This is our little girl Abigail, she just turned 2 years old on the first of September. Abby is our not-so-little miracle baby! In August of this year Abby received an MRI that revealed a tumor in her brain. She underwent surgery to have the tumor completely removed and the pathology revealed that this tumor was a choroid plexus carcinoma, a very rare and aggressive kind of cancer, a terminal diagnosis. This news hit my wife and I like a freight train and turned our world upside down. However, Abby and her older sister Lucy have been such a source of joy through all of this, they are truly unstoppable. Abby has done exceptionally well through the multiple surgeries she has undergone, a testament to her strength and spirit. We are not losing hope! All of our family and friends have been a blessing as well, we could not get through this alone. Abby also has a certain gene mutation that makes conventional treatment considerably less effective but Amie and I have been fortunate enough to find a treatment that has been successful in the past with other children who’ve had the same tumor and diagnosis. This treatment is not covered by insurance so we will need as much help as we can get. God bless you all!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
September 19th Update:
We have secured our tickets to Houston Texas and will be flying there Saturday (tomorrow) morning. We will be staying in an apartment about 5 minutes from the clinic (Thank you Jenna!) We are very optimistic and trusting in God to heal us. If you are reading this, please send this to friends and family. We are looking for 400 people to commit to a $50 monthly donation, but any generosity will be surely appreciated! Love you all. God bless you.
September 22nd Update
Good afternoon friends and family! Today we had our very first appointment at the Burzynski Clinic in Texas. Amie and I both were very excited about Abby starting treatment for her cancer. The staff at the clinic were warm and welcoming. As soon as you walk into the lobby you see photos and decorations all over all the walls made by some of the patients that have been cured in the 45 years they have been treating people. Some of the photos were very old. Some were collages of children growing up and graduating and getting married and having children themselves. Some were photos of Burzynski with patients. But you cannot help but feel the love when you’re there. All the staff remarked about how cute and big Abby is for her age. It’s true, she’s almost 40lbs at 2! Anyway we filled out paperwork and then got right to her treatment. It’s a combination of Antineoplastons As2-1 and A10, delivered to Abby via her central line. This is called ANP Therapy. As I write this Abby and Amie are snuggled up for a nap, the humidity and heat are a little more than we’re used to! I think I might take a nap too…
Before I go I’d like to let you know that your generous giving allowed us to pay for her first month of treatment today. I’d like to say thank you. You have blessed me and my family beyond words. Abby is such a beautiful and sweet soul. God bless you all.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
September 29th 2025 Update
Less than 1 week left before we fly home and we continue to be amazed by the generosity you all have shown. We couldn’t do any of this without your support! Abby is getting better every day, and we can feel it! She is getting medicine via her central line all day. The two pumps run from 10 in the morning until 7 in the morning the following day. We put them in a little backpack and carry it around with us wherever she goes, but she barely notices! One of the common side effects of this treatment is fatigue and we’ve noticed her naps have gotten longer and her bedtime comes sooner. Other than that though Abby is totally herself, and that alone brings us great joy. The staff at the Burzynski Clinic have done an amazing job bringing us up to speed on how to administer her treatment, especially nurse Kay! She has been a thoughtful and patient teacher. We are getting more and more proficient at it every day.
Yesterday and today my brother Drew and his wife Jenna and their beautiful family came to visit us from Granger, a little over 3 hours away. (Jenna is the one who found an apartment for us to stay at for free while we’re here!) We hadn’t seen all of them since last August! It was such a blessing to be together, they brought us much comfort, laughter and prayer.
As we wind down for the evening after going grocery shopping (big mistake to grocery shop on a Sunday night in Houston) we are watching one of Abby’s favorite movies Moana. We feel as though we have acclimated quickly to the heat and humidity here. We have relaxed more and more as we understand better how to adjust to Abby’s new needs (making sure her IV lines don’t get tangled or come undone while she’s moving or sleeping). Thank you for your prayers and encouragement, we never feel alone thanks to you.
Update on fundraising: this treatment alone costs $17,000 each month. Thanks to your giving we have paid for Abby’s first month of treatment, airfare, food, gas, as well as rent and bills back home. Originally we were looking for 400 people to commit to a $50 monthly donation (for 10 months). Thanks to you that number now is only 340 people! If you would like to donate directly or have any questions or want to help in a different way, please reach out to us via email. Don’t hesitate to share this on social media if you feel inclined, we surely do appreciate it! May God bless you all!
My brother Drew shared this verse with me today:
“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.”
