Chase is Recoverying from his Surgeries

Whatever prayers or visualizations all of Chase’s Prayer Warriors are using, keep up the great work! He’s really doing as well as we could hope and we’re sure it’s because of all the prayerful support. He came off the anesthesia last night with no problems and he’s pretty alert today. He’s very relieved to have the breathing tube removed and is anxious to start swallowing and healing his throat.

He just had a couple of spoons of pudding, which tasted great in his mouth and felt good going down, but we’re taking it slow as he continues to recover. We’re really hoping and praying that his throat gets soothed and back to normal swallowing as soon as possible. We’ll have to conduct a swallow test in the next few days, just to make sure everything is working ok before being discharged. If there are concerns or problems with Chase’s swallowing, he may end up using the feeding for a longer period. Although this would certainly be disappointing and uncomfortable, the positive side of this is that we would be able to better control his nutrition and get him to take whatever we want to help boost his systems.

We appreciate all the prayers, particularly during this most critical juncture in Chase’s recovery process. This week has been the most grief Chase has had to endure since his diagnosis last August and the biopsy surgery. We’re just anxious to get him back home, stabilize and back on the treatment plan to continue purging this tumor from his body. But first things first – we need Chase to continue recovering well from these surgeries so he can be discharged as soon as possible.

You are all truly awesome Prayer Warriors and we can’t express our appreciation enough! The soothing visualizations of the waterfall with healing energy and love seems to really be working well - he looks blissful at the moment - Praise God!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase's Prayer Warriors are Truly Awesome!

We knew there was power in those visualizations and I almost hesitated to send them last night, since I had a strong feeling that many people would be using them at the same time. Well, this is a case of “be careful what you ask for”. We monitor Chase’s white blood count (WBC) quite regularly – every other day since he’s been on antineoplastons, and every day while he’s been in the hospital. Typically, his WBC is in the 4-7 range and out of the blue today his count jumped to 13.9. Chase’s Prayers Warriors are truly AWESOME – this is certainly not a coincidence. While normally this would be great (although at the upper end of “normal”), on the day that he was planning to go in for surgery we were somewhat concerned that it could be an indication that there was an underlying infection or other issue. Fortunately, we took another blood test about an hour before the surgery and his WBC was back to 8.5 so we concerns were alleviated.

Just as a side note, the first time we used this visualization technique ourselves over the course of a weekend, his count jumped from 4 to 8, so we got pretty excited about the fact that it was working. Then we started to concentrate on two specific areas of the tumor that we wanted to see start breaking-up. In the following MRI, precisely those two areas that we had been focused on is where the necrosis “blisters’ showed up. Thus, our confidence in this approach increased even further and we started to branch out to involve others in this technique.

In terms of the surgeries today, we were very blessed to coordinate the schedules of two surgeons extremely well so that the shunt and tracheotomy procedures were timed one after the other (with essentially no notice – that’s a real miracle with hospital administration). This meant that Chase would only need one round of anesthesia, recovery, etc. and it pretty much ensures that we’ll be able to get him back home by Monday (possibly sooner). There is a bit more risk relative to the possibility of infection, since Chase will be recovering from multiple wounds at the same time, but our underlying concern is getting him back on his tumor treatments, which we can’t administer in this hospital (since it’s not one of their protocols). We’re now hoping and praying that Chase recovers quickly and smoothly so that he can be discharged and get back on the ANP and Homeopathy treatments.

This brings us back to the visualizations – - in the short-term, we want to back off on fighting the tumor and focus on his recovery from the surgeries. We truly believe the visualizations are effective, as a very focused intention for our prayers, so we would like to continue using this approach as it’s even more effective with large numbers of participants. We would just like to focus on using the waterfall for Chase with healing energy and love to boost his systems in overcoming the surgery wounds for the next few days. Once he’s discharged and back on track with the treatments, we can get back to collectively attacking the tumor. In the meantime, the only thing we want to consider relative to the tumor is gratitude for it’s response to our collective prayers and the continued purging of dead cells (no more attacks at the moment).

