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The last 7 days have been the most emotionally exhausting days since January when we first learned of Mark’s diagnosis. We have been in the hospital since Monday afternoon. While he has improved considerably since we have been here, it is gut-wrenching to see him in this condition. So, how did we get here, again?  Mark seemed to be doing well just a few days ago on August 30, 2024. There is not a cure or a ‘standard of care’ treatment for the type of cancer that Mark has. When we first learned of his diagnosis we vowed that we would do whatever we had to do to prolong his life until a treatment is available. We have prayed/begged that we can turn this prognosis in to a chronic illness that always has to be managed but that we can live with. Our only hope is a clinical trial. The trial that Mark is approved to do requires him to be in good physical health and on much lower dose of steroids than Mark has been on over the last several months.  Ali and Mark at home, getting sleepier and having trouble keeping left eye open. Since April we have been working to get him off steroids. We get close and his condition worsens or his shunt fails or any other host of issues causes us to have to go back up on his dosage only to have to start the weaning process over. The steroids change his personality, they cause insatiable hunger, they alter his sleeping patterns, they wreak havoc on his hormones and cause a handful of other issues. However, they also reduce inflammation in his brain. They are a necessary evil. When the inflammation is in your brain it affects every function of your body and if left unchecked it can be fatal. Mark’s inflammation is from the trauma that his brain has been through since January. The tumor, the build-up of spinal fluid, the shunt, the radiation, the cranial pressure, the new shunt, etc. The steroids are the only way to combat this inflammation of the brain. The problem is that there is not a dosage schedule. It is 100% a guessing game to figure out how much the dosage can be reduced and to find where the happy medium is. You reduce the dosage, wait a couple of days, see how he is doing and if he is doing okay you reduce again with the goal of getting completely off.  Mila has been keeping a very close eye on her brother Mark. After Mark’s surgery on August 18th to replace his shunt, the doctors increased his steroids back to a high dosage but wanted us to quickly reduce them. We were able to wean him off pretty quickly and on August 29th he took, what we hoped, was his last dose of Dexamethasone (a name that we have grown to hate). Again, we were shocked at how quickly he had bounced back after this latest surgery. He was getting around the house on his own and regaining some of his independence. After a couple of days off the steroid we were starting to see signs of our Sweet Mark. He was wanting to be around us more, his mood had improved, he didn’t have the appetite, his sense of humor was starting to show up here and there. Everything was going well until it wasn’t. Around the middle of last week he started having trouble walking and he became a fall risk. We were using the wheelchair around the house, something we hadn’t really done before. We knew that coming off the steroids there would be a period of time when he was in transition before his body would naturally start producing the hormones that the steroid was suppressing. He wasn’t in pain and he was still lucid (unlike when the the shunt was failing). Seemingly over night, he lost his ability to speak, he had Parkinson’s-like tremors over his whole body and for the most part was unable to eat or swallow. We were scheduled to go to Houston on Monday for a neurologist follow-up appointment and to get his stitches out. We knew that he would be admitted to the hospital. There is nothing in the world that can prepare you to see your child like this and I pray that you never will.  Admitted to the hospital on the oncology floor for observation. When we got to the hospital they were moving much faster getting him admitted, hooked up to IV’s and to the imaging room for the MRI than they ever had before. They were trying to determine if he had/was having a stroke because he could not move his right arm. The symptoms that he was having were either him having a stroke, a result of the shunt failing again, the tumor enlarging and affecting the part of the brain that controls these motor skills or it was inflammation. They quickly ruled out shunt failure and the stroke. The imaging from the MRI looked to be pretty stable from the one he had in August, so most likely not tumor progression. They had to get him back on a high dose of steroids to see if it was the inflammation causing this. They did and almost immediately we started to see subtle signs of improvement. Things that only Ali or I would notice.  Our superhero had Iron Man painted on his hospital room window. Once they got him to his room late on Monday evening, his temperature starting going up and they were worried about a blood infection. Of course they were. We have learned that if it can go wrong, it will when it comes to this entire journey. They had to take quite a bit of blood and send it off to the lab to determine if it was a blood infection. Fortunately, it wasn’t but we didn’t find out until late on Tuesday that was pretty much ruled out.  Ali calming Mark after midnight so that he could get some sleep. Tuesday was spent resting, letting the steroids work their way through his system and getting better. We had visits from PT, OT and did a lot of heavy lifting to get Mark in and out of bed, to the bathroom, etc. His buddy, Crosby, the yellow lab that he befriended in January came by to see him for awhile and they even got a little nap in. Our sweet friend drive the 2 hours from College Station just to give us a hug. It worked out that she could stay longer than that and we really enjoyed her company while Mark rested. Thank you N! By the end of Tuesday, he was able to talk and move his legs enough to help us help him get in and out of bed. Last night his oncologist, Dr. Lin, came by our room and met with Ali and I for an hour. He has such a calming presence and he reassured us that Mark can still be on the steroid and do the trial but he does need to improve physically. That is such a relief. Wednesday morning started with a normal breakfast. He had been on the mush diet since we got here, not exactly appetizing. He was speaking in complete sentences, while labored, it was a vast improvement. He walked, with our help, to the restroom. All of this was a complete 180 from where he was just 48 hours before. There is a chance that they may even release him today after he meets with PT and OT again. A little while ago Crosby came back by for a visit and Mark and Crosby made a picture that I dubbed “Bark’s Army”.  Mark and Crosby making a canvas with their “hand” prints. We are hopeful that he will improve a great deal over the course of the next week and continue to get stronger and heal so that he can do the trial. Ali and I are at peace with the steroids. Perhaps this was God’s way of showing us that the steroids are just going to be a part of our lives and we need to do what we need to accommodate the changes that they cause. We pray that we are able to find the happy-medium with his steroids that allows him to function normally but without the extreme side effects. We pray for Jameson continuing to be so adaptable to the abrupt changes in our lives. We pray for our friends and for all of the shoulders we have cried on over the last week. We pray for Mark to have the will to keep fighting this fight. We pray that we catch a break. Most of all, we pray that Mark is going to go home. There was a thought when we left the house on Monday that may not be the case. Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support. We need all of them.