Psalm 28:7
October 2nd 2025 Update
Today was bittersweet. We bid farewell to the wonderful staff at the Burzynski Clinic. Nurse Kay gave Abby a new Moana dress which of course Abby loved as well as a Moana toddler backpack to haul around Abby’s pumps and medicine. She also got Abby’s older sister Lucy a white lab coat, so Lucy can dress the part when she’s helping us with Abby! We were blessed by you Kay and words can’t describe how much we love you and are grateful for you being in our lives. We have laughed with you and cried with you and you have encouraged us and shown us how to have fun throughout all this. We know the Lord put you in our lives for this reason.
And a big thank you to Reggie, for the warm greeting every morning at your post in the parking garage. You were a source of cheerfulness and wisdom as well. Thank you for the little bear you gave Abby and for all the prayers. I love you brother! We will name the bear Reggie-bear of course.
Abby has been resting a lot today. Her body is getting used to the max dosage (for her size) of the ANP therapy. When she wakes up she usually says “Gaga” (grandma Reggie) or “Kitty” (kitty) and every once in a while if she wakes up with an appetite she says “EGG”. She loves eggs, cottage cheese, and raw milk. My big girl.
We have one more day in Houston and then Saturday we will be flying home! I checked the weather and it looks like we will be bringing the sunshine with us! We couldn’t be more excited to sleep in our own bed and see Lucy again! As well as all of our family and friends!
The doctor at the clinic said we will know within 3 months if the medicine is shrinking the cancer. So thank you for your continued prayers and financial support! Abby is such a tough girl. Today we changed her dressing for her port and she did great.
The Lord is our strength.
Love you all.
Psalm 91
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
October 8th 2025 Update
Apologies for the very late update. We made it home Saturday night the 4th and the reunion with Lucy and family was such a blast of joy straight to the heart! It wasn’t until 12:30 in the morning that we all finally crashed and went to bed, that’s how excited we all were. The support and the familiar comforts of home have brought us much peace. And we continue to be awed by the generous financial support that continues to flow in! Thank you very very much! We are only about 5k shy of our goal this month! As for Abby, we have been a little frustrated trying to navigate her treatment here at home. She gets connected to her treatment in the morning and then like clockwork she starts to run a fever in the evening. When we disconnect her, the fever goes away. We are pretty baffled by this, as it’s not something that’s typical at all. So we have been unable to keep her connected throughout the night. Her doctors are coming up with a new dosage strategy so she can tolerate it throughout the night. For the time being she will remain disconnected for 48 hours. Will update on this later this week. This evening was the first night she didn’t run a fever and we are extremely grateful for that! Both girls are sleeping comfortably and we all had a great day today. We picked out some neat pumpkins at the pumpkin patch and even went through the corn maze! It’s so good being together as a family again. It does wonders for our hearts. So even though we are facing new challenges, we can face them together and encourage each other. Thank you all for your prayers, they are much needed and much appreciated. Love you all!
Psalm 34:9
“Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.”
October 18th 2025 update
We wanted to update you all to let you know what we’ve been up to since the last update. Abby was extremely uncomfortable this week while connected so we are adjusting her dosage again. She’s been disconnected the last few days so we can give her a low dose steroid to relieve her swelling. She has been eating a lot more lately and eager to walk and even attempt to run again which is really great to see! Lucy has been a wonderful help to us and her little sister and we are very grateful for her participation in Abby’s care. We are paid up until November 10th, and we are about 5k short of the 17k we need by then but we’re trusting God that He will come through for us. Please pray that the Lord would continue to heal Abby and bring us peace. Joel went back to work Monday which has been weighing very heavily on him as it is an extremely stressful job. He feels torn working his current job and not being home with Abby as well as feeling trapped because he has few other skills to work anywhere else. God bless you all for your generous giving and support, it means everything to us!
Psalm 146:8
“the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.”
October 26th 2025 update
Good evening all, we hope you had a wonderful weekend! Our hearts are so full coming off the Old Crow Coffee fundraiser for Abby on Friday. It was a massive success. Old Crow Coffee raised more than we could’ve imagined. The support from the community was incredible! We are so blessed by everyone and it brings us great joy amidst our trials. Abby laughed today and some days that’s all you need to snap out of your mental “funk”. We have so much to be grateful for. Family, friends, a cozy home and beds and lots of good food and books and movies! Lucy has been doing a lot of gymnastics lately in the house and she learned kung fu recently all from watching a movie! Just kidding, but seriously she will sneak up on me and kick me right in the kidneys sometimes and you just gotta laugh so you don’t cry (sometimes it really hurts). Abby walked some this evening with a little bit of assistance and nothing makes us happier than seeing her want to move around and play! She’s back to drinking about at least a quart of her favorite farm fresh milk and she’s in great spirits!
