jonah is 11 years old. Heath knows Jonah from when Heath worked at Kings Kids. Jonah already had surgery to put in a port and to do a spinal tap. He started chemo treatments which will continue for at least two years. Please pray for Jonah's family, Jonah's doctors and specifically for Jonah as he goes through his treatments.

Boston pictures

2006-11-08T23:05:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Mass General when they organized trick or treat for the kids on Ellison 18.

Above we have Heath as the "Mask" and Allen as a big "Hotdog".

Below is a group shot of the kids during their trick or treat tour. They had it very well organized and it was great to see the kids having a good time.

Below is a picture from the hospital and from the apartment, respectively.

Proton Treatments started on 11/02/06

2006-11-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

Heath started his Proton Radiation treatments today. He will get a total of 29 treatments. This is why he is in Boston so let's pray that these treatments completely kill his tumor in his sacrum.

Heath finished his Photon Radiation treatments on Wednesday, November 1st. He had 10 treatments. His treatments were scheduled for 4:20PM every day but the staff at Mass General in the Cox Building was very helpful and changed Heath's schedule to help him get done with the chemo earlier. Mass General, just like Moffitt, is a wonderful hospital and we are very glad to be there.

Heath finished his first of two rounds of chemo that he will get in Boston on Monday night and was released from Mass General on Tuesday afternoon. He seemed to tolerate this round fairly well. We'll know in the next 2 weeks how his blood counts hold up and when they can schedule him for the next round of chemo.

Tuesday was Halloween so Mass General Ellison 18 (that's the pediatric floor that Heath was on) organized a trick or treat tour of Mass General for the kids on the floor. It ended with a pizza party where they fed us lunch. Heath and Allen had a good time and yes they were in custom. I'll post some pictures later when I get them.

Update from Boston

2006-10-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

Heath is going to start Etoposide/Ifosfamide chemo today. This is the first of two rounds that he will get while in Boston.

They are going to administer it a little different here than they did at Moffitt for a couple of reasons. First, he will get a lower dose due to the fact that he is getting Photon radiation which can affect the bone marrow slightly and put him at more risk with his blood counts. Second, they will give both types of chemo to him at a high rate over one hour for each instead of a high rate on the Etoposide and continuous over 23 hours on the Ifosfamide/Mesna. The reason is because they have to give him Mesna to keep the Ifosfamide from damaging his bladder and the Mesna is considered a heavy metal. Since Heath is getting radiation, they need to make sure there is no Mesna in the radiation field during his Photon treatment because it could cause the radiation to scatter which would cause undesired results. Therefore they will not give him any Mesna for an hour or two before he gets his Photon treatment. Also, Heath was having bladder pains a couple of days ago. They have done two urine tests on him and he appears to be ok to proceed but we will be keeping a very close eye on any symptoms related to bladder pain.

Mass General Hospital and ConquerCancer.org

2006-10-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

This hospital seems like a great hospital. Every one we talk to up here speaks very highly of it and says we are in the right place. After getting the awesome treatment at Moffitt, our standards are very high now but Mass General, the employees and the other people we have met here are very nice and professional.

We did meet a very nice lady, Susan Zuker, while we were waiting for Heath's appointment on Thursday. Her husband passed away from lung cancer 3 years ago. Her and her two sons wanted to do something to honor his life and his battle with cancer. They did it in a big way. They created their own Massachusetts license plate and founded the Conquer Cancer Coalition of Massachusetts, which receives proceeds from sales of the plates. It is a local nonprofit organization that works in all capacities to conquer all forms of cancer. She said it took a couple years but they got it done. She also reached out to us in a very nice way and gave us a place to go spend the day and have a good time during our stay in Boston. Also, she was there because her mom currently has lung cancer. Her last treatment is Monday. Her cancer was caught early and she is doing fine. I am very glad that our appointment was at 3PM that day. Ironically, it is 6:20PM for the other nine treatments.

Here is a link to their website, www.conquercancer.org. Check it out.

This might be something we can do in Florida with the help of one of Heath's relatives. What do you think Ken? We already told Dr. Agresta that we would like to do something in the future to help out with the foundation that he started. This could be one of those things.

Please continue to keep Heath and his doctors in your prayers as well as Susan's mother.

Arrived in Boston

2006-10-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

We arrived safely in Boston on Tuesday. We are very comfortable in our apartment.

The doctors told us previously that Heath will be getting Proton treatments as well as Photon treatments.

On Wednesday, Heath had blood labs and a simulation appointment. The blood labs showed that he has recovered very well and is ready to start chemo as soon as we can schedule it. The simulation was for the Photon treatments that will be given previous to the Proton treatments. The doctors had told us that Heath will be getting Proton treatments as well as Photon treatments but we weren't sure of the details until now.

On Thursday, Heath had his first Photon treatment. The Photon treatment is a high intensity x-ray.

Heath is scheduled for 9 more Photon treatments which are given Monday through Friday. The remaining Photon appointments are at 6:20PM. On November 2, he will start the first of 29 Proton treatments which are also given Monday through Friday. Heath will get 2 rounds of Etoposide/Ifosfamide chemo somewhere in between but they are not scheduled as of now.