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 Mila welcoming her brother home with some kisses! Short post this evening to update everyone on what went down this week at the hospital. I am happy to report that Ali and Mark got home on Friday night about 8pm and we have spent the weekend relaxing, recovering and enjoying all being back together. I posted on Tuesday that Mark had to have another emergency surgery to replace the shunt in his head. They left the catheter out so they could monitor how much spinal fluid was draining. On Tuesday and Wednesday he drained about 600ml which is about double what they expected him to drain. His headaches have subsided and we are seeing a marked improvement every day.  Mark in post-op recovery room after the emergency shunt surgery. On Thursday Mark had another surgery to replace the catheter. They were concerned about infection, so they had to replace the whole line from the top of his head all the way down to his stomach. They reopened an incision that they made in February behind his ear and had to make another incision on his stomach. He has recovered very well and on Friday he had an MRI (previously scheduled) and he was doing well enough to release him to come home. For both Ali and Mark's sanity we were beyond happy they let him come home on Friday. This was our longest hospital stay yet. Didn't expect that when they left on Monday but we are very thankful and hopeful that the new shunt will be effective and keep the headaches away.  External bag used to measure the amount of spinal fluid draining per hour. Since March, Mark has been on an extremely high dose of steroids. We had all but weaned him off when these headaches started coming back. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that the shunt failed at the same time that he was off the steroids. We thought that the headaches were due to him being off the steroids but the headaches were a result of the spinal fluid build-up, not being off the steroids. They did put him back on the steroids while he was in the hospital but at a much lower dose than before. We should have him off again completely by the end of this week!  Quick rest break in between doctor visits. On Saturday Mark slept most of the day. Nobody gets good sleep in the hospital and he was under anesthesia three separate times this week. That takes a huge toll on anyone. We were not concerned because the few times we woke him up to eat or use the bathroom he was lucid, just tired.  Mark resting after second surgery to internalize the drain. Today (Sunday) he slept quite a bit but less than he did on Saturday. Still, just getting over the week from hell. We are seeing improvement each day. A lot to be thankful for tonight as this weekend comes to an end. We are thankful for his team at Texas Children's that they identified what was wrong and got it fixed. Not ideal but it was what needed to happen. We are thankful to all be home and under one roof tonight. We are thankful that his headaches have subsided for the most part. We are thankful for the friends that have reached out and stopped by to say him. We are thankful for a restful weekend and are looking forward to the progress he makes in the week ahead.  Beautiful sunset on the way home Friday night (8/23/24).
Please continue to pray for his strength to return and to make gradual progress each day. Please pray that by the next post I can report that he is off the steroids, completely. Please pray for the strength that God has given this child. I don't know how he does it but every time I think that he cannot be any tougher he just proves me wrong. Thank you everyone for your support and love. The majority of this post was written two weeks ago on the plane on our way home from Charleston for Ali’s birthday. I needed to finish, edit and change some things around before posting but I could not bring myself to do it. It has been on my to-do list every day for the last two weeks. At the time, Mark was doing fantastic and I felt that if I posted something and put it out into the world it would jinx all the good we had going on. At the time, Mark had all but come off the steroids, Ali and I had taken a weekend away for the first time this year, just the two of us. Most importantly, Mark had been approved for a clinical trial, the one that we had been praying for since February. Unfortunately, we had a little set back and I am updating this today from Mark’s room at Texas Children’s where he is peacefully sleeping just to my left.  Bryan and Ali in Charleston, SC. Over the last few days Mark had become increasingly and alarming lethargic. We brought him down to the Texas Children’s ER a week ago because of this and they spent all day running tests and doing various imaging to make sure that the shunt in his head was working. From everything they could tell, it was. They sent us home on a higher dose of steroids than he had been at but still quite a bit less than he was at in May and June. We observed him over the week and he just seemed to get more and more tired each day. He was sleeping about 18-20 hours a day; however, he was with it when he was awake. Over this past weekend that changed and he was disoriented and confused in addition to having worsening headaches. This was all too reminiscent of what we went through with him in February. We knew we had to get him to the hospital and we knew that this time they were probably going to admit him.  Jameson and Mark waiting in the ER at Texas Children's Hospital. Ali and Mark drove to Houston on Monday morning and after performing many of the same tests they did about a week earlier, us and the neurosurgeon jointly made the decision to operate to see if the shunt was performing as intended. This is the same neurosurgeon that initially operated on Mark in January. The one that sat with him in the recovery room, watching over him until he handed him over to us. About 6:00 on Monday evening they took Mark back for his third brain surgery in 7 months. Once they started operating, they were able to see that shunt was not draining properly and he had a lot of pressure built up in his head. They removed the shunt that they put in in February and replaced it with a new one that is programmable which will allow them to adjust it as needed. They want to monitor how much spinal fluid is being drained so he has a line coming out of his stomach where the fluid is draining into a bag for them to measure. Before we leave the hospital they will have to perform another surgery to put the drain tube back into his stomach.  Heading to the operating room. The surgery went well and we got up to his room a little after 10pm. He is recovering very well and he did not get sick. There was never a point in time where he was in a lot of pain. This morning we can tell that he is much more himself. While he is still tired (totally expected) he is not in the same amount of pain as he was prior the surgery and he is no longer disoriented and confused. He has even made us promise to get him Taco Bell for lunch today. Today we are just going to watch him and make sure that these symptoms don’t return. We are closely monitoring how much fluid is draining, there is a fine line between draining too much and too little. Hopefully, we will be able to go home in a couple of days. We pray that this new shunt works properly to alleviate the pressure in his head. We pray that he is able to stay on a low enough dosage of the steroids to still be eligible for the clinical trial. We pray that he is not in pain. We pray for all of the continued support from Mark’s Army from the calls and texts to taking care of Jameson on a moment’s notice to going and letting out our dog at 9:30 at night.  Resting peacefully after surgery for shunt on August 18, 2024. ……….. Below is what was written on the plane ride home from Charleston on August 4th. As the summer comes to an end I want to give you all an update on everything that has transpired over the last couple of months and give you an idea of what is in store for our family in the coming months. When all of this started in January this blog was a way of keeping everyone up to date with what was going on and it seemed like there were new developments every day. It is/was a way for us to humbly ask for prayers for Mark, Jameson, Ali and myself. As time progressed and we settled in to our “new normal” it was a lot easier to go about our lives and deal with the day-to-day as it came and not get on here and share everything. I owe it to Mark and I owe it to everyone who is reading this and praying for our family to be more frequent with our posts as we continue on this journey.  Mark and his grandmother, Belinda, in early August. The things that this kid has been through since March are shocking and inspiring at the same time. The radiation took a toll on him that we couldn’t have imagined. No one could. His doctors at Texas Children’s told us that he had the worst case of inflammation they had ever seen. The inflammation caused his eyes to close and we were told by a world renowned pediatric Neuro-oncologist that he would never be able to see again. Consequently, they had him on 16mg of dexamethasone, a necessarily evil steroid. 