Amie was super excited to see all her old coffee customers on Friday too. God is so good to us, he has brought us so many beautiful and wonderful people into our lives. We will be heading up north for an MRI for Abby soon, and we definitely appreciate all your prayers and support. No matter the results we will stay the course and trust in the Lord!
Although some moments are extremely difficult, especially with me going back to work, Amie and I love each other too much to let any of this stress keep us from remaining positive. We are not afraid to hope!
1 Corinthians 13:4
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
November 6th Update
Thank you to all who donated! Today we purchased another 30 day supply of Abby’s medicine! As a father I cannot adequately express how grateful I am that we don’t have the added stress of me working while Abby receives her treatment.
The last few days have not been without their challenges. Thankfully Abby is still eating like crazy and drinking but you can tell she is frustrated with the loss of some of her fine motor skills. She’s not using almost any words at all lately and she hardly makes eye contact which breaks my heart truly. She’s very mellow when she’s awake, and doesn’t have a lot of energy. But I have enjoyed setting her on my knee in the backyard as we get fresh air and look at the clouds overhead. I know my baby girl is still in there, fighting her hardest. When she’s awake on the couch I’ll put classical music on my phone like Brahms or Bach and that’s great music in the background as I read the book of Psalms to her. I can’t help but feel like the days may seem dark at the moment, in these circumstances, but despair is not an option because Abby deserves a father who truly believes in the Lords promises. And so as she fights, I will fight. I will not despair. I will find the joy in the little things, and I will be here for her.
2 Corinthians 4:8-18
8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
November 13th 2025 update
Good morning prayer warriors! We are headed north for the MRI today. Abby slept great last night after we cracked the code on getting her something that would help her to relax. The loss of a lot of her motor function has been the hardest part for us to see, however we do know that often times it gets worse before it gets better. She hasn’t completely stopped communicating though, Amie got her to whisper “mama” last night! And there are some days where she holds eye contact with us! In the meantime, Abby is undergoing a complete genetic overhaul, and for this we must be patient. As we drive north this morning our hearts are so full. It has been world-changing for us to receive so much of your prayers and generous gifts and words of encouragement. Please know that you are faith in action, you are allowing us all to be together, to seek the best treatment, and above all, to have peace we could not have without you! In the name of Jesus Abby will be healed, for His glory!
Psalm 18:46-49
46
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47
He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48
who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
49
Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
November 20th Update
Amie: Apologies for the very late update. We have been recovering from a long stay at the hospital! Coming home felt so good after the roller coaster over the weekend, there were so many blessings even though at times they were hard to see. Mostly it was the amazing nurses in the PICU that not only took amazing care of Abby but made sure Joel and I were ok too. Always willing to talk me through some big emotions and answer any questions we had about Abby’s care with so much patience and grace. Nurses truly are the heartbeat of our medical system and I thank the Lord for that.
The MRI on Thursday showed that Abby had hydrocephalus, a complication we weren’t expecting. Nothing that was happening were typical symptoms of that but as soon as we sent the MRI results to the Burzynski Doctor we work with, he instructed us to go right back to Doernbechers because she needed the fluid buildup fixed and that’s exactly what they did once we got there.
We met with the neurosurgery team and Abby went into surgery for a second shunt placement Thursday night. One MRI was taken of her brain and one of her spine. There was a small amount of disease progression in her brain but none in her spine! We still have the good news of Abby’s spine being clear and I’m holding on to that for dear life. We knew going into this MRI that it wouldn’t change our treatment course, that is still true. Now that we have the tools to help Abby manage her fluid production, it feels like God just gave us another tool to help the Antineoplastons and help heal our unstoppable girl!
Couple nights of observation in the PICU and seeing improvements in her all around so we got discharged late on Sunday and on our way to the car she started smiling from ear to ear and giggling while I put her in her car seat. This girl loves her home.🤍
We are home and hopefully now we have all that we need to get some really consistent weeks of treatment and healing for this girl. Thank you doesn’t feel adequate enough to say! Thank you for bringing us dinners. Thank you for donating to our meal train so we don’t have to think about dinner that way either. Thank you for your continued donations every month to pay for Abby’s treatment. There just aren’t words. God is so good and he has blessed us beyond measure through all of you. God bless you all!