Thanks again for all the prayers and support! The past few days has been another amazing ride on this roller-coaster and so far we’ve been able to collectively lift Chase to safety passed all the obstacles we’ve come across. Our little trooper was a bit wound up tonight as we were waiting for this procedure to start – he started swinging and kicking at the nurses who were preparing to take him down to the operating room (he was probably just about at his limit of being poked and prodded with their tests, blood draws, etc.). Fortunately, he’s a strong boy (or unfortunately for them), because he’s been through a lot and just keeps on going. We know someday he’ll look back and just be amazed at everything that he endured. It’ll be an inspiration and uplifting tale for his friends and family down the road. Thanks for participating in this miracle journey – you are truly awesome Prayer Warriors!

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase is Going into Surgery Tomorrow

After another long day of evaluations we are stuck with some hard decisions. We tried like heck to support Chase’s removal from the intubation today, including a long stint on CPAP. We thought that with a decent amount of pressure, his airway would remain open and Chase would be able to breath fine, particularly since all of his vitals continued to look good as long as the airway is held open. Our little Trooper was very compliant and cooperative once again – he worked for quite a while with the CPAP, even though we know it was very uncomfortable with the mask. He tried his best to keep his lungs filled and was able to do so for almost an hour, but it was quite a struggle.

In the end, we realized that it wouldn’t be worth Chase expending all of his energy to breathe when we need his systems to continue fighting off and shrinking the tumor. Thus, our only real option is to have a tracheotomy, which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Fortunately, this will be a reversible procedure and as soon as he’s over the hump with the nerve repair, we can have it removed, leaving a small wrinkle of a scar near his throat.

We also decided to go with a permanent shunt so that he can get the cranial pressure relief as we continue to work on shrinking the tumor. What we’ve learned about how this process is likely to continue to evolve is that as the tumor breaks down, it will become necrosis and liquidy in more areas, which will again cause further swelling before it shrinks. Thus, any additional pressure relief will become even more critical from here on out as we work diligently to get the tumor drained and purged from his body. We’re waiting to confirm the timing, but this procedure will likely take place on Friday and with any luck we are hoping to take Chase home again on Monday.

With these very important procedures behind us, we will continue to focus all efforts on fighting the tumor and getting it shrink as quickly as possible. The following link is to a file of images that are useful in visualizing with us Chase’s body succeeding in this battle of purging the dead tumor cells from his body. The sequence that we use is to clearly visualize a hologram of Chase before you in his healthy state (like the picture on his website). Then to imagine all the blood vessels inn the vicinity of his tumor becoming permeable to white blood cells – one illustration depicts the tumor and then in the next one, it is surrounded by white blood cells. Visualize every white blood cell in his body being drawn to the tumor and eventually there are so many surrounding it that they form a colony around it, completely engulfing it. Picture the white blood cells eating away at the tumor – they grab to tumor cells, pull them inside of them and then digest the cancer. Visualize the tumor shriveling up as the white blood cells eat away at it and then they carry away the debris. At the end of this sequence, use the waterfall picture to visualize pure light energy flowing over and through Chase, which is soothing and relaxing as it energizes and cleanses him.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chasesammut/files/Visualization%20Images/

Hopefully you find these images helpful. We like to think of them as clearly focused and specific intentions for our prayers. If it helps, you can also use the image of Jesus from the Divine Mercy Novena file on the Yahoo group site as standing behind or next to Chase during the visualization, as the source of his healing energy. We’re getting through this critical week and hopefully he’ll soon be back home on his way toward a more rapid recovery. Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Praying for Strength in Chase's Vocal Cords

After another long day at the hospital, we finally were able to get Chase in for a late “add-on” appointment in the OR to re-evaluate his airway passage. The good news was that they detected movement in both sides of the vocal cords (although the previous endoscopy indicated paralysis of at least one side). Unfortunately, the movement in the vocal cords was described as paradoxical – moving in the opposite direction that is needed for proper air passage. The ENT specialist isn’t sure if this indicates the first sign that the nerves are recovering (based upon the ongoing movement on both sides) and that perhaps with a little more time this will get corrected. We certainly hope so, since this would enable us to avoid the tracheotomy.