4mg is considered a high dose. The steroid causes insatiable hunger and at the same time prevents your body from metabolizing food which causes weight gain. He has had double (stacked) vision which prevents him from being able to read, watch TV, build Legos and do any of the things that a 10 year old would love to spend his summer doing. He has literally been through hell and back and he continues to fight. As he was finishing his radiation, I said that he was my hero. He is that and so much more.  Ali's Family Reunion in Blanco, TX at the end of July. Mark’s summer has been spent trying to get back to a place of normalcy. He has been going to physical therapy locally in College Station. Having bimonthly infusions of a chemotherapy drug to help the inflammation, going to see his child psychologist to help deal with the trauma of his life being completely different than it was 6 months ago, being weaned off the steroid and seeing an eye specialist to help his vision improve. All of this just to have some semblance of a quality of life. He is fighting. Hard.  Grandparents, Dan and Jennifer, came to visit from Michigan in July. We get asked all of the time, “what’s next?” That is a completely normal question and a really hard one to answer. There is a medical term called “standard of care” which I had never heard before January. This means the typical course of treatment. With most brain cancers, the standard of care is a craniotomy (brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible) followed by radiation to kill/stunt growth of what is left of the tumor. In Mark’s case surgery was out of the question because of where the tumor is located. We were left with radiation and despite the awful side-effects the radiation worked well to shrink the tumor. On July 12th, Mark had an MRI which showed a visible shrinkage in the size of the tumor, a noticeable reduction in the inflammation and a significant reduction in the size of his ventricle in his brain, all phenomenal news.  Getting ready for MRI on July 12, 2024. The first time we met Dr. Lin, Mark’s pediatric neurooncologist at Texas Children’s, we had just learned of Mark’s tumor. At the time we did not know with certainty if it was cancer or not but all indications pointed to the fact that it probably was. From the onset, he was kind, compassionate and spoke to us in a language that we could understand. We felt like God had put him in Mark’s and our lives for a reason. After the pathology report came back on Mark’s tumor and we met with him at his office we learned that he was conducting a clinical trial, specifically for Mark’s type of cancer. We prayed and prayed that Mark would be healthy enough after radiation to be enrolled in his study. As fate would have it, he wasn’t. Our job was to get Mark better and Mark’s job was to fight . We did and he did and this week we are starting the process of enrolling Mark into his study. There are not a lot of studies being done for this specific type of cancer and even fewer that Mark is qualified to do but God put us in the hands of a doctor close to home that is leading that study. Thank you God.  Mark giving blood in early August was the first step of clinical trial. After we met with the other neurooncologist that told us that Mark would never see again we were in a pretty dark spot. In fact, as we left the hospital that day and I sat and waited for the valet to bring the car around, I sat on the bench and sobbed. A total stranger came up to me and hugged me and told me that as smart as these doctors are “they don’t know everything.” It was what I needed the most in that moment. There are points throughout this journey that will live with me forever and that stranger’s kindness was one of those moments. Mark has overcome the odds to this point and as he as demonstrated over and over again, he will fight. We have prayed from the start that God would light the path for us to make the best decisions for Mark’s care. We have one option as far a clinical trial, I would say that is God lighting the path with a big, bright, flashing neon green sign.  Mark and his friend, Cormac, enjoying a pedicure with their moms. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We loved showing Mark all of the pictures of your t-shirts and bracelets as you travelled this summer. We will continue to fight, to put one foot in front of the other and just take each day as it comes and trust that God’s plan is being carried out through Mark and this journey we are on.  Charles Schwab Field Omaha I am typing this on a flight to Omaha to meet Ali, Jameson and Mark who made the roadtrip yesterday from College Station. We have traveled to watch our beloved Aggies play for a national championship. Crazy to even type that. It is bittersweet to watch the end of this season. We are so proud of this team for making it this for. For representing Aggies everywhere with class and dignity. For their grit and their fight and their will to keep winning despite the challenges that keep getting thrown their way. Sound familiar? Regardless of how the next few days go, this season will be over. This team that we have come to love will disband and players and coaches will go their separate ways. This team has meant the world to us for so much more than baseball and we will never forget these 2024 Aggies.  Ali, Jameson and Mark loaded up in the car and headed to Omaha!  Beautiful night at the baseball fields! Early in the season this team learned of Mark’s cancer diagnosis and they have been fans of his all season long. Many of the players and coaches wear the Mark’s Army wristband as a show of support. They have sent him signed bats and balls and jerseys. More than anything though they have been an inspiration and a distraction for all of us during the last 6 months. We had to make this trip to Omaha to thank them in person for this season and for their support.  A prized possession... we love this Aggie Baseball team!  Mark's Army member, Jace LaViolette! Let's go #17! Mark has never been into football or basketball, I assume because he doesn't like the aggressive nature of those sports. That is not who he is. A couple of years ago we signed him up for little league. Nobody in our family has ever played baseball and we didn’t really know how it would go. He immediately loved it. Baseball is a game of strategy. A thinkers game and I think that suits Mark perfectly. It is not flashy or flamboyant. It is a sport about hard work and dedication and patience more so than many other sports. All of these are words that I would use to describe Mark.  Hanging with buddies, Marshall and Andrew, at the hotel before the game.  Watching our Aggies take on Tennessee! Thank you to this team for your show of love and support for Mark. Seeing your wristbands on TV means the world to us. Thank you for this season. Thank you for the memories made at the ballpark this season. Thank you for letting us be a part of your flyover vs Air Force. Thank you for honoring Mark with the Bravery Award on your field. Thank you for your autographs, your jerseys and your bats. Thank you for providing us with a much needed distraction over the last few months. Thank you for being role models for our little fighter. Thank you for making it this far so that selfishly we can enjoy another weekend of watching this team. The Massey’s will always hold a special place in our hearts for these incredible young men and coaches.  One of the sweetest moments. Prayers up for our Aggies to win!  Walking into the NCAA Men's College World Series. Now go and BTHO Tennessee!! On Wednesday, May 22nd we watched Mark graduate from 4th grade with the rest of his friends and classmates at Pebble Creek Elementary. This was his last year at his school home for the last 5 years of his life. His journey through elementary school was bookmarked by COVID cutting short his kindergarten year and his cancer diagnosis altering his 4th grade year. As we watched his friend push his wheelchair across the gym floor as they called his name we were overcome with emotion. So much emotion. Overjoyed that he was able to graduate with his friends that he had spent most of his childhood with. Proud that through it all he had graduated with straight A's. Sad to leave this school, the administrators and his teachers that pulled and pushed Mark to the finish line. Anxious about what next year looks like. Hopeful for a summer of memories and progress being made. Thankful for his friends who have shown Mark so much love and support.  4th Grade Graduation Ceremony at Pebble Creek Elementary. In that moment I thought about the first day/last day pictures you see on Facebook this time of year. I replayed this year in my mind and thought about how much can change in the course of one school year.
I thought about how his friends treated him like a rockstar when he returned to school for a few days in February. I thought about the surgeries, the medicines and the treatments that he overcame to be wheeled across that gym floor. I thought about his teachers that came to our house until 7pm to make sure his school work was done. I thought about the countless prayers that have been prayed and tears that have been shed over Mark during the last several months. I thought about what was going through his mind as he accepted his diploma while the rest of gym screamed, cheered, cried and applauded him. Most of all I thought to myself, "You did it Mark. I will never know how but you did it!" Somehow, some way he did it. A quiet fighter indeed. I thought about him coming home from radiation treatments and having to sit with his teachers and fight to stay awake during the lessons. I thought about when he left school at Christmas break how that would be the last time he would walk out of that school as a carefree 10 year old.  Leaving school for winter break with buddy, Marshall.  Performing his rap song in front of his peers at school in the early spring. Later that week, we celebrated the end of the school year by taking a Memorial Day weekend trip to The Woodlands Resort. We had never been there before but it was perfect. There was a great pool, a lazy river, s'mores by the campfire, golf and good food. We had a great weekend and unlike our trip to Colorado a month before, Mark was able to enjoy this getaway. Despite his objections, we made Mark go with us to the pool and take a couple of trips around the lazy river. He wouldn't admit it but I think he really enjoyed it.  Enjoying some pool time at the Woodlands Resort. Jameson and I even managed to sneak in a round of golf, his first one ever. I don't talk enough about Jameson and how proud we are of him. He has been an absolute rock over the last several months. Supportive, loving, caring, strong, unselfish, adaptable and hard working. Obviously, this has not been easy on him but he has continued to maintain his phenomenal grades and continues to make us proud in every way. He earned this weekend as much as any of us and I was so happy to be able to spend a few hours on the golf course, just the two of us.  Bryan and Jameson golfing over Memorial Day weekend. At the time of the last update Mark had just received his first infusion treatment and his right eye had opened on its own for the first time in a couple of weeks. We are happy to report that his left eye is now open on its own as well. He can see, which is huge. We missed those beautiful blue eyes.  Happy to see these beautiful, blue eyes again! He has since had a second infusion treatment and the progress is happening although sometimes it is tough to see when you are right next to it every day. If I think about where Mark was at the beginning of May when we got back from Colorado, the progress is huge. First of all, he can see. He was essentially blind for a few weeks and we had to do everything for him. Now that he can see he can do most everything on his own but with help. He is less tired than he was a month ago and is sleeping less and less during the day. Last weekend he even asked to go swimming, which was the first time in awhile that he had verbalized wanting to do any sort of activity without us pushing him to do so. We are happy with the progress that he has made to this point and pray for continued progress. Up until this last week he was too weak and tired for us to even entertain the idea of physical therapy. Yesterday we met with the physical therapy team and he will start therapy twice a week next week. Progress. Ever since Mark was little he always held his emotions and problems close to the vest. Rarely opening up to us on his own if something was bothering him. For the last couple of months Mark has been seeing a child psychologist on a weekly basis. We respect their sessions and do not ask him anything more than if he had a good talk with her and if there is anything he would like to share. In true Mark fashion, he doesn't share anything but we know he is getting a lot out of these sessions. We are so grateful that she has come into our lives and is a part of Mark's journey. Progress. The last time that either of the boys had a friend spend the night at our house was for Jameson's birthday party on January 13th. January 14th was the day that our world was forever changed. Last night Jameson had a friend spend the night and Mark tried to. All week long Mark had been looking forward to his best friend coming over for a sleepover. We didn't know how it would go but figured we would give it a try. We swam, we ate wings, we made some s'mores and about the time we were going to put on a movie Mark was just too tired. It wasn't fair for his friend to stay here while Mark went to bed at 8:15 so we took him home. We are so grateful for this friend of his. He is such a kind soul and he loves Mark very much. It has to be hard and confusing for him to see his buddy like this but as a best friend does, he came and tried to make it as normal as possible. Thank you S, we love you. Progress.
We are grateful for the little wins and the big ones. We are not doing anything right now other than trying to make progress. Any sort of trial is off the table until the steroid dosage gets reduced and he is stronger and able to participate. We are okay with that. We pray for God's timing and then get discouraged with the setbacks. We need to remind ourselves that this is all part of plan that we do not know the reason behind or the outcome of. Perhaps these setbacks are God's way of forcing us to slow down and not enroll him in a trial until the right one presents itself. We thank you for all of your prayers and love and support. We are thankful for the progress that Mark has made to this point and pray for continued progress. We pray for a continued improvement in his quality of life. We pray prayers of thanks for our community, his therapists, doctors and everyone working to piece his life back together. We pray for his friends as they continue to support and love him. We pray prayers of gratitude for God blessing us with two amazing kids. We pray for a good summer of memories, laughs, friends and family.  Let me start by saying that I am sorry it has been a month and a half since I have posted an update to this site. When I last posted, Mark was a couple of days away from banging the gong to celebrate the end of his radiation treatments. It was my intention to take a few weeks away and just enjoy his recovery and our time with him. Writing these blog posts, while therapeutic, is extremely emotional and I just wanted to enjoy our time with him before posting again. That is me being selfish. We have posted smaller updates and pictures on Instagram and Facebook over the last several weeks but many of you that come to this site for updates are not connected with us on either FB or IG.
