Jonah Rang the Radiation Bell!!
In support of
The Blick Family
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The Blick Family
30 Rounds. Zero Complaints.
After 30 rounds of proton radiation, Jonah officially completed this phase of treatment today. THIRTY treatments. Every single weekday for six weeks. And do you know how many times he complained?
Not. One. Single. Time.
Not once.
This kid has shown a level of strength, grace, and resilience that continues to leave us speechless. We are supposed to be the ones keeping HIM strong, but somehow, every single day, he's the one showing all of us how to be strong.
And today, when he rang that bell, the sound was so much more than the end of radiation. It was the sound of 30 treatments behind him. Of showing up every day and doing something incredibly hard. Of one more milestone conquered in a fight no 14-year-old should ever have to face.
HE DID IT. And tonight, we celebrate that.
So what's next?
For the next few weeks, Jonah gets a little bit of a break. A chance to just be Jonah. To go to school, hang out with his friends, laugh, play basketball, and enjoy a little normalcy before the next phase begins.
He'll continue his weekly Tuesday appointments with Dr. MacDonald and his oncology team for bloodwork and physical exams, but the next BIG milestone is November 16 — his first post-radiation MRI.
This scan will give his doctors a better picture of how his tumors have responded to radiation. And we are asking every single person reading this to PLEASE keep praying that the radiation did exactly what we needed it to do — destroy as many of those cancer cells as possible, especially the ones that couldn't be removed during surgery.
We are praying for the cleanest scans possible. For good news. For every bit of hope we can get.
On November 17, the plan is to begin the next phase of treatment — a combination of three oral medications that will make up Jonah's chemotherapy cocktail. TMZ, Lomustine and Everilimus. The current plan is six cycles, each lasting six weeks.
There are still a lot of unknowns about how his body will respond and what side effects he may experience. Over the next few weeks, we'll be learning everything we can and preparing to manage those effects so Jonah can be as comfortable as possible.
We know chemotherapy will bring its own challenges. But we've also learned something pretty incredible about Jonah over these last few months.
Never underestimate this kid.
He continues to amaze us with his attitude, his strength, and his ability to find joy in the middle of all of this. And we're hopeful that same incredible spirit will carry him through whatever comes next.
And behind the scenes, the work NEVER stops.
While Jonah moves into this next phase of treatment, the incredible Dr. Elias Sayour and his team at the University of Florida are working tirelessly to develop a personalized cancer vaccine specifically for Jonah's tumor.
The request has been submitted to the FDA, and there is ongoing back-and-forth as they work through the approval process. Our hope is that by the time Jonah completes this next phase of treatment, the vaccine will be approved, ready, and available as another line of defense.
There are no guarantees, but there are some brilliant people working incredibly hard to give Jonah every possible chance.
In the first week of November, Randi, Adam, and Jonah will also travel to MD Anderson in Houston to meet with an expert in oncology nutrition. We want to make sure we are doing absolutely everything possible to support Jonah's body through treatment and give him the best chance to tolerate these medications.
And in the meantime, we are NOT taking our foot off the gas when it comes to researching clinical trials and future treatment options.
One thing we learned very early in this nightmare is that we need a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C at all times. And that is exactly what we're doing.
We are planning, researching, asking questions, connecting with experts, and preparing for every possible scenario.
But we're also learning that we cannot live every single day thinking about what might happen tomorrow.
Sometimes we have to just live in today.
And today was a REALLY good day. ❤️
Tonight, we surprised Jonah at home with all of his buddies and an ice cream truck to celebrate the end of radiation!
Papi and Zuzu brought dinner and cake. Babba and Zeidi sent a cake. Friends showed up with more cake and cookies. There was a whole lot of laughter and love.
And there was Jonah, outside in the cul-de-sac, playing basketball with his friends.
Just being Jonah.
Sometimes that's one of the hardest parts of all of this. You look at him, laughing with his buddies, running around, looking like a perfectly normal 14-year-old boy, and for a split second you almost forget what is happening inside his body.
And then it hits you all over again.
But we're trying really hard to stop letting those thoughts steal the good moments.
Because he IS a perfectly normal 14-year-old boy who deserves to be happy. He deserves to laugh. He deserves to have fun with his friends and think about absolutely nothing other than being a kid.
Tomorrow, we head to Miami for a little mother-son weekend getaway (Randi/Jonah, Alison/Max, and Me/Dylan) for two nights in the Florida sunshine. Thanks to the Greenberg family - we will be living it up and yachting in style! Adam and Logan will be living their best lives too on a father/son camping weekend with friends and Micah gets a weekend being spoiled by his grandparents!
Preparing for the next chapter:
Back at home, Randi has been working around the clock getting everything ready for chemotherapy. Jonah and Micah have officially swapped bedrooms, and Jonah now has more space and his own bathroom, which he is LOVING.
Starting November 1, the entire family will begin following some new routines to help keep the house as healthy and germ-free as possible. Everyone will shower as soon as they get home, and they'll be extra careful about germs and illness as Jonah's immune system may become weakened during treatment.
A fever during chemotherapy could mean an immediate hospital admission, so we're doing everything possible to minimize that risk and avoid any unnecessary interruptions or delays in treatment.
Randi and Adam are also working incredibly hard to keep their home a happy, positive place. Dr. MacDonald, Jonah's lead oncologist, has encouraged them to continue doing exactly that.
And if you've spent any time around the Blicks lately, you know they're doing everything in their power to make sure their home is still filled with laughter, love, and as much normalcy as possible.
Because while cancer may have completely upended their lives, it does not get to take away every bit of joy along the way.
One bell. A million emotions.
There is still a very long road ahead. We know that.
There are scans we're terrified of, treatments we don't yet know how Jonah will tolerate, and so many unknowns that we wish we could make disappear.
But tonight, we're choosing to focus on what we DO know.
Jonah completed 30 rounds of radiation.
He never complained.
He rang that bell.
He came home to a street full of friends who love him.
And he spent the evening playing basketball, eating ice cream, and being a kid.
Today was a WIN. A really, really big one.
To every single person who continues to reach out, send messages, deliver meals, support the family, and most importantly, PRAY — thank you. You have no idea how much your love is carrying this family.
And PLEASE, please don't stop praying.
Pray for November 16. Pray for the cleanest MRI possible. Pray that the radiation did its job. Pray that Jonah's body handles the next phase of treatment with the same incredible strength he's shown so far. Pray for Dr. Sayour and his team as they work toward getting this vaccine approved. And pray for Randi, Adam, Logan, and Micah as they continue navigating this unimaginable road alongside him.
30 DOWN. ONE STEP CLOSER. KEEP FIGHTING, JONAH. 💙
#BlickyStrong
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