We’re hoping and praying that things improve further quickly with Chase’s vocal cords – we need the nerves to recover and correct their signals as soon as possible. The ENT is willing to try using a CPAP for a while as a less invasive way of treating the airway obstruction (versus intubation) and this could get us enough time for things to recover without the trach. We’re going to try the CPAP tomorrow morning and hopefully Chase will tolerate it – this is certainly better than the breathing tube, since he will be able to eat, drink, etc. Please keep that intention in your prayers.

We’re also anxious to get Chase back on his Antineopaston treatments. Technically, we’re not allowed to administer this at the hospital, since they don’t participate in the FDA phase II trial from the Clinic where get the medicine; however, our Oncologist is kind enough to pursue a deviation and hopefully we can get these treatments going again tomorrow. We also have some other decisions to make regarding the shunt after getting another opinion tomorrow. It seems that the temporary one has provided some relief, which could be important as we work aggressively to get the tumor to shrink over the next several weeks and months.

After consulting directly with Dr. Burzynski today once again, we understand that the tumor is likely to continue to swell as other areas breakdown and become liquid / necrosis. This means that the shrinkage / resorbtion of the tumor debris is more critical than ever. We’re continuing to visualize Chase’s white blood cells doing what is needed to get the debris away from the tumor as soon as possible through whatever means available. We’ve also come across some very effective visualization tools - we’re trying to find a way to post these on the blog or on the yahoo group page for anyone interested in using them.

Thanks for all the prayers and support! We’re very blessed to be able to keep Chase lifted in his battle to recover from this tragic challenge. We’re continuing to believe that Chase will eventually prevail and that this is an excellent opportunity to strengthen our faith and bring glory to God for his infinite mercy.

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Keep the Faith

Carol
I usually don't send these things on but I couldn't stop thinking of Chase after I read this. Just a reminder God is with all of you through these very tough times.
KEEP THE FAITH! We will continue to pray for Chases recovery and for the strength you all need to get you through.
Love
Chris Grifka


At the end of this story, it gives you two options. I think you will figure out what option I chose.


As the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing, she was still groggy from surgery. Her husband, David held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.

At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one". Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.

She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. "No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away. But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.

Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.

Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?"

Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain." Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like Him.

It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest." Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children. Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.

You now have 1 of 2 choices. You can either pass this on and let other people catch the chills like you did or you can delete this and act like it didn't touch your heart like it did mine. IT'S YOUR CALL! "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, He saw me, and He asked: "My child, what is your greatest wish for today?" I responded:

"Lord please, take care of the person who is reading this message, their family and their special friends. They deserve it and I love them very much" The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginning, but not its end.
__________________

This message works on the day you receive it. Let us see if it is true. ANGELS EXIST but some times, since they don't all have wings, we call them FRIENDS.

Urgent Call to Chase's Prayer Warriors

Since Chase’s vital signs were good throughout the past day, the ER crew decided to try to remove the breathing tube and see if he was ok without assistance. Unfortunately, his heart rate immediately dropped to concerning levels and caused them to have to intubate Chase again right away. This was a pretty traumatic experience for him, particularly since with the tube in he can’t talk or eat and it’s extremely uncomfortable. They believe that the vocal cord paralysis may be blocking his airway too much for normal breathing to continue without a tube (or possibly CPAP, which I suggested as a short-term measure to support his recovery non-invasively). We’re hoping and praying that this is just a short-term issue and with the pressure relief from the temporary shunt and with some shrinkage of the tumor, the nerves will quickly recover so that his airway will stay open for normal breathing.