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
November 26th 2025 update
Good morning to all you beautiful people! Wanted to write a quick update and let you know how Abby and all of us are doing. We are extremely grateful for the relief she is getting from the shunt surgery. Every day we find new, albeit small, improvements with her. And that’s a huge blessing! She is still eating and drinking like her normal self (that’s really never changed, Abby has always been our “good eater”) and she’s up to 39.8 pounds as of the last check up. She smiles and laughs much more frequently than before and Amie and I are jealous of Lucy’s ability to get a big cheesy smile out of Abby faster and easier than anyone else! The majority of the day though she is very out of it. But when she gets restless we find her sitting up and looking around all without any assistance! Even though her speech is very infrequent we will sometimes get a meal request out of her (“cheese!”) or hear her say “mama”, and it brings us great joy. This is one unstoppable girl. We’ve had a couple days that were hard since we last wrote an update but these are more psychological than anything else. Abby has been keeping up the fight with very little complaint! We’ve finally got some new momentum and we are very encouraged and optimistic. God has not abandoned us even if at times it can feel overwhelming. And you all have blessed us so very much with your generous donations and prayers! Thank you again, I know I say that a lot but it means everything to us.
On a completely unrelated side note Lucy got some cool new rocks (minerals) from the jewelry store we went to yesterday, and it made her day! She’s gonna be a rock collector now! The owner of the store gave her a box to pick out a few for free, and Lucy was absolutely stoked! Love you all! Oh and we got a tree from a tree farm last week, that was awesome! It’s all decorated in our living room of course, you could probably see it from space. I hope you all have a beautiful thanksgiving with your loved ones! Til next time!
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Dec 10 2025 update
Back in the Emergency Room this morning. Abby has not been tolerating the steroid taper well. The last few days have been brutal and with Abby’s constant episodes Amie and I are on the ragged edge. Abby is so strong and we know she’ll adjust but in the meantime we needed to get her some pain meds that would allow her to relax. We are so frustrated because we have not been able to connect Abby to her ANP therapy for several days and that leads to an anxiety of its own. Lucy has spent a lot of time with her grandmas.
Dec 11th 2025 update
Today has been probably the toughest day yet. After we were released from the hospital yesterday we thought we had made some progress and Abby was finally starting to act like she was going to sleep after a couple medications kicked in, but then she appeared to have an allergic reaction to one of them and we had to go back to the hospital. After 3 hours of no luck with any of the medicine being able to calm her, one of the staff recommended a benzo and she finally got to sleep for 2 solid hours! Amie and were absolutely spent. Being so tired we started to argue because we were so sleep deprived and couldn’t seem to understand what exactly was happening with Abby. Eventually we requested transfer from RiverBend to Dorenbechers after the MRI she received at RiverBend was not good enough to draw any conclusions from. Then when we got up here the neuro team relayed the unfortunate news that Abby’s symptoms are more than likely a result of disease progression in her brain. Abby is sleeping peacefully right now beside me and Amie is taking a much needed nap. I write this because you all deserve to know what’s going on and what we’re going through. Despite the torture that has been the last couple days and the disease progression in her brain, Abby has actually shown some motor skill improvement that we haven’t seen in weeks. She uses single words more frequently than before and she’s much more interested in using her hands again, even if her coordination is a little off. While it has always been tempting to succumb to the crushing weight of despair, Amie and I made a vow to never give up and never lose hope. We are now extremely aware of how incredibly blessed Abby is to be here today in spite of her aggressive brain cancer. We are not ignorant of what we are facing but we are choosing to focus on the positive parts of this life-changing experience. I will admit at times I find myself asking obvious questions like “why Abby?” which of course, have no answer. Questions like that can bring no comfort, and will remain unanswered until God reveals it to us. I remember back in August He spoke to me and said that “there is a blessing in all of this”, and I will hold on to that promise. Love you all, and we desperately need your prayers at this time. We are trying our best to get back home tomorrow morning, I will update then. Hope or despair is a daily choice, and Abby deserves parents that choose hope, in spite of the circumstances.
Psalm 139:13-18
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Dec 12 2025 update
We are home as of 11:30 this morning. Abby was so ready to be back. She constantly reminded us that she wanted to go home while we were at the hospital. The way she does this is by yelling “IN!” as in “get IN the car”. It’s such a joy to be home and even more so that Abby is laughing and smiling again. She is so happy to be here, and Amie and I are on cloud 9. We have finally figured out what she needs to be comfortable and that also gives us a lot of peace. Short update for now but I wanted to keep you all in the loop. Thank you for your prayers!!!
