Steps for the future
March 28, 2019
Jack’s mom feels all the love and support given to the family and wishes the same for any other family going through something like this.
I just hope that anybody who is going through what Jack is going through, would feel just as supported as he is,” Cathy said. “I don’t know how it all came about but the #allinforjack is been beyond amazing and I wish that everyone should have a support system like that.”
Children’s Hospital has been taking care of Jack ever since the diagnosis. Introducing him to other kids with similar diagnoses, making sure he’s comfortable throughout each treatment and supporting him throughout the process. There, he has found a community of kids who are going through similar things.
“There are people that come from all over the country to just get treatment here [Children’s Hospital],” Jack said. “And you don’t think about that, you would think that it’s just your local place that you would go to but you hear about people who come from Arizona just because it’s so nice.”
I can’t wait to be a normal kid again.
— Jack Gardner
Being so busy with going to and from appointments, taking care of Jack, and doing family things it ends up being hard for the family to keep family friends updated. The family signed up on CaringBridge, which is an online journal that anyone can look at who wants to be updated on Jack’s progress.
“It’s for anyone that wants to know what’s going on besides texting everybody and making phone calls it’s just awesome,” Cathy said. “It’s free and you can donate and that supports the whole process and I think that’s also very therapeutic when people comment and like your journal, it makes you feel like there are more people on your side.”
The wristbands created and handed out to show support for Jack.
Jack plans to attend Mizzou next year and will study business. He hopes to put his life back on play and start doing the things he loves again. Jack recently had his mid-treatment scans, but he had a different feeling than the first tests, he could feel that things were good. And his intuition was right, everything was just about better than expected, the tumors have shrunk and everything is responding to the treatment better than expected.
“I’m excited about college and looking forward to Mizzou next year,” Jack said. “I can’t wait to be a normal kid again.”
You can find Jack’s CaringBridge journal here