On Friday, April 5th we watched Mark complete his last radiation treatment and bang the gong. Mark has had a little blue elephant lovey named Max since the day he was born. Max goes everywhere with Mark and he sat right on Mark's chest during all 30 radiation treatments. They endured that hell together and fittingly, Mark and Max both banged the gong. We returned home that afternoon and had a celebration for Mark and his 4th grade friends at our house. There was a sno-cone truck, a bounce house, balloons, pizza and a lot of smiles and laughter. We are grateful for everyone that came that day to celebrate the end of Mark's treatments. The next couple of weeks brought some pretty incredible things for Mark and for our family. Mark's teacher and her husband arranged for Mark to be honored during the flyover before the Aggie baseball game against Air Force. A lot of people worked really hard, some strings were pulled and favors called in but Mark and I actually got to fly on one of the C-130's during the flyover. It was an incredible experience for us both and a real honor to be in the presence of all of those heroes. Thank you to everyone that made this happen. That was something that neither of us will ever forget. I am so thankful that I got to experience that with Mark. Ali's real estate brokerage put together a burger lunch benefit for Mark in mid-April. We thought it would be a nice way for some co-workers, friends and family to come together and maybe raise a couple thousand dollars. We grossly underestimated the outpouring of love and support that this community has for a family in a time of need. In the course of a couple of weeks they put together a major fundraiser. People donated money, food, items for a silent auction and a ton of time. They worked relentlessly to pull this off and we could not be more humbled. When all was said and done, they raised almost $100K!! For everyone that donated and participated please know that your contribution means that we have the means to fight this awful disease with no limitations. There is not a course of treatment anywhere in the world that is off the table. A special thank you to Julianne, Morgan and Abbie for organizing this event. I have said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again but there is no way that we can thank everyone that has come forward to help us in the fight of our lives. Please know we are forever grateful and humbled by your contributions. A few days later, Mark was honored at the Aggie baseball game and presented with the Bravery Award by the Turn it Gold Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the fight against pediatric cancer. We were honored to stand alongside Mark as he accepted this award for himself and on behalf of every other child fighting their battle against cancer. The crowd gave him a standing ovation and as we walked off the field the student section starting chanting, "Mark! Mark! Mark! Mark!" in true Rudy fashion. I had held it together up until this point but that proved to be too much. A couple of weeks ago, the four of us took a trip to Estes Park, Colorado. This was a short trip and was just a way for us to get away and be reminded of what God is capable of in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The cabin we stayed in was right along a river nestled into a quaint town in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. The cabin was small but perfect for a long weekend. There was a hot tub and running water but nevertheless, this is as close as you will ever see the Massey's get to camping. We took family pictures and spent some time in town. We stumbled upon the hotel where Dumb and Dumber was filmed and we even managed to catch some rainbow trout. Unfortunately, Mark was extremely tired the whole trip and spent a lot of time sleeping. ************ On May 7th Mark had his post-radiation MRI to see how effective the radiation treatments were at shrinking the tumor. This was the day that we had been waiting for since the end of radiation. There is extreme anxiety that comes with these scans. Has the tumor shrunk, was the radiation even effective, has the tumor grown? These are all of the thoughts that go through your head when you await the results of the scan. This was the day that we were waiting for to decide what the next step was to be in Mark's treatment. The results of the MRI would direct our decisions regarding clinical trials and plans for the next steps in Mark's treatment. Ali and Mark went to Houston as they have become so adept at doing and had the MRI done early on the morning of the 7th. He was to have a follow-up appointment with his Neuro-oncologist later in the day to discuss the results. They found a nice quiet spot in the hospital to rest while they awaited the second appointment. Before they could make it, the doctor's office called and told Ali that they had looked at the MRI and she needed to get Mark to the ER ASAP. That was all they said and as you can imagine, panic set in. Luckily, they just had to take the elevator down to the first floor where the ER was located. They saw that Mark's ventricles in his brain were extremely swollen. They were concerned that the shunt had failed. Over the course of the previous few weeks we had been weening him off his steroids and he had become increasingly tired and more lethargic. We were told that this was normal for someone post radiation especially coming off the dosage of steroids he had been on. There was never cause for concern, until now. They tapped the shunt to see if the pressure was high (meaning failure), it wasn't. They took him for X-rays to see if there was blockage somewhere between his head and his abdomen, there wasn't. They looked at MRI images to see if there was tumor progression (worst case scenario), there wasn't. They were perplexed as to what was causing his eyes to be permanently closed and his extreme lethargy. They upped his steroids and admitted him to the ICU for observation. After a couple of days and several specialists overseeing him they determined that the tumor had shrunk and as it shrunk it was leaning against a part of his brain that is affecting his lack of energy and the ability to open his eyelids. He has a condition called third nerve palsy which is directly affecting his ability to open his eyes. For three weeks he has had his eyes closed and he can only see by using his fingers to open his eye lid. We were told that the increased steroid dosage would remedy this in a couple of weeks. After two nights in ICU they let him go home for us to monitor him. He has not progressed past this. This past week we had several appointments with all of his doctors and we could not get a clear answer as to what was causing this. The steroids had not helped at all. Some doctors were saying it was inflammation from the radiation, one doctor said it could still be the shunt malfunctioning, they think it may be necrosis a byproduct of the radiation. The neurologist that did Mark's first surgery in January (the one that sat with him in recovery until we arrived) is a world renowned expert in pediatric brain shunts. He determined that the shunt was working as it should. Since that was ruled out it meant that it was most likely inflammation and necrosis. There is a drug that they can give intravenously to combat the effects of this and they ordered this last night. Mark got the infusion around 7pm and him and Ali got home around 10pm. This morning Mark woke up and could open his right eye ever so slightly without using his fingers. He was able to feed himself breakfast and actually walked on his own from his room to the kitchen. This was the first time in weeks he has been able to do any of this. We are cautiously optimistic that this will help restore his quality of life. We are trying everything we can to get Mark healthy enough to participate in clinical trials specifically for the type of cancer he has. Our focus right now is getting his vision back and getting him stronger. I grossly underestimated the toll that the radiation would take on him. I feel so stupid for thinking that it was just a necessary inconvenience in the course of his treatment. I naively thought that he may lose some hair and need a little nap every day but he would just power through and be ready to go. That is how it started but certainly not how it finished. The radiation was an absolutely necessary evil. The 30 treatments were hell. We are thankful that they worked to shrink the tumor but the side effects have been devastating. We hope and pray that the drug infusion works and that he improves just as quickly as he declined. Our tough, little soldier has still not complained. He has not said that it isn't fair or asked why him. As much as I may hope and try, I will never be as good as him. I have said all of those things countless times to myself and out loud. We continue to put one foot in front of the other and approach each day to face the challenge of that day. That is all we can do right now. We can pray, we can hope and we can fight right along side of him. The last six weeks have been marked with high highs and low lows. Through it all we continued to be in awe of his courage, bravery, fortitude, toughness and faith. We know that he knows, without doubt, how much love and support he has as he continues this fight. Please keep Mark in your prayers. Please continue to pray for his doctors and medical team. Please pray for us to continue to be strong for Mark and Jameson. Please pray that this medicine works to restore his vision and energy. Please say a prayer for all of the children that have to carry the burden of this terrible disease. As I type this, Mark and Ali are in Houston completing radiation treatment 27 of 30. Today would have been his last day of treatment but when he had to go to the hospital in March, they delayed his treatments for 3 days, pushing his finish date to this Friday. To say that we are proud of him would be the understatement of a lifetime. Proud is what we are when he scores a run in baseball, this is something entirely different.
