Today's Update

An Update on Jonah ❤️

First and most importantly — thank you.

This is Jodi (shocker, I know) writing on behalf of the family. ❤️ I imagine there will be a few ghostwriters along the way, but we're going to do our best to keep everyone updated here because we know just how many people have Jonah in their thoughts and hearts.

My phone currently has absolutely no idea what is happening to it with the insane number of texts coming in. 😂 Please know that I read every single one, even when I can't respond, and I appreciate them more than you know.

The outpouring of love, prayers, messages, meals, connections and support over the past 24 hours has been absolutely unbelievable. I promise you, it is being felt inside the Blick house, so please, please keep it coming.

And speaking of meals… we've added more meal delivery dates because, as it turns out, these Blick boys can EAT. 😂 Thank you to everyone helping keep their house full, their fridge stocked and one less thing on Randi and Adam's plates right now.

In what feels almost impossible to comprehend, Jonah has been going to school all week. He feels good. He's with his friends. He's being Jonah. And honestly, that's one of the strangest parts of all of this—if you looked at him right now, you would have absolutely no idea anything was wrong.

Where things stand medically

The last 24 hours have been extraordinary.

More than 300 people have reached out with connections to doctors, researchers, hospitals, clinical trials and people who want to help. It is incredible, and we are beyond grateful for every single connection.

It is also a LOT.

Randi and Adam are trying to keep life as normal as humanly possible for their boys while simultaneously being asked to navigate a medical world that very few people could possibly understand without help.

Thankfully, a very special group of people with significant medical experience has stepped in to help them organize the information, ask the right questions and identify the experts who know this specific type of pediatric brain tumor best.

So please know: your connections have been heard. The medical crew is taking all of that information and helping Randi and Adam determine which doctors and programs need to be part of the conversation now.

The team at CHOA has been incredible. Jonah's care is being led by Dr. MacDonald, who has been in constant communication with the family and is collaborating with other oncologists and experts as they work toward the best possible treatment plan for Jonah.

To Cheryl & Phil Yagoda, Dean & Reid Crowe, Adam Cohen, Dr. Sikora, Dr. Frist and basically Dr. Lincoln - you have been our medical lifeline. There are not enough thank you's in the world.

Right now, the most important missing piece is the final, complete pathology and detailed molecular/genetic sequencing of Jonah's tumor. That information will allow the doctors to understand his tumor at a much deeper level, evaluate which treatments may be most appropriate for his specific tumor, and determine which clinical trials he may potentially qualify for.

We are hoping to have those results next week.

While we wait, we are MOVING.

Tomorrow: bloodwork and a consultation at the Emory Proton Therapy Center.

Friday morning: a spinal tap to gather additional information the medical team needs.

And once the complete pathology and sequencing are back, the experts will have significantly more information to help determine the treatment plan moving forward.

Also - I don't want to sugarcoat any of this. This is really, really hard.

No one knows how to navigate something like this, and especially not parents who are trying to process information no parent ever expects to hear while also staying strong and keeping life as normal as possible for their children.

Some of these conversations are incredibly difficult. Randi and Adam can get off a call that leaves them terrified, and then speak with another doctor who gives them a completely different perspective and a reason to feel hopeful. The information, opinions and unknowns can change by the hour. It is an emotional rollercoaster that no parent should ever have to be on.

So while we are asking everyone to pray for Jonah—and please, please keep doing that—please pray just as hard for Randi and Adam. Pray for their strength when they feel like they don't have any left. Pray for clarity as they make decisions. Pray that the right doctors and the right answers find their way to them. Pray for peace in the moments when their minds won't stop racing. And pray that they can keep finding little pockets of normal and joy with their boys in the middle of something that feels anything but normal.

We are choosing hope because we believe there is every reason to keep choosing it. But choosing hope doesn't mean this isn't incredibly hard. Both things can be true at the same time. ❤️

In the meantime, we are also choosing NORMAL. And FUN. ❤️

This weekend, the goal is to give this family as much normal life as possible.

A huge thank you to the SSYS Storm team for rallying around Logan and planning something fun for him Saturday.  Jonah appears to be super popular already at DHS so I am sure there are plans in process with friends. Randi's sister is flying in.  One of Randi's college besties is flying in.  Adam's dad is coming in.

There will be family. There will be friends. There will be laughter. 

And there will be so much love surrounding this family that they will never, ever have a chance to feel alone.

We are going to keep believing in medicine.
We are going to keep believing in hope.
We are going to keep believing that extraordinary things are possible.

And we are going to keep taking this one step, one test, one answer and one day at a time.

Randi and Adam just keep saying the same thing:

They are blown away by the support.

They are balancing more than any parents should ever have to balance right now, while protecting their boys, keeping their family together and making incredibly important decisions for Jonah. I am in awe of their strength, their love and the way they are showing up for their family.

I know I'm biased, but I have never been more proud of them.

And finally — the prayers.

Please, please, please keep them coming.

We believe there is power in prayer, and right now we will take every prayer, every bit of positive energy, every ounce of hope and every person believing alongside us.

For anyone who would like to include Jonah's Hebrew name in their prayers:

Yosef Ben Rivkah v'Avraham.

Keep praying.
Keep believing.
Keep sending the love.

We feel it. Jonah feels it. And we are not giving up hope for one second. ❤️

On Friday night, we will light our Shabbat candles and invite anyone who celebrates Shabbat—and even if you don't—to light a candle too. Let's fill our homes with a little extra light, hope, healing and prayers for our Jonah Bonah. ❤️

May all that light find its way to him.