Fortunately, the chest X-rays today were clear and they no longer have any concerns about his lungs. His oxygen level has been fine as well, so the only thing we need to get back on track with his recovery is an open airway. They are going to try again tomorrow to remove the breathing tube and check his vital signs. If this doesn’t improve fairly soon, they may have to do a tracheostomy, which we would desperately like to avoid, if at all possible.

We are also continuing to pray that the necrosis areas in the tumor will dry up enabling the pressure to be reduced further and the whole lesion to shrink. This is the key to his long-term full recovery. Please join us in seeing Chase’s complete response and visualize his white blood cells rapidly carrying off the debris from the tumor. We truly appreciate all your prayers – they mean the world to us as we support Chase in getting over this latest speedbump as quickly as possible.

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase is in the Hospital with a "Healing Crisis"

Over the past few days, Chase developed an acute case of Stridor – a raspy snoring noise as he breathes, which became much worse as he sleeps. We took him to see and ENT specialist this past week, who determined that his airway was fine and his lungs sounded good, but the pressure on his nerves has resulted in paralysis of one of his vocal cords. This combined with his large tonsils and adenoids seemed to contribute to the stridor and the ENT doctor wasn’t too concerned about it – he felt it was essentially a “nuisance” at this point.

After the last MRI, the Radiologist also mentioned that he saw some hydrocephalus (fluid backing up in upper areas of the brain). This is apparently due once again to the pressure in the brainstem area, constricting the normal flow of spinal fluid. He described it as stepping on a hose (constricting the flow) and thus some of the fluid that would normally drain into the spinal cord is collecting in other areas of the brain, causing additional cranial pressure. He felt that we might get some relief from some of cranial pressure by having a shunt inserted into his neck to allow more free flow of the fluid. We were continuing to evaluate this option although his physical therapist (who is also an energy healer) felt that the symptoms weren’t acute (nausea, headaches, seizures, etc.) and that we might continue to work with his body to alleviate the pressure by slowly shifting the plates in his skull to stimulate the flow of his spinal fluid.

However, his breathing over the past couple of nights was more even labored, which was quite concerning and last night he vomited several times from 3-6 am. He was also quite lethargic yesterday evening and less responsive this morning (particularly after the bouts of nausea). We got quite concerned and checked with his doctor from the Burzynski Clinic, who recommended that we call emergency paramedics, which we did this morning and he was taken to ER. They were concerned that Chase might have aspirated a bit from some of his difficulty swallowing which could have resulted in fluid accumulating in his lungs.

He ended up being admitted at Beaumont this morning and they did a battery of tests. The chest X-ray showed the possibility of a small amount of fluid in his right lung, although not too concerning (he’s taking some antibiotics for this, just in case). Chase’s heart rate was irregular, with several dips to very low levels intermittently. They did a quick CT scan of the brain again, to check the status of the hydrocephalus. It did appear to be a concern and they conducted a quick procedure to insert a temporary shunt to monitor how much pressure was alleviated. This immediately regulated his breathing and heart rate and they are evaluating further the possibility of implanting a permanent shunt, after they see his condition over the next day or two. In some ways, this urgent procedure is enabling us to do what we were considering anyhow, in a much more rapid way with less inconvenience, since the ER crew was able to rush through all the steps that we otherwise would’ve had to schedule over several days.

The CT Scan once again showed large pockets of necrosis, which the Neurosurgeon thought almost looked like cysts containing either fluid or possibly just air at this point (they seem to be even larger than they were in the last MRI, which is pretty good news). He wants to consult with his colleagues about options that could further alleviate the cranial pressure by somehow opening the cysts (although this would require another craniotomy, which we would certainly like to avoid). All indications are that this tumor is indeed breaking down; however, until it actually shrinks, the pressure that is building-up is extremely concerning since it is affecting Chase’s vitals. This is essentially the “healing crisis” – the tumor is breaking down at a rate faster than his body can resorb the fluid or byproduct of the dead tumor.