I am not sure that I can put into words the feeling. Since the beginning of the year he has missed birthday parties and sleepovers, he has missed school, his friends and riding his bike up to Whataburger with his brother. His taste buds have changed and his beloved root beer is no longer appealing to him. He has lost weight and gained weight. He has had nights where he cannot sleep and days where he cannot wake up. He has lost his hair. We went to the beach a couple of times but he couldn't play like he wanted to. He went from never having been to the emergency room to having multiple surgeries and spending days and days in the hospital. He has a shunt in his head directing spinal fluid from his brain to his stomach. Some days it is hard for him to walk or even stand up straight. He gets tired a lot easier than he would like. Sometimes he uses a wheelchair to get around. His vision has changed and he cannot read books. His Fortnite video game isn't as fun for him as it once was. In three months he has gone from living the normal life of a 10 year old boy to a 10 year old boy who is fighting for his life. Through all of this, we have never heard him complain. Not once. The words "not fair" have never come out of his mouth. He has been poked, prodded, zapped with radiation and operated on so many times that needles and doctors don't even phase him. He is not embarrassed about using the wheelchair. He is doing what he has to do to try and get better. He is a vision of strength and courage. All of our lives have changed immeasurably in 3 short months, none more so than his, yet he meets each day and each challenge with a resolve to get through it and get better. Proud is greatly underselling it. He is my hero. *** As his radiation treatments come to end, the next part of this journey begins and we really don't know what that means yet. There is a 4 week period after radiation where he will rest and allow his body to recover from the radiation treatments. He will have an MRI at the end of that time period to see if the radiation has stopped the tumor from growing and shrunk the size of it. After that we will know what clinical trials he is eligible for. We will make a decision on what trial or immunotherapy gives us the best hope and then we will start on that part of the journey. I have no doubt that Mark will meet that challenge as he has met all of the others up until this point. With strength and resilience and courage. A quiet fighter indeed. After Mark's trip to the hospital in mid-March he has been on a steady dose of steroids to help with the inflammation that the radiation is causing in his brain. The inflammation is what is causing his exhaustion, the balance and walking issues as well as the problems reading. He was on intravenous steroids in the hospital and when he was released he was given pills to take orally. They have been effective but come with their own side-effects. The doctors wanted us to wean him off the steroids gradually but as soon as the dosage was lowered he was right back to being too exhausted to function. They allowed us to increase the dosage, which has helped. We are going to keep him on the elevated dosage until Friday when the treatments end and then gradually reduce them. After Mark's last treatment on Friday, he gets to bang the gong to signal the end of his treatments. An absolutely huge accomplishment considering everything that he has been through over the last month and a half. For 6 long weeks Ali and Mark have gotten up, loaded up in the car, braved Houston morning rush hour traffic to make it to MD Anderson in the Med Center for treatments, done the treatment, turned around and made the 1 hour and 45 minute drive back home. Some days there are several other doctors appointments to go to. It has been grueling but not once have either of them complained about it. About three weeks into the treatments, they had to move him to a different treatment center within the Med Center. Of course we had the hiatus in March when his little body had enough and he had to spend three days in the hospital recovering and getting the steroids. Banging the gong does not mean he is cured of cancer. Rather, we are celebrating an end to this part of the journey and all that he has been through to make it to this point. Bang the hell out of that gong, Mark. You earned it. *** From the onset of radiation the doctors had told us that Mark would probably lose his hair wherever they were directing the radiation beam. Since the tumor is in Mark's brain, it was highly likely that he was going to lose a good bit of the hair on his head. For the first few weeks, there was not any noticeable hair loss but when he was in the hospital in March it started to fall out in patches around the side of his head and the patchiness was around the back of his head as well. We asked if he wanted to get a haircut for them to leave the top longer and shave the sides and back so that it was uniform but he didn't want to do that. After a couple of weeks we took him to get a haircut anyways. They did a great job blending it and he looks like he could be in the Corps with his Yell Leader friends tomorrow if they need him to fill in. This past weekend was Easter and in what has become one of our favorite annual traditions on Good Friday, we went to Kemah- just north of Galveston, for lunch on the water and rides on the Boardwalk. We got to ride the train and the one ride Mark said he was up for Pharoh's Fury, the pirate ship looking ride that they have at every amusement park and fair that swings back and forth. After lunch we went back to Ali's mom's house for the kid's Easter Egg hunt. It was a great day. Saturday we rested and Sunday we went to church. Mark's best friend and his family sat by us in church and although Mark didn't have a lot to say, I know he was beyond happy to be in the company of his friend. The Easter service itself was beyond words for me. I will not do it justice and won't even try. The sermon was about Hope. I felt that sermon, that message, was written for us and spoken directly to us. I was an emotional wreck by the time the service was over. It was powerful and moving and I left church that afternoon feeling a sense of relief. We cannot thank you all enough, Mark's Army, for everything that you all have done and continue to do for our family. This lifetime is not enough for us for us to repay all of the kindness that has been given and shown to us since the start of this. When I say that we could not do this without all of your support, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. In whatever way you have contributed of your time or money or prayer or thoughts or food or books or toys or service or Facebook comments or anything else, please know that it has helped more than you will probably ever know. I wish that I could thank each of you individually and personally for what you have done for us. Please just know that your kindness, generosity, love and support has changed our lives forever. Please continue to hold us up in prayer. Please give prayers of thanks for Mark being strong enough to finish his radiation treatments. Please pray for yourselves, Mark's Army of supporters. Please pray for Mark's doctor's that they continue to find ways to treat Mark and all of the other children affected by childhood cancer. Most of all, please pray for Hope. Last week we posted on Facebook the link to order your #MarksArmy t-shirts. If you have not seen the FB post, I have included the link below. Please know that the online store will close on March 20th and they cannot be ordered after that date. It is really inspiring for him to see you all wearing the shirts in support of him. If you text or post a picture wearing his shirt we will make sure that he sees it.