We are supposed to meet with Dr. DeLaney once a week while we are here. Dr. Ebb is his Oncology doctor.

That's it to now.

Karis's dad Bill Eckley passed away this morning

2006-10-16T11:27:00.000-04:00

I just talked to Karis and she told me that her dad passed away very peacefully this morning at approximately 10:40AM. She wanted me to mention that the family is doing well. Bill was an avid fisherman and they said he is catching his holy mackerel now.

Back to Boston

2006-10-16T11:02:00.000-04:00

Heath, Allen and I will be flying back to Boston tomorrow morning. Karis is still in Ohio with her dad. Karis will be flying directly to Boston at a later date. Please continue to pray for Karis's dad and step mom, Bill and Bonnie, as well as the rest of the family. I will give you an update when Karis asks me to.

Quick Update on Karis and her dad Bill

2006-10-12T20:47:00.000-04:00

We flew back home on 10/11/06. Heath is doing good. His blood counts are back to almost normal for now.

Karis had to fly back out at 8AM this morning, 10/12/06. Her dad Bill has not been well and is in ICU at a hospital in Detriot. I'm not sure of all the details but he is not doing well and the doctors are very concerned. Please keep Bill, Karis and the entire family in your prayers.

In Boston 10-4-06

2006-10-06T16:46:00.000-04:00

We arrived in Boston on Wednesday after a quick flight. We took a short cab ride to the Holiday Inn right accross from Mass. General Hospital. After we got settled we took a short walk around downtown and had lunch at the original Cheers that the TV show was based on.

Thursday we got up early and had a good breakfast in the Mass General cafeteria. Then met with the doctors that are going to do the radiation therapy, Dr. DeLaney and his assistant Dr. Haglund. We were hoping that Heath would not need any chemo while we were up here so he could have a break but the doctors told us that he will need to get the Etoposide/Ifosfamide chemo along with the radiation therapy. He was very depressed about that at first but has accepted it at this point. We also asked them to check his blood counts and to scheduled a PET scan. He had a pelvic CT scan and they scheduled him for an MRI, a platelet infusion and a PET scan for Friday and two units of blood on Saturday. His blood counts came back and they were very bad so we spent the rest of the day in the hotel room.

Friday Karis and Heath went over early to get his MRI. I went over and met Karis before he finished his MRI. Then we went over to meet Heath's new Oncology doctor, Dr. Ebb. He spent a lot of time with us and he explained everything to use extremely well and made us feel very good about being here. They gave Heath one unit of platelets. After that they took another blood sample to check his counts. Then we went over to get the his PET scan. His blood counts came back and they were much better except for his hemoglobin. The two units of blood he will get on tomorrow should take care of that. Dr. Ebb said that his blood counts are good enough for us to go back into tourist mode tonight.

Karis has a realtor scheduled to pick us up at the hotel tonight to show us a place that we may rent for the eight stay. Heath wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown so we will probably have the realtor drop us off there and take a cab back to the hotel after dinner.

I have several more posts that I need to catch up on and I'll try and do that this weekend.

Thanks for reading and please keep praying for Heath and for the doctors that are caring for him. To quote Heath's sister Karissa, "God answers prayers, please pray for Heath".

Joy FM 20 Wishes

2006-10-03T09:36:00.000-04:00

Bill and Carmen from Joy FM were at our house today to grant Heath a very special wish. Listen for Heath and Karis on Joy FM 88.1 to hear the story. I will post more details, links and pictures later.

Thank you Joy FM and Melody.

Bull Riding at the Manatee Civic Center on 9/30/06

2006-09-28T15:36:00.000-04:00

Bull riding at the Manatee Civic Center, http://www.manateecenter.org/support/events.cfm?ID=618 on September 30, Saturday night at 7:30. If you like bull riding, then don't miss it.

We went to this last year and it was awesome. We sat in seats that were 10 feet from the fence. It's a very big and sturdy fence but the bulls were bouncing off it right in front of us. There are bleacher seats for the less adventurous.

Some of the proceeds from this event are going the Heath's cancer fund.

We'll see you there if you go.

Details:
http://www.manateecenter.org/support/events.cfm
BullBash 2006
When: Saturday 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm, September 30, 2006
Sponsor: Red Hoagland GMC
Admission: Adults $20. Kids $10. (12-6) under 5 yrs. Free
Parking: $5
Contact: Doug Walker
Phone: 941-377-4780
Tickets Sold @ Manatee Civic Center, Alvarez Resturant, Crowder Bros Ace, Cracker Bay Country Store-Hwy 64, Red Hoagland GMC, Fruitville Feed-Sarasota, Come See Come Sav-Bradenton, Big "L"-Ellenton

Boston Trip is scheduled

2006-09-21T12:36:00.000-04:00

I believe we are scheduled to fly to Boston on October 4th. Heath has his preliminary appointments on October 5th & 6th. They will be doing some scans as well as measuring him for some kind of mold that he will lay in during the radiation treatments. The purpose of the mold is to keep him stationary during the treatment.