John 4:13-14
Jesus answered, “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
December 21 2025 update
Good afternoon prayer warriors. I wanted to write an update these last few days because a lot has transpired in the previous week and I wanted to share how encouraged our family has been from the support of all of you. Last Saturday it felt like Abby might not pull through and she was having daily seizures that really scared us all. We held her and prayed that she would start taking fluids again and the Lord answered our prayers. She went from barely drinking any milk last week to drinking a TON every day. She’s very sedated in order to keep the seizures at bay but even in spite of the medications, she’s smiled and laughed with us. She communicates with us whenever she’s hungry too. We took her for a walk in her new stroller wagon yesterday and the fresh air and sunlight was really good (for all of us). Abby is such a remarkable girl. Our house has been so full of love this past week, it’s really difficult to describe the peace we have all felt. Even though a week ago things felt very grim, I can honestly say today we all feel re-energized. I personally feel the presence of the Lord in our home. My whole family does.
We’ve had several good days in a row now, and two days without a seizure. We are praying continuously for Abby’s healing and putting our trust in the Lord, He is where our strength comes from. God bless you all.
Psalm 34:17-18
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
January 7th 2026 update
The last few weeks have been a blur for everyone. Abby continues to surprise everyone and rally. Nurses say her heartbeat is strong and her lungs sound good. She is heavily sedated most of the day and the seizures are pretty much non existent now. She’s still eating and drinking but she’s very low energy. If we can tease a smile out of her once every couple days we are overjoyed. She’s incredibly strong and brave to be going through all this. I remember telling Amie that God had answered our prayers when we asked Him to bless Abby. She said she doesn’t understand and I told her “God blessed Abby by giving her you as a mom”. Words can’t describe how much we love this beautiful gigantic girl. She just exudes joy and healing from every pore in her body. She still loves getting baths. And she still loves all her stuffed animals. And of course, especially loves her sister Lucy. Lucy has been a champ. She is a major help for us, reminding us to remain present and not get lost in the past. It’s so hard to share any updates anymore. I’ve just lost part of my ability to break all these moments down and summarize them very well. But you should now, even with tears in our eyes every day, this house is still filled with joy and the presence of the Almighty. Love you all, keep praying and worshipping, we know God has a plan in all of this.
Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
January 21 2026 Update
Amie:
Well friends, we are once again blown away by this unstoppable girl! Abby continues to fight hard and is having more and more open eye time during the day where she is at peace and trying to talk. She decided the other day that she was gonna talk again and it’s been such a blessing. We were able to start tapering her steroids and truly believe that is helping with her speech returning.
She’s smiling, trying to give high fives, eating well and trying to be awake and engaged as much as possible. It’s so inspiring to see her fight so hard to be here with us.
We had a really promising appointment at the Portland Clinic of Holistic health and feel our hope is renewed! We weren’t exactly sure how Abby would handle the car ride up to Portland but we knew we had to try! The drive there and back couldn’t have been smoother and we are hopeful for the follow up appointment tomorrow.
Learning small ways to help support Abby’s body to fight this feels like a good route to take on this journey. Dr. Blake checks Abby’s blood for food intolerances and inflammation markers so we have a clear picture of what things would benefit her.
Being a holistic clinic, it’s not covered by insurance so we are definitely so grateful for all of your continued donations. We will do and pay whatever we have to for this girl and we are grateful to find someone who wants to help guide us. Please say big prayers for the appointment tomorrow!
We are in complete awe of this sweet girls strength and perseverance through this. God has gifted us more time and guided us to skilled people to help! We couldn’t be more grateful right now. Praise God for his blessings! God bless all of you!