We are praying that this miracle will accelerate so that by drying up the necrosis areas in the tumor, the pressure will be alleviated quickly and Chase can get on with the rest of his healing process. We’re keeping the faith and continuing to visualize his white blood cells rapidly carrying off the debris from the tumor. We truly appreciate all your prayers for the best possible outcome once again at this critical juncture! We are really at the crux of Chase’s recovery as the slightest amount of relief is what he needs at the moment to get beyond of this healing crisis.

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

God is Good and Chase's PET Scan was Great!

Chase made us proud once again - he went through an urgently-scheduled PET scan w/o anesthesia so that we could determine if the recent change in the characteristics of his tumor are attributed to necrosis (breakdown / dead tissue) or increased metabolic activity. This is a critical distinction that has huge ramifications on our outlook and approach to his overall treatment plan.

We just got the results we were praying for - NEGATIVE PET -- no metabolic activity once again, which confirms that the "blisters" which recently appeared in his tumor are signs that it is finally starting to breakdown. God is having mercy on our little Champ!! According to the feedback of the Burzynski Clinic, based upon their previous experience, we can expect that the fluid to eventually dry out (hopefully in a matter of weeks, not months) and once this happens, the tumor will start to shrink. With this development we will get the long awaited relief of the pressure on Chase's brainstem and associated nerves.

Fortunately, we're also blessed with an outstanding physical therapist who does energy and cranial work as well, and she has excellent maternal instincts which Chase is starting to respond to. This is going to make a huge difference in the rate of his improvement as we progress through the recovery stages. Following her guidance, we decided to hold off on pursuing a shunt implant, even though his last MRI showed some signs of hydrocephalus (fluid backup in other areas of the brain), since it isn’t acute and she's confident that we can get Chase's system to respond non-invasively with our energy work - this appears to be making a real difference already.

We're also starting to see some continued improvement in the strength of Chase's right side. He did > 100 revolutions in his mini exercise bike during both of the past two days (after having struggled to do 30 for the first few days). He's also continuing to be able to lift his right arm - very slowly and methodically (clearly with strong willpower and effort) but nonetheless extremely encouraging progress.

Once again, we're keeping the faith and we believe more than ever that Chase moving in the right direction toward his complete recovery. This will be a truly amazing and sweet victory for the power of faith (all Glory to God!), particularly considering the prognosis we were given last August. Thanks for continuing to support us in prayer during this extremely trying time. I've also been extremely blessed with very understanding colleagues who are enabling me to take the time I need to focus on my family and support Chase's recovery full-time. Thanks to the EPIC team and Board (especially Randy Haight) - keep up the great work! I have no doubt that everything will continue to progress well there as they are on the home front in accordance with Divine Order.

Thanks and God Bless!

John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase's Mixed MRI Results - Major Crossroads

Chase cooperated really well for his MRI on Friday – this was a real concern because it had to be done without anesthesia, since the lead-time was a couple of months due to one of the MRI machines being down. We decided to do whatever we could to get earlier feedback, since we’ve been seeing significant neurological symptoms lately (paralysis, nausea, etc.). Normally, the hospital’s policy is that children under 10 years old aren’t allowed to do this kind of scan w/o anesthesia, since any movement would negate the results and this is a costly procedure; however, we were pretty confident that Chase could pull this off and, once again, he made us proud. He was extremely cooperative, even though their headphones were broken and the system was extremely loud for about 30 minutes of scanning.

We were fortunate to be able to meet with the Radiologist right away and get his impressions. Unfortunately, the tumor was somewhat larger, which is quite concerning and obviously the reason for the increased neurological symptoms; however, there was a very significant change in its characteristics. We had been told after the previous scans that there seemed to be some necrosis (accumulation of dead tissue) but this time it was extremely obvious – there were two quite large “blisters” or pockets of fluid inside the tumor. The Radiologist described these as pretty clearly necrosis, but wasn’t sure this would be good news, since he’s not familiar with the results to expect from anti-neoplastons and the other treatments that we’re doing.