Here is a picture from Massachusetts General

I'm not sure when we are coming back but it looks like Heath, Karis, Allan, and I will stay until the 10th or 11th. We will be looking for a place to stay and learning our way around during our free time. Heath will be starting the radiation on October 18th. I believe the four of us will be flying back up before that. That's it for now.

Last Chemo before Boston

2006-09-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

Heath went back into Moffitt last night. They are delaying his chemo until today because his counts are still too low. He will be there until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. The chemo is the same as the last time: Etoposide that they pump through him in one hour each day for five days and Ifosfamide/Mesna that they pump through in 23 hours each day for five days.

Heath had a couple of unscheduled trips to the hospital after the last time he received this chemo.

First, Two or three days after he came home the last time he went golfing with his friend Quintin. I was home working at my desk when he walked in the door. Allan yelled for me to come out because something was wrong with Heath. He was lying on the floor holding his chest over his heart in serious pain. He said he could barely breathe and he had very strong chest pains. In the next minute I called Karis and then I called 911. The fire department showed up about 30 seconds later (more like 2 minutes but there got here very quickly) and took his vitals. The paramedics showed up a couple of minutes later and did what looked like an EKG. She said that he seemed stable and she could not see any signs of a coronary problem. She then asked Heath which hospital he wanted to go to. He likes Lakewood Ranch so they took him there in the ambulance. The doctors ran his blood work and took a chest x-ray and a bunch of other stuff. I can't remember the exact diagnosis but it was some kind of muscle condition or pleurisy. They let us take him home that afternoon. We had called Dr. Agresta earlier while the paramedics were at the house and he said it was probably caused by his blood counts being too low. Later we found out the Heath's new friend Kyle (who we meant at Moffitt because he has the same cancer in his leg) had gone to the emergency room the day before with the same exact problem. Needless to say the whole thing scared me to death because I thought he was having a heart attack. Thanks to our local fire department and paramedics for their quick response.

Secondly, a couple of days after the fund raiser drawing for the car Heath started running a fever. The doctors told us to monitor it and if it went above 101 to take him to the local hospital to have his blood counts checked. Karis got up every hour on the hour that night to check his temperature. The next day she took him the doctor and his blood counts were very low and they said he had a neutropenic fever. Karis had to take Heath to Moffitt where he was admitted. They started him on IV fluids and I think IV antibiotics. His white and red blood counts were so low that they had to give him platelets and a blood transfusion. I was in Moffitt for 3 days while they monitored his counts.

It's very ironic but the day of the drawing for the car Dr. D'Amato talked to the crowd and told them that by looking a Heath that day you wouldn't know how sick he was but he is still very sick and all the crap that he is having to go through to try and cure him is very hard on his body. Like I said before, the trick is to poison his body enough where is kills the cancer without doing too much damage to the rest of him. Someday with places like Moffit discovering better treatments, people with cancer will not have to endure what Heath is going through. It is better today than it was ten years ago. But he is hanging in there pretty good and is staying positive which is all we ask.

The winning ticket

2006-09-14T12:32:00.000-04:00

Congradulations to Mr. Kipp for winning the raffle. I believe the winning ticket number was 0012 which was draw by an employee of Red Hoagland Pontiac in front of ~150 people.

Karis commented that "Mr. Kipp has always given to others through community support, friends and family. When he read the flyer about Heath he immediately bought (3) tickets and his daughter bought tickets as well. He didn't think that we would win the car, but considered the cause. He says that he has never won anything before. He is so excited that everywhere he goes he shows the flyer."

We would like to thank everyone for helping out with this fund raiser. We would like to give special thanks to:

everyone that bought and sold tickets
Manatee River Community Bank for there endless support
Red Hoagland Pontiac
Larry and Donnas Arrasmith
Sean Murphy of Arrow Fence
Silent partner who didn't want their name mentioned
Melody and Ralph
Spotlight Graphics
The Kileva Band (see pictures below)
Eric Von Hanmann and Todd Cook for playing music
Checkers the Clown
Pyrates of the Gulf Coast of Bradenton
Beth Frappier for all of the cans she decorated
Doug Walker and the Bullbash Rodeo
Dr. Gina D'Amato for all of her support
Kim Zink with the Manatee County Sheriff's Department
First Baptist Church of Palmetto and Buck & Vera Jo's Sunday School Class

The Heath Sammons Cancer Fund Drawing is today, 9-9-06

2006-09-09T09:33:00.000-04:00

Join us at Red Hoagland Pontiac in Bradenton for the drawing of the car. The drawing will be at 1PM.

We will have free food and entertainment:

Heath's band will be there to play a couple of their favorite classic rock songs.
Eric VonHahmann's band has donated their time and they will be playing country music.
Pyrates of the Gulf Coast make a special appearance and they will be there passing out beads to kids.
Checkers the Clown will be there making ballons for the kids.
Free hotdogs will be supplied by Red Hoagland Pontiac.