https://mark-sarmy-spring2024.itemorder.com/shop/home/?fbclid=IwAR2pxUkoHrZ1gDmtzDTk9uncurecKtHFrKVUMf_z_QhNG-4vDmdhc965QiM Yesterday marked the half-way point of Mark's radiation treatments. A milestone for sure but definitely starting to take its toll on his little body. We are back in the hospital again right now. Mark has been extremely lethargic and unable to walk on his own for the last few days. They did a CT scan on Monday to make sure the shunt had not failed. His symptoms are reminiscent of what was going on right before the shunt was put in. Everything is okay with the drainage that the shunt is providing. They did a number of blood tests to rule out any sort of infection and we are awaiting the results of those. As I type this we are waiting for them to come get him to do an MRI. They want a clear picture to see if these symptoms are a result of tumor inflammation (from the radiation) or tumor progression. We pray that it is the former. These posts have become less frequent because there is not a lot to report on a day-to-day basis. Ali and Mark are making the drive to Houston every day, Monday - Friday for his radiation treatments. They have settled into a nice routine, leaving the house typically between 7:30-8 and getting back around 1pm. Mark takes a good nap when they get back and rests for the rest of the day. If I am being honest, I underestimated just how much of a toll this has taken on his body. He approaches his treatments with courage. He is not scared and knows that this is necessary to try and get better. If we could all be so brave. Poor kid has been poked and prodded so many times that the needles don't even faze him anymore. Yesterday when they did the IV he just laid there and let them do their thing. No distractions or anything. He is so strong. Our lives are not all needles, naps and long trips in the car. We have managed to have some fun over the last couple of weeks as well. Mark's Army shared Mark's story with the Texas A&M Yell Leaders and a couple of Saturdays ago we spent about an hour meeting and visiting with them on campus. These fantastic young men took time out of their day and took a real interest in Mark and his journey. It really lifted Mark's spirits to spend time visiting with them and sharing his story and getting to know them. Texas A&M and everything it stands for means a lot to our family and to know that these guys are part of Mark's Army means the world to Mark and to us. Thank you for making this happen. A few days later one of Mark's good friends (and his parents) helped arrange a meeting with his cousin who is a pilot in USAF. They had heard about Mark and wanted to do something special for him. We met out at Easterwood airport and they presented him with is very own fighter pilot helmet. The real deal. He also spent time showing us his plane and answering all of our questions. The Top Gun lover in all of us thought this was so cool. To kick off Spring Break we had tickets to Houston Rodeo to see Luke Bryan. We got to watch the whole rodeo and a little bit of the concert before heading back to the hotel for the night. The next morning we woke up, went to radiation and then headed down to Galveston for a relaxing weekend. We were joined by Ali's sister, Branda and her kids. While we were there we ate some good seafood and just enjoyed a quiet weekend together. We had some lifelong friends come and visit for the day and they definitely brought the laughs along with them. Thank you J & A for your home and your generosity. The day of the rodeo was when we really started noticing Mark's lethargy and his imbalance. It continued to progress throughout the weekend. Unfortunately he wasn't able to make it down to the beach but for a few minutes. He just enjoyed being around everyone (and the seafood). We continue to be amazed at how many have been touched by this event in our lives. I say 'our lives' not as an in Mark's, Ali's, Jameson's and my lives but anyone that is reading this. You are all a part of this journey and we feel your support, your prayers and your presence every single day. Thank you for your love and support. We are all united in the common goal of getting Mark better. This is the hardest thing we have ever done. It takes everything we have emotionally and spiritually. There are sleepless nights, nights where we cry ourselves to sleep, days that just seem to bleed into one another. There is anger and then appreciation. There is sadness and moments of laughter. There is hope and then hopelessness. There is appreciation and angst. At the end of the day the one thing that matters is this strong, courageous little guy fighting as hard as he can for a return to a normal life. Please pray that this radiation, while taking his energy and his balance is working to destroy this tumor. Please continue to pray for our clarity in decisions that need to made regarding Mark's next steps in his treatment. Please say a prayer of thanks for all of the family, friends and support that keep us going. Please pray that Mark continues to be a strong warrior and can get through the second half of his treatment. Hello all, this is Ali here. I'll be updating Mark's journal this week. I apologize in advance for not being as good of a writer as Bryan! On our last update, Mark had just had his second surgery to have a shunt placed in his head to help drain the spinal fluid. It took him a little longer to recover than last time, but he was back to himself after a few days of rest. This procedure was a success and his incisions are healing nicely!
Unfortunately his surgery delayed the start of radiation therapy by a few days. After a CT scan, it was determined that the placement of the shunt did not affect the part of his head that was going to be treated. Mark was ready to start radiation! This was a day that we all had been waiting for. We felt helpless during the weeks leading up to this. But now the battle has begun! Many of you have asked what does radiation entail? For Mark, he will have treatments Monday-Friday for 6 weeks. His first day was February 21st and he should finish April 2nd if all goes according to plan. The treatments are in the medical center in Houston so there has been a lot of time spent in the car. We have plenty of snacks, games, and electronics to keep us occupied! Mark is feeling pretty good after each treatment. Some nausea and drowsiness which we expected. We are settling into a routine at the radiation center. We pull up, check in, and find our corner in the waiting room which has been the same spot each day so far. When Mark is called, he confidently walks back with the technicians. They have his playlist of music ready for him to listen to during treatment. As he walks back to the radiation room, I can't help but think how brave he is. In the waiting room of patients, he is often the only child in the room. He is a real warrior. We've also started a program with the school district since our last update. This allows Mark to complete his assignments at home each week so that he can stay on track with his school work. That is going well so far. Thank you Mrs. P and Ms. C! We have had lots of visitors with friends and family! Mark and Jameson's Uncle Chris came to visit last weekend from Michigan and we were blessed with some beautiful weather. We spent most of the weekend outside and enjoyed an Aggie baseball game on Saturday. We are starting to see Mark's Army t-shirts and wristbands worn around town. Thank you for showing your support! We will share info on how to get a shirt once the online store is setup. We know our lives are busy and can be hard to keep up with. Know that we are beyond grateful for all of you and your prayers for Mark! We are beyond blessed to have so many people around the state, the country and the world praying for our sweet Mark. On the very first blog post I begged that we stand behind Mark and give him the same love that he has put out into this world. You have done so and continue to do so in so many amazing ways. Thank you. I am writing this tonight from Mark's room at Texas Children's Hospital. We're back. Mark had emergency surgery this evening to put a shunt (a drain) in to his brain to drain the spinal fluid that had been building up over the last couple of weeks. It has been a month to the day since his first surgery and the doctors forewarned us that the hole they created initially may close up. It did. A shunt is a permanent fix that will allow his spinal fluid to drain.  Watching the Super Bowl with friends right before symptoms started to set in. How did we get here? On Sunday night we were watching the Super Bowl and Mark just wasn't acting himself, he said he wanted to go home and he was really tired. He slept from about 8pm Sunday evening until around 4pm Monday afternoon. He got up a couple of times to get water and something to eat but it was a struggle to stay awake. We were concerned but not overly alarmed since a symptom of the tumor is tiredness and lethargy. However, this did seem extreme. Around 6pm Monday he complained of a headache, the same type that he was getting before the surgery. This is when the fear set in. His team at Texas Children's recommended we take him to a local ER to have him evaluated immediately.  Struggling to stay awake and make sense at our local ER. They ran blood tests, COVID tests, checked fluids and vitals and even did a CT scan. Everything checked out and it was up to us to decide to either take him home and have him rest or to take him down to Houston and get him admitted to Texas Children's. We decided that it was best for Mark to rest at home and hopefully he would wake up on Tuesday feeling better. That didn't happen.  In pre-op getting ready to have shunt placed in Mark's head. Tuesday morning Ali tried to wake him and he couldn't keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. She made the split decision to load him up and get him to Houston as soon as possible. They got down here and after another CT scan they saw that the fluid was quickly building up and they needed to perform surgery as soon as possible to implant the shunt. I got here as fast as I could but he had already gone back for surgery. The doctor came out and told us Mark had done great. He answered some questions that we had and told us we were allowed to go back and see Mark. This was the same recovery room he was in a month ago. It struck me how different this time felt. This time it felt normal, which is scary. After the first surgery I was scared to see him and was overcome with emotion seeing our baby with wires and tubes all over, half-awake, half-asleep. We had done this all so recently that it was almost like we had never left.  Post-op recovery room. Surgery was a success. He did much better after this surgery. We got him up to his room and he kept telling us how hungry he was. We agreed and ordered some Chuy's. Thank you Door Dash. He ate good. He looked good. The color had returned to his face and although he was still coming off the anesthesia it was the most aware and awake he had been in a few days. He is sleeping peacefully as I type this and I am excited to see how much progress he makes on Wednesday. A special thank you to Dr. C at the ER in College Station. Ali had to leave the hospital to make sure Jameson was taken care of last night, which left me alone with Mark. This kind doctor had heard Mark's story through mutual friends and had actually been praying for Mark before actually meeting him at the hospital. He prayed over Mark and gave this emotional dad a hug when I needed one the most. Thank you again for your compassion and prayers Dr. C.  A visit from Mark's new friend, Crosby. After the last post there has been a lot that has gone on. Mark was scheduled to start radiation this coming Thursday and he has had several appointments to prepare for that. This will be delayed a few days with the surgery he had today but will start very soon. After sharing Mark's prognosis, our friends organized a prayer gathering at their house. This was the most powerful, emotional, spiritual event I had ever been a part of. We all gathered and friends and family prayed over Mark and our family. Mark's friends prayed for their friend to get better, our friends prayed for our strength and guidance to make the right decisions for Mark's medical care. Those that couldn't be there prayed from wherever they were in the world at the same time as the gathering. I could feel God's presence in that room and we were moved by everyone's love and common plea to heal our son. Thank you to all who prayed that night and continue to pray with us and for us.  Prayer gathering for Mark hosted by dear friends in our neighborhood. After the prayer gathering we went home and we were talking with Mark to make sure that he knew how much everyone loves him and is pulling for him to get better. Out of nowhere he bluntly asked, "so...does everyone who was there tonight know that I have cancer?" Gut punch. That was the first time we had heard him verbalize it. It is surreal to hear your child say the words 'I have cancer.' Those words will live with me forever. I wish you didn't, Mark. God, I wish you didn't. We let him know that everyone knows so that they can pray for his strength and his healing. He knows he is not alone in this fight; however, I don't think that he understands just how many people are following his journey and fervently praying for him to be healed. Another one of our friends had bracelets made for #MarksArmy to let him know we are all standing with him in this fight. Our intention is to get these out to everyone that wants one. Please bear with us.  Mark's first pedicure with Nana! With Mark's radiation scheduled to start on the 15th we wanted to take this past weekend and just get away. Get out of town where there is not the temptation to run errands or meal plan or look at the bills or spend the afternoon going down the internet rabbit hole of cancer treatments. Just get away from it all for a couple of days. With very little planning or forethought (completely unlike us) we booked a little condo in Galveston for the weekend. The weather wasn't supposed to be great but we didn't care. We ate well, we fished not so well and the boys even swam in the ocean for a bit. Most of all we just enjoyed being together.  A weekend getaway to clear our minds.  Fishing in Galveston with no luck.  This trip was emotional and much needed to re-connect as a family. Please pray for Mark to heal after this unexpected bump in the road. Pray for his body to accept the radiation treatments as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for his strength of body and spirit. Please pray that he knows how much he is loved by all of us and by God and Jesus. Please pray for Ali and I to have clarity in difficult medical decisions that are quickly approaching. Please pray for Jameson's continued strength and selflessness. Please pray for yourselves, Mark's Army. Please pray that we all learn something from Mark's journey. We were chosen to walk this path. I don't know and may never understand why He chose Mark but my prayer is that it is not in vain. |
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