We got the feedback from the Burzynski Clinic today, after they reviewed the CD of the MRI as well. Dr. Burzynski was gracious enough to give us a direct consultation to discuss his impressions. He seems to think this is very likely good news – indicating that the tumor is starting to break down and typically the next step would be that the liquid in the blisters would dry up and eventually collapse or shrink. However, there were some areas of enhancement in the scans around these blisters which could also be an indication of higher grade activity (i.e. malignancy). If this is the case, we would need to stop antineoplastons right away and quickly develop an alternative plan (such as radiation or immunotherapy targeting this cell type). Alternatively, this enhancement could just be confirmation of the blood supply being cut off to these areas of the tumor which would be great news.

The only way for us to distinguish this critical crossroad is to conduct another PET scan. Since we have a negative baseline, if there is any change in metabolic activity, it would be an indication of aggressive activity in the tumor. If we don’t see any activity again, then we’re pretty confident that Chase’s tumor is on the way to breaking down soon. In the meantime, his physical activity lately seems to be pointing in the right direction – he lifted his right arm yesterday for the first time in quite a while and he’s been able to continue to do this (whether just strong will or the nerves having less pressure). He also lifted his right leg a few times and is now starting to do pedaling exercises recommended by our physical therapist, who is also seeing signs of encouragement. This could also mean that the tumor is getting soft and alleviating some of the pressure.

We’re hoping to get another PET scan in the next few days which should really be a major fork in our road to Chase’s recovery. We’re continuing to visualize and pray for the best possible outcome and we truly appreciate everyone’s support at this critical juncture!

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase

Chase cooperated really well for his MRI on Friday – this was a real concern because it had to be done without anesthesia, since the lead-time was a couple of months due to one of the MRI machines being down. We decided to do whatever we could to get earlier feedback, since we’ve been seeing significant neurological symptoms lately (paralysis, nausea, etc.). Normally, the hospital’s policy is that children under 10 years old aren’t allowed to do this kind of scan w/o anesthesia, since any movement would negate the results and this is a costly procedure; however, we were pretty confident that Chase could pull this off and, once again, he made us proud. He was extremely cooperative, even though their headphones were broken and the system was extremely loud for about 30 minutes of scanning.

We were fortunate to be able to meet with the Radiologist right away and get his impressions. Unfortunately, the tumor was somewhat larger, which is quite concerning and obviously the reason for the increased neurological symptoms; however, there was a very significant change in its characteristics. We had been told after the previous scans that there seemed to be some necrosis (accumulation of dead tissue) but this time it was extremely obvious – there were two quite large “blisters” or pockets of fluid inside the tumor. The Radiologist described these as pretty clearly necrosis, but wasn’t sure this would be good news, since he’s not familiar with the results to expect from anti-neoplastons and the other treatments that we’re doing.

We got the feedback from the Burzynski Clinic today, after they reviewed the CD of the MRI as well. Dr. Burzynski was gracious enough to give us a direct consultation to discuss his impressions. He seems to think this is very likely good news – indicating that the tumor is starting to break down and typically the next step would be that the liquid in the blisters would dry up and eventually collapse or shrink. However, there were some areas of enhancement in the scans around these blisters which could also be an indication of higher grade activity (i.e. malignancy). If this is the case, we would need to stop antineoplastons right away and quickly develop an alternative plan (such as radiation or immunotherapy targeting this cell type). Alternatively, this enhancement could just be confirmation of the blood supply being cut off to these areas of the tumor which would be great news.