There are still a few tickets available so call Melody at 941-518-4047 or show up early if you would like to purchase a ticket.

Back at Moffitt on 8-31-06

2006-09-01T13:24:00.000-04:00

Heath is back in Moffitt for more chemo. They have changed his protocol again. Instead of getting the Ifosfamide by itself they are going to give him another type of chemo at the same time called Etoposide.

He will be getting 5 full days of chemo. They started him on fluids last night at about 9PM. They started him on the Etoposide around 10:30PM. They pump that through him in one hour. Immediately following that, they start him on the Ifosfamide and pump that through him in 23 hours. This process is repeated four more times. They also give him Mesna which is mixed in with the Ifosfamide. It is supposed to counter one of the side affects of the Ifosfamide which can cause damage to the bladder.

The trick as we have learned for treating this type of cancer as well as many others is to basically poison the body enough to kill the cancer but not enough to cause too much damage to the rest of the body. The fact is that it does cause some damage. Keep praying that the doctors find the perfect balance.

In my previous post I did not mention something that the doctors told us. They said not to worry too much about the protocol change. However, if some of his previous symptoms with the nerve pain in the leg or foot returned then he would be more concerned. Last Thursday night Heath told us that he started feeling numbness in his foot again. We told the doctors and they wanted him admitted on Friday for more tests. So after being out for one day, Heath had to spend two more nights at Moffitt. They did a complete MRI, with and without contrast, on his pelvic and spine region. We are still waiting for the Radiologist to give us a full report on the scans. The intermediate results did not give us too much cause for concern. Heath did tell us that the numbness has come and gone since the beginning so we don't know if it is related to the tumor growing or not.

Protocol Change

2006-08-25T10:46:00.000-04:00

The doctors want to change Heath’s protocol. They scan his tumor after each complete cycle of chemo and then compare that scan to the past scans. Then they review it all at there weekly tumor review board meetings.

The most recent scan showed that the part of the tumor that is in the bone is stable but the part of the tumor that is in the soft tissue is changing. They said not to worry too much because this is common but that it did warrant a change in protocol.

It goes without saying that we are worried but we are fortunate that they have the technology to see the changes so they can change the protocol accordingly.

They want to put Heath on a different chemo called Ifosfamide which is geared more towards soft tissue sarcomas. He will get two rounds of the Ifosfamide with a 2 week break in between. They also want to move the Proton Beam Radiation treatment up approximately one month. That should put us in Boston in the second week in October.

Dr. Agresta at Moffitt also sent the scans to Harvard so they can review them at their weekly tumor review board meeting.

Please pray for Heath and pray that this new protocol will shrink the soft tissue part of the tumor to nothing. Also pray for the doctors so they can make the correct decisions on Heath's treatment as well as all the other patients that they are treating.

Article in the Bradenton Herald today about Heath

2006-08-20T16:01:00.000-04:00

There is an article about Heath in the local section of today's Bradenton Herald, Sunday 8-20-06.

Donna Wright came to our house several weeks ago and interviewed Heath. She also made several phones calls and interviewed some of the doctors over the phone, one of which was Dr. Letson. The article is titled 'Network' helps with teen boy's cancer.

If you are unable to buy a copy, here is a direct link: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/15315962.htm

I don't think the link above shows pictures. The article in the paper shows three pictures of Heath: one with Allen and Mike, one with his dad Gary and one with his mom Karis and myself. If I can find the pictures, I'll try and post them here.

Back at Moffitt on 8/20/2006

2006-08-20T15:42:00.000-04:00

Heath is back at Moffitt for Methotrexate chemo until Wednesday. He will only have a couple days off before he has to come back next Sunday for another round of Methotrexate.

Update

2006-08-03T16:40:00.000-04:00

Heath is back home resting now. He just got home yesterday, 8/2/06, from Moffitt. He went in on Saturday. Karis's birthday was Sunday, guess what she wished for.

This round was delayed by a week due to his throat being very sore from the previous round of Methotrexate. This round was the Adriamycin & Cisplatin chemo, which is the beginning of his 4th cycle, so he is still very tired and a little weak.

During his time off Karis and I took Heath, Karissa and some of their friends to Busch Gardens. Heath also went fishing with his dad a couple of times. I'm not sure what they caught but they had fun.

Karis is trying to make arrangements for us to fly up to Ohio to visit her family, especially her Dad. He has not been well and she hasn't been up there since last October and the kids have not been up for 2 years. She needs to time it around Heath's treatments and doctor appointments. We are concerned with exposing Heath to the germs from flying on a commercial airline so Karis did a little research and found this info about CAIRFlight. Their "goal is to eliminate distance as a barrier to accessing essential medical resources or reuniting families in critical times". I'll put the link on this blog in case anyone ever needs something like this or if anyone would like to give them a donation.

Please continue to pray for healing for Heath and for his grandpa Bill in Ohio.

Quick Update

2006-07-18T19:03:00.000-04:00

Heath is back at Moffitt for another round of Methotrexate. He was admitted on Sunday, 7/16/06, and should be home Wednesday night. This will be his 8th round of chemo and will complete his 3rd cycle.

He is doing ok. He's been sleeping a lot and his mouth/throat are getting sore again. They have put him back on the anti-fungal and anti-biotics to try and control it.

Heath will be back in Moffitt on Monday, 7/24, to start his 4th cycle. I think we are planning on taking him to Busch Gardens and meeting up with some his relatives that are down from Ohio.

Please continue to pray for Heath's healing. Also, pray for Colt's safe return from Italy.

Article in North River News about Heath

2006-07-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

North River News
Manatee's Independent Newspaper June 29-July 5, 2006 VOLUME 16 EDITION 22
BY RHIANNON DeBAYLO Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer)

"Watching 18-year-old Heath Sammons sit on his living room couch with his guitar on his knee and passion flowing from his fingertips, you may never realize that he is sick.
A seemingly typical teenage boy, Heath has a love for music, enjoys goofing off with his friends, and skateboarding. Ironically enough, it's a skateboarding accident that just may have saved his life.
In early January, Heath was skateboarding with friends when he took a fall that fractured his tailbone and ultimately brought about the diagnosis of Osteosarcoma, or more simply, bone cancer ..."

The entire article can be read at BuckandVerajosClass.com, Click here to see entire article.

2006-07-07T17:17:00.000-04:00

Some freinds and family are heading up a fundraiser for Heath.

See flyer below.

For raffle ticket information, visit Manatee River Community Bank or contact Donnas Arrasmith at 224-7777 or Melody Sweetman at 756-2847. Checks can be made payable to the Heath Sammons Cancer Fund.

Goods news from MRI Scan

2006-07-06T08:59:00.000-04:00

The tumor appears to be either the same size or slightly smaller but definitely not growing according to the doctors from a scan they did last week.

Heath came out of the last round of chemo better due to the all the antibiotics that they perscribed for him. He didn't get any mouth sores or sore throat and seven days out of the chemo he started feeling better.

He did have to make an unscheduled visit last week due to severe lower stomach pains. They scanned his digestive system and appendix. Karis also had them scan the pelvic area since he was scheduled for labs and a scan on 7/5/06. That way they wouldn't have to put him through another scan.

The scan showed an impaction which was causing the pains in the lower stomach, probably caused by the heavy antibiotics and not eating for five days during the chemo. He had to take some mineral oil and get back on the senokot. His white blood cell count was very low, 300 I think. He did get the Neulasta shot again after this chemo and on 7/1/06 he had another shot that they put him on to help with the blood counts called Aranesp. He will need the Aranesp shot every 14 days now because his blood counts have not been staying up where they should.

On 7/5/06, Karis took Heath back to Moffitt for labs. His white blood cell count was back up to 1200 which is a safe range. Karis and Heath got to look at the scans and compare it to the scan he took about 6 weeks ago, after the first cycle of chemo. They both thought that the tumor definitely looked smaller, Praise the Lord.

Proton Beam Therapy link added

2006-06-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Karis found this link, http://www.proton-therapy.org/index.html, so I added it to the links on the right.

Trip to Boston has been changed to November

2006-06-21T11:54:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know about the schedule change for the Proton Beam Radiation in Boston. It was changed to November 1st. That may change again since this last round of chemo was delayed by one week. It could be moved back even further if future chemo treatments are delayed.

I just wanted to post this quick update because several people were asking about the trip and didn't know the date was changed.

Back at Moffitt on 6/11/2006

2006-06-20T12:09:00.000-04:00

Heath was admitted back in Moffitt on Sunday, 6/11, to start his 3rd cycle of chemo. This round is the Adriamycin & Cisplatin. This is the chemo that is very hard on Heath. He hasn't been eating or drinking at all but he is getting a lot of IV fluids to keep him hydrated. He has been sleeping or trying to sleep since Monday morning because he feels so bad.

He was supposed to go in last Sunday but this round was delayed because the two previous rounds of Methotrexate caused his throat to so sore that he could hardly swallow. The doctors put him of some very heavy duty antibiotics. After about a week, his throat started feeling better. He could have gone in on Friday but a bed didn't open up until Sunday.

Sorry I haven't been keeping this blog updated. I'll try and keep it updated better going forward.

Please pray for Heath to bounce back quickly after this round. Also, he is scheduled to get an MRI scan of the tumor before the next round starts so pray the chemo is shrinking the tumor.

Heath's visit to the Fire Station

2006-05-30T11:22:00.000-04:00

Heath's dad arranged a visit to the Cedar Hammock Fire Station for Heath. Heath thought he was going to visit with several brave firemen and look at the new fire station. What Gary didn't tell him was that several of the guys from C Shift were going to shave their heads to show their support for Heath and what he is going through. You can see from the smile on his face that he enjoyed it very much.

The first picture shows Heath reluctantly starting the process and the second picture shows Heath, Gary and Peggy with 10 newly shaved firefighters from Cedar Hammock C Shift. I believe the pictures were taken on 5/4/06.

Thanks to the Cedar Hammock Fire Station for what you do everyday and special thanks to C Shift for your support of Heath.

Back at Moffitt

2006-05-30T10:32:00.000-04:00

Heath was admitted back in Moffitt on Sunday, 5/28/06, to start a round of Methotrexate chemo. He should be home sometime Wednesday evening. He will only get a couple days rest and have to go back in from Sunday to Wednesday, 6/4 to 6/7, for another round of Methotrexate. That will complete his second full cycle of chemo. I believe they will do another MRI at this point to see if the tumor is reacting to the chemo.

Then on the following Sunday, 6/11/06, he will go in for a round of the Adriamycin & Cisplatin, which will start his third cycle. This is the chemo that is hard on him and he won't have any rest going into it because of the previous two weeks on the Methotrexate.

Please pray for results that the tumor is shrinking and that he gets through the next month without too much discomfort.

Heath's Story written by Karis (mom)

2006-05-12T17:59:00.000-04:00

May 12, 2006

RE: HEATH www.heathsupdate.blogspot.com

On January 7th my son Heath fell skateboarding. From the beginning he complained of some pain, but throughout the rest of the month he began noticing the pain in his calf was getting worse. On Tuesday, January 31st, I took him to Dr. Scarano his pediatrician. He thought Heath might have Tendonitis. He prescribed some pain medicine which did not seem to help. A few more days went by and Heath continued to get worse. I called Dr. Sacrano and he referred Heath to Dr. Schafer a Sports Medicine Doctor. The appointment was on Thursday February 08, 2006, by now Heath was in a lot of pain. Dr. Shafer had Heath walk on his heals and then his toes and sent him for an MRI, he also put Heath on pain medication. When the MRI was done the Radiologist saw something other than fractures in the sacral bone. Heath was called back for a second MRI with contrast on Friday the February 10th. He then had an appointment with Dr. Schafer on Tuesday the 13th. Dr. Schafer showed us the MRI and said that he saw what appeared to be fractures, but he also saw something that was out of his field. He referred Heath to Dr. Tally a Neurologist for an appointment on Thursday the 15th. I asked Dr. Tally whether it was a blood clot or maybe inflammation. Dr. Tally believed that this mass was a tumor. He continued to keep Heath on pain med's along with steroids for inflammation which didn't seem to help. Dr. Tally told Heath that if the pain got any worse and if the medications at home were not working that he could admit him in the hospital for pain management.

Dr. Tally's next step was to order a biopsy. Heath immediately went to Manatee Memorial Hospital where they did a needle biopsy of the sacral bone. The results would not be back for at least a week or longer. The biopsy was tested and after a few weeks Manatee Memorial's report came back benign. Heath's pain continued to get worse and yet the second biopsy came back from Stanford University Medical Center benign. We were still waiting for the results from Mayo in Rochester, MN. While waiting for the biopsy results, I asked Dr. Scarano to refer Heath for a second opinion. On February 23rd we went to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Heath saw Dr. Douglas Letson the Program Leader for the Sarcoma Caner Program. He ordered x-rays of the sacrum and the pelvis as well as labs. Then on February 27, Heath had a bone scan full body and a ct lower extremity. Still the pain continued to worsen; the pain was coming from the S1 nerve coming out of the sacrum, which affects the sciatic nerve. The pain was nerve pain from inflammation from the fractures as well as the tumor compressing the S1 nerve. The pain began at the sacrum area and continued down the leg to his toes. After days of no sleep and uncontrollable pain, Heath finally decided to be admitted on Thursday March 2nd at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. While in the hospital Heath was given Morphine Drip and Dilaudid, yet still the pain was out of control.

Finally on Monday morning March 5th, Dr. Letson nurse called and said that Dr. Letson had reviewed Heath x-rays, scans and labs. She said that he saw no visible signs of cancer and with the results from the biopsy's coming back benign that he would refer Heath back to Dr. Tally for follow-up. With relief in sight I waited for Dr. Tally to make his rounds at the hospital. He came in around 4:00 p.m. and to our surprise he had the results from the biopsy from Mayo. The results were Chrondoblastic Grade 3 Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer) of the sacrum. I immediately called Moffitt and left a message with Dr. Letson and the next day Heath was transported by ambulance back to Moffitt for a second biopsy.

On March 7th Dr. Letson performed the biopsy taking bone the approximate size of a quarter, he also took about a cup of bone marrow. Once again the waiting continues. Heath still needed to remain hospitalized for pain management; the pain spasms were still constant. After working closely with the pain team Heath left the hospital with nine different medications. Finally on Tuesday March 14th Heath was able to go home. As the fractures healed Heath slowly discontinued pain medications. He started his first chemotherapy on Tuesday, March 28th. The first cycle of chemo consisted of Adriamycin and Cisplatin; he requires hospitalization for three to four days, with a Neulasta injection on the fourth day. The second cycle of Methotrexate was given three weeks later with hospitalization for three to four days. Heath has just completed another cycle of Cisplatin and Adriamycin the Neulasta injection will be given today March 12th. He is scheduled for the next chemo on March 26th with Methotrexate.

Heath has been accepted for Proton Beam Radiation Therapy. The tentative schedule for the Proton is sometime the end of October through the beginning of December. Dr. Letson referred Heath to Dr. Delaney at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. If Heath were to have surgery it would affect his mobility as well as control of his bodily functions. Because of the nerves coming out of the sacrum he would have some pain after the surgery. The oncologist at Moffitt consulted with Dr. Peter Anderson at M.D. Anderson in Texas. Dr. Anderson has treated several patients that have had very similar diagnosis. The protocol is that the majority of chemo is given in the beginning. Some chemo may need to be given during radiation and after. Heath should complete his treatments sometime in the beginning of 2007.

Karis
MOM

Karissa's Pinebox Derby Car

2006-05-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

Karissa participated in Awana's Pinebox Derby Race at New Hope Baptist Church on 4/8/2006 (I met to post this last month).

She decided to build the car in the shape of a skateboard in honor of her brother, Heath. She earned a ribbon for participating and recieved a 2nd place trophy for Biblical Theme. It's a little hard to read the top but it says "Pray for Heath God Answers Prayers".

Very well done Karissa and you are right.

Second cycle of chemo

2006-05-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

Heath was admitted back at Moffitt to start his second cycle of chemo on Sunday, 5/7/2006.

This cycle will consist of three rounds. This round will be the chemo that is hard on him, Adriamycin & Cisplatin. He should be coming home on Wednesday evening. We are hoping that he will tolerate this chemo better this time around because he is in a much better state then the last time he took it. He is completely off all pain medication and almost pain free.

After this round of chemo, he will get 2 weeks to recover and then have two rounds of the Methotrexate chemo to complete this cycle. At that point they will do another MRI scan to see how the tumor is reacting to the chemo.

Please pray that Heath will tolerate this chemo better and that the chemo will continue to kill the tumor.

Prom night

2006-05-08T12:21:00.000-04:00

Heath, Allen and Emily on their way to the prom Friday night, 5/6/2006. They had a great time and looked good doing it as you can see.

Doctors Appointment at Moffitt on 5/3/06

2006-05-08T09:28:00.000-04:00

Heath had an appointment on Wednesday, 5/3/06, to have an MRI scan to see how the tumor is reacting to the chemo and to meet with his oncology doctor about future treatments.

They didn't have an MRI scan of Heath just before he started chemo so they had to compare it to a scan that was taken several months ago so it was a little difficult for them to tell us exactly how the tumor has changed since he started chemo. From what they could tell us, it kind of appears that there are some dead cells around some parts of the tumor so that might indicate that the chemo is shrinking the tumor. They will take another scan after this next cycle of chemo, in about 5 to 6 weeks, to get a much better idea of how the tumor is reacting since they will have something to compare it to.

They are going to change the protocol for his chemo slightly. He will get one round of Adriamycin & Cisplatin and two rounds of Methotrexate per cycle over a 5 week time frame.

We are lucky to have the option to go to Boston and have Proton Beam Radiation but we are praying that the chemo alone will kill the tumor and keep us from having to go to Boston at all.

Heath, Live in concert with the "The Allen Lynchberg Experience"

2006-04-25T11:28:00.000-04:00

Heath has been feeling pretty good lately. This round of chemo was not as tuff on him as the first round. He was able to practice with a group of friends ("The Allen Lynchberg Experience") enough to be able to perform at the annual Tiger Fest at Palmetto High School on Saturday, April 22, 2006. There is a whole other story behind the band name but I won't go into that. Heath commented that he can sing better and he could not hold or hit some on the notes that he normally can but the chemo did cause him to have a severe case of thrush. His throat was still a little raw but we thought he sounded great, and so did everyone else that was there. Here are a few pictures from the performance (sorry if the pictures look a little distorted, that's how they came off the tape).

Prayer request for Pastor Paul

2006-04-17T12:20:00.000-04:00

Pastor Paul, the senior pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Ellenton, is on the same floor that Heath was just on. He is in severe pain. They are still trying to manage his pain. They want to surgically install a pain pump that may control his pain. They were doing something yesterday that should determine if the pump will work on him.

Please pray that they are able to install the pain pump and that it will control his pain.

Up coming travel plans

2006-04-17T12:16:00.000-04:00

We will be trying to work out the details for the trip to Boston for the Proton Beam Radiation Therapy. We don't know the exact dates yet but it should be around the middle of June.

Our biggest concern now is finding comfortable and clean housing for the 7 week visit for Karis and Heath as well as the rest of us as we come and go. Karis' concern is not splitting up the family for 7 weeks. I'd like to be up there as much as possible as well as bringing Colt and Karissa up for at least a few visits.

Please pray for our travel arrangements.

Home and resting

2006-04-17T11:58:00.000-04:00

Heath's second round of chemo is over. This completes his first cycle of chemo. He came home yesterday. He has been having pains in his legs and left foot. He also has a very sore throat. Overall, he has tolerated this round of chemo much better than the other type of chemo.

Allan will be saying with Heath during his visit. That should help keep his spirits up. They are a funny pair.

Please pray for Heath's pains to lessen so he can recover from the chemo treatment more comfortably.

Heath's friend is in town for spring break visit

2006-04-17T11:43:00.000-04:00

We picked up Heath's best friend Allan at the airport on Saturday. Allan is on spring break and will be here for the Tiger Fest that their band will perform at. Heath spent most of Saturday late afternoon and early evening playing video games with his friends Allan, Louie and Randy. Heath's dad Gary brought him the old Super Nintendo and they played Mario Brothers. Heath said that game is the best video game for therapy. They were laughing and having a good time for several hours. Heath has a lot of very good friends.

Second round of chemo

2006-04-14T10:11:00.000-04:00

Heath was admitted back at Moffitt yesterday, 4/13, for another round of chemo. He will be given Methotrexate/Leucovorin during this round. The Methotrexate is given in an IV fast drip over four hours. They ran an IV previously for 6 hours that had something in it that will help keep the Methotrexate in his system for a 24 hour period. Leucovorin will be used to remove the Methotrexate. They will monitor the Methotrexate counts. When it goes below a certain level, Heath can come home.

This round will complete the first cycle of chemo. Heath will have one more cycle of chemo before we travel to Harvard.

There are 3 different kinds of chemo that they are giving him. Each cycle will consist of Adriamycin, Cisplatin and Methotrexate. The Adriamycin and Cisplatin are given during the same round and the Methotrexate is given in a round by itself.

Heath had the Adriamycin and Cisplatin on 3/28 to 4/1. This chemo causes the white blood cell levels to drop very drastically. A Neulasta shot was given 24 hours after this round as a rescue agent. It causes the body to produce white blood cells to keep Heath from getting an infection.

Thanks for all the prayers.

Good news

2006-04-12T18:10:00.000-04:00

Heath was at Moffitt today. He had some blood work done and his counts were very good.

Also, we talked to Dr. Letson and he said he would call us as soon as he heard from Harvard about Heath's status for getting Proton Beam Radiation Therapy at Harvard. Before we left the hospital, Dr. Letson called to tell us that Heath has been accepted for the Proton Radiation. This is what we were praying for. From what we have been told, this is the best possible treatment that he can get for this type of cancer more many reasons.

Thank You Dr. Letson

Heath got his braces off

2006-04-12T18:06:00.000-04:00

Heath got his braces off yesterday. He had them on for 2 1/2 years. His teeth look great and he can eat more confortably. The chemo has caused him to develop sores in his mouth and the braces were not helping the matter. Many thanks to Dr. Morrish for working him in.

History of earlier events

2006-04-12T17:48:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning to post a thread that gives some of the past events that lead to where we are at but haven't had time. I will edit this post with that info in the near future.

Note: See post on 5/12/2006 for updated history.

Heath's Diagnosis

2006-04-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

Heath has been diagnosed with Chondroblastic Osteosarcoma in the sacrum.

On 3/8/06, an incisional biopsy was performed on the left sacrum area by Dr. Letson. The pathology was prepared by Moffitt. It was reviewed by Moffitt, Harvard and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

On 3/20/06, we were told that the pathology was showing that Heath has Chondroblastic Osteosarcoma.

On 3/21/06, a PET scan was performed at USF's University Diagnostic Center. The results from the scan showed that the cancer has not spread to any other parts of the body.

On 3/28/06, Heath was admitted back at Moffitt. His first chemo treatment was started late that evening and lasted until about 2AM on 4/1/06.

His strength and appetite are coming back slowly.

Keep praying for his healing and strength.

Song that Karis found and wanted posted

2006-04-04T09:57:00.000-04:00

"He's My Son" by Mark Schultz

I'm down on my knees again tonight
I'm hoping this prayer will turn out right
See there is a boy that needs Your help
I've done all that I can do myself
His mother is tired
I'm sure You can understand
Each night as he sleeps
She goes in to hold his hand
And she tries not to cry
As the tears fill her eyes

CHORUS:
Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can You see him?
Can You make him feel all right?
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he's not just anyone
He's my son

Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep
I dream of the boy he'd like to be
I try to be strong and see him through
But God who he needs right now is You
Let him grow old
Live life without this fear
What would I be
Living without him here
He's so tired and he's scared
Let him know that You're there

CHORUS

Can You hear me?
Can You see him?
Please don't leave him
He's my son

Heath's Update

2006-04-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

Please keep Heath in your prayers. Pray for healing and strength for Heath and his family.

This blog has been setup to help keep Heath’s family and friends updated on what is going on.

Sometimes it is hard to remember who we have talked to and who we still need to call. This will also allow Karis and Heath to fellowship with most of the people calling without having to give them an update first. Also, this will help keep all the facts straight. We all remember the childhood game that we played called Telephone.

Links to this blog will be posted on our Sunday School Class Website, http://www.buckandverajosclass.com/. Heath may also post this link on his MySpace.com site. The direct link to this blog is http://heathsupdate.blogspot.com/.

Please keep Heath in your prayers.