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
February 16 2026 update
First I’d like to apologize for the absence of consistent updates. Abby has improved remarkably overall in the last month and a half but especially in the last two or three weeks, with improvements every week. Truly this is nothing short of miraculous. These improvements do present new challenges however and we’ve been doing our best to adapt. Sometimes I’m so stressed out I can’t even think straight. Abby can be unpredictable these days and sometimes when she starts to do something new, or really just something she hasn’t done in a couple months whether trying to speak clearly or moving her arms or legs it can be really truly terrifying at first. I didn’t think this would be the case but it is. That being said, we do get very excited when it’s clear she’s trying to communicate. If I haven’t said it before, we don’t really talk about her cancer that much. We don’t ignore it, we are actively treating it, but we don’t allow it to steal our joy or become our sole focus either. We have just recently started talking about possibly getting another MRI as Abby has clearly gotten better with the treatment she has received recently and we want to know the status of her cancer. Amie has been so vigilant around the clock taking such amazing care of Abby, she inspires me and I am in awe of her steadfastness. And Amie’s mom Reggie is such an irreplaceable source of help as well. Shoutout to my folks too! In fact, we have received a lot of blessings from so many of you (as I write this I realize it would be pretty close to impossible to give you all the credit you deserve, but I’ll try now.) Thank you for being with us in spirit, for praying for us, for generously giving. Being able to be here for Abby and Amie and Lucy is my only desire right now. And our home is so full of love because of the Lords presence, we are grateful beyond words. I don’t get too philosophical anymore, I believe that season has passed but I’ll say a brief word about gratitude. Everyone knows what it means but gratitude is the foundation of healthy and loving relationships, and thinking of all the people I am grateful for has saved me from careening into despair and depression. I am so grateful for my beautiful family. All their unique qualities and traits. And I am grateful that God has chosen me to lead them in this trying time. Keep praying for us, we pray that Abby will be completely healed.
James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
February 20 2026 update
Amie:
Birthday’s have always been a big deal to me. Nothing makes me more excited then surprising someone or doing something big for my people on their day! Even cakes are part of my birthday love now and there was a time where I couldn’t bake anything so that’s saying something!
With our whole life being turned upside down this summer I wasn’t super looking forward to doing anything for my birthday.. All my heart wants is to see my girl healing and my family at peace and anything else seems unimportant.
Today that wish came true! We do weekly blood slides of Abby’s blood to watch her inflammation through dried blood analysis (look it up! It’s fascinating!) and today Abby’s slide had improved so much from her first one that it took my breath away! Another day of good news?! One more step in the right direction! Abby is the toughest fighter I know and God is gifting us more time and some real healing!
Happy birthday to me! My heart is so full!
36 is off to a great start!🤍
The last two pictures are Abby’s blood slides. The first one with all the white, shows tons of inflammation and the dark spots show that her liver enzymes were elevated.
Second you can see way less inflammation and dramatically better color!
“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness… Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”. Psalm 150:1-6
March 3rd 2026 update
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
As a man, one of the worst things he can do is not work. Not just some social faux pas, but a moral outrage. Especially a man with a wife and family! If the man is without physical or mental handicap, then there is no excuse to not actively work to provide for oneself and one’s family. But what if, in order to care for one’s family, attention must be shifted away from work and focused on your children and wife? What then?
The reality is I truly enjoyed the work I used to do. I found it to be very rewarding financially and spiritually. I was able to comfortably support my family and overall we were thriving. I was also really good at my job and I had a relatively flexible schedule. It provided me challenge as well as growth. I enjoyed working with my coworkers and clients. It was the first time in a long time that I had direction, vision and momentum. But I was away from home a lot more than I would’ve liked. We always tell ourselves that it’s worth it, but truthfully, we all want to spend more time with our families.
Abby’s diagnosis has shown me what is truly important in life. It’s not money, it’s not work, it’s not things you can buy. It is in fact finding an ideal that is worthy of sacrifice. This ultimately reveals where your priorities lie. It requires a kind of perseverance and force of will that you don’t know you possess until circumstances arrive that unveil it. Abby is worth sacrificing for. This beautiful family that God has created is very much worth sacrificing for. What other choice does a father have? Nothing has brought me more joy than being present every day for Amie, Abby and Lucy. There is no place I’d rather be.
I’m writing all this to say that it has been such a beautiful and wonderful thing to be on the receiving end of true generosity and charity. As a family, we do not have any other source of income. You guys are it. You guys are financially supporting us to the extent that we can pay our bills and pay for Abby’s treatment. Out of the kindness of your hearts you have poured out upon us blessings that we could never pay back. However, we are approaching a time where finances are becoming stretched thin. Abby’s current treatment is a little over $2k each week, and we are on our 5th week. We will be doing some fundraiser events in the coming months and we will also be releasing an Abby’s Fighters baseball hat in order to continue to pay for her treatment. The support you have already shown us has been more than we could ever ask for, so all I will ask of you is that you share our story with 3 people who are dear to you. If we can reach more people we can easily achieve these goals.
Abby’s smiles and laughter are more and more present every day, and in our hearts we know she is being healed. God has been faithful to us throughout even if we doubted Him at times. Thank you for reading this, for sharing this, and most of all for rooting for us, praying for us, with us and giving out of love and faith. We are never going to stop fighting alongside Abby.