The only way for us to distinguish this critical crossroad is to conduct another PET scan. Since we have a negative baseline, if there is any change in metabolic activity, it would be an indication of aggressive activity in the tumor. If we don’t see any activity again, then we’re pretty confident that Chase’s tumor is on the way to breaking down soon. In the meantime, his physical activity lately seems to be pointing in the right direction – he lifted his right arm yesterday for the first time in quite a while and he’s been able to continue to do this (whether just strong will or the nerves having less pressure). He also lifted his right leg a few times and is now starting to do pedaling exercises recommended by our physical therapist, who is also seeing signs of encouragement. This could also mean that the tumor is getting soft and alleviating some of the pressure.

We’re hoping to get another PET scan in the next few days which should really be a major fork in our road to Chase’s recovery. We’re continuing to visualize and pray for the best possible outcome and we truly appreciate everyone’s support at this critical juncture!

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase is Being Lifted Up on Eagles Wings...

Eagles In A Storm

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long
before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for
the winds to come. When the storm hits, the eagle sets its wings so
that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the
storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift
it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. When the
storms of life come upon us, and all of us will experience them, we
can rise above them by setting our minds and our faith toward God.
The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to
lift us above them.

God enables us to rise on the winds of the storm that bring sickness,
tragedy, failure, and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above
the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us
down; it is how we handle them. Isaiah 40:31

Chase is continuing to do his best to remain compliant, although it’s a continuous challenge. We have been getting additional guidance recently from his Homeopath (Dr. Banerji), which is providing some tweaks to his treatment plan to deal with the necrosis and we’re researching into the potential use of hyperbaric oxygen chambers. He recently started physical therapy, which is a long road given his condition, but a necessary one. Although Chase didn’t cooperate too well with the first couple of sessions, he’s coming around lately.

He realizes that he’ll need to be able to walk in order to take his long-awaited trip to the Bahamas, so that’s giving him the motivation to cooperate with the therapy exercises. We’re also continuing to use the visualizations / quantum healing approach (focused mainly on seeing Chase’s white blood cells attacking and breaking down the tumor). We have another MRI scheduled for next Friday (6/16) which will provide another very important update on our progress, followed by consultations with his Oncologist and the Burzynski Clinic to determine the next course of action. Thanks for lifting up Chase in prayer and helping the whole family get through this challenge!

Love and gratitude,

John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase is Receiving Quantum Healing

We’re continuing to research and follow-up on everything we can to help support Chase in purging his body of this tumor. All indications are that the presence of cancer is negligible (if any at all), but the symptoms will continue until the tumor is resorbed by his body, shrinks, or otherwise breaks up and is disbursed. Through our continual focus on inflammation reduction (including the reluctant use of steroids), we’ve at least got the nausea back under control. However, he still has occasional issues with this which are very frustrating and upsetting (especially after we’ve gotten him to eat a decent meal). We’re doing our best to keep our heads up as we get over this latest speedbump on the way to his full recovery.

Chase is still extremely difficult to care for. Considering the circumstances, we’re trying to balance an approach of discipline and appeasing him which is always a challenge. It’s just so hard to restrict him or set limits, knowing what he’s going through, but we realize that if we don’t get this under control he’ll become a real “monster”. So we’re trying to lovingly set restrictions on how he can react to frustrating situations (which tend to occur throughout the day, given his limited abilities at the moment). He seems to be coming around though and hopefully he’s adjusting to this new temporary condition of paralysis. We also believe that the steroids are a major contributor to his emotional instability and we’re hoping to taper them off again soon.

The latest approach we’ve come across to help accelerate Chase’s progress of purging the residual tumor is Quantum Healing. This is essentially the use of very vivid visualizations with specific intention on the exact process we’re trying to bring about. We’re just getting into this and it’s very exciting and encouraging. We’ll share more details as we learn about it and the various techniques that we’re applying. We’re also continuing with the detox foot baths and applying the rife frequencies to stimulate the breakdown. Of course, the most important constant aspect of his well-being is the continual prayer. This is helping us all to strengthen our faith as we just know in our hearts and firmly believe that everything is working out perfectly, according to His plan.

Thanks for the continued prayers and support!

God Bless!

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann