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Announcing Lucas Dimitrios Schaub

Posted by the Allens in Family News - (5 Comments)

Sofia gave birth to Lucas Dimitrios Schaub early this morning just before 8am. He weighed 7 pounds, and 9 ounces, and was 20 1/4 inches long. The birth was very quick…I missed it by just 5-10 minutes, but it was uncomplicated, and Lucas is very healthy and as handsome as can be. See for yourself! Scroll down to the bottom to see some breathtaking video of him, and be sure you don’t miss beautiful Sofia and Lucas’ first captured smile in the last photo! Sofia is recovering well, and will most likely go home from the hospital tomorrow. Jacob’s update from today will follow soon.



LUCAS, Jacobs little baby brother is born

Posted by david in Uncategorized - (12 Comments)

This morning Sofia woke up at 6am getting ready to give birth. 7:20am my brother drove her into the hospital. 40 min later (8am) Lucas was born. This is super exiting for all of us.. I am getting ready to take Jacob to his cancer treatment and procedure now and will tell him the good news about his new born baby brother.

Tomorrow we check bone marrow and spinal fluid for cancer cells

Posted by david in From David & Sofia | Uncategorized - (2 Comments)

Tomorrow is the big weekly visit to the hospital where we will know if Jacob has any cancer cells left in his body. I can’t remember the exact numbers but the Doctors wants to see very few cancer cells at this point and if on day 29 of the treatment (prox in two weeks) cancer cells are still visible that changes everything and the treatment has to be more aggressive. Right now we can’t think of anything else than what tomorrow carries. I just realize that I will probably keep being worried like this until the 3 (treatment) + 5 (event free) years has passed, in 8 years. I can’t understand how I will possible be able to live with this fear for so long time so I will do my absolute best to stay with the moment and just think a day or two ahead.. maybe when Jacob gets a bit stronger we can even plan some fun activities together like going out on the front yard on a warm summer day and play some.. I still doubt I will ever be able to take Jacob back out on the sea with the boat until he is considered cured. A lot of changes awaits us.. Today I went back to work.. Although I didn’t do much else than go to some meetings and review with the teams what’s been going on I felt a bit exhausted when I left at the end of the day.. I think I will need to build up my physical and mental strength over this weekend to be recharged for work next week. Tomorrow I took the day off for Jacobs hospital visit.

I don’t have any photos or videos to share today as I was at work all day and came home super tired.. Hopefully next time I have some photos/videos to share Jacob will be in a better condition and can demonstrate how he can move more individually with little to no help.

Daily Update 2/17/11

Posted by the Allens in Daily Update - (0 Comments)

Jacob’s Status:
Has been sleeping a lot today, and seems happy this evening. His belly still hurts and thats always hard. Seems better in the evening than the morning.

Today:
Sofia was alone with Jacob for a while this morning. David went to work for the first time in two weeks and the other guests staying with them had gone out to the store. Sofia had 45 minutes home alone in her house for the first time in a while, which she said was good for her. She’s still so happy and thankful for all the people who bring them food each day, because if the food wasn’t right in front of her, she probably wouldn’t eat anything. She says a BIG thank you to everyone who has been bringing food for them. Sofia was especially tired today and she hopes for a good nights’ sleep and that the procedure will go well tomorrow for Jacob.

Tomorrow will be a long day while they’re at the hospital getting Jacob’s procedure done and waiting for the results.

Please Pray:

  • Pray for tomorrow’s tests results to be super good
  • Sleep tonight
  • Jacob’s stomach pain

Daily Update 2/16/11

Posted by the Allens in Daily Update - (1 Comments)

Jacob’s Status:
Jacob did well at home overnight last night. He did wake up several times during the night, but that is what he had been doing at the hospital as well. He still complains of stomach pain and other discomforts, but he’s been walking a lot more at home and is gaining ground. His swelling is going down, and he seems to be in better spirits since arriving home.

Today:
Jacob went back in to the hospital for a visit in the clinic to check some of his numbers, and the numbers are still where they should be at with no major positive or negative changes. They did receive the results from the big test they’ve been waiting to hear on, and it is now clear that Jacob does NOT have the worst type of Leukemia. This is great news, and means that he can stay on the treatment plan his doctors have already laid out.

When Sofia arrived home from the doctor’s office, she said some moms from Jacob’s school had dropped off a diaper cake and some presents for the baby. Those really made her happy, and she’s sorry she missed the crew that delivered them!

The principal from Jacob’s school brought dinner for the family, and Sofia said it was good to talk with him about the various ways the school might be able to help Jacob learn from home until he is ready to be back in school.

Sofia also said Simon had a rough time this morning when he couldn’t join them at the doctor’s office, and it seems he’s having a bit of a rough time adjusting to the fact that even though they are home with Jacob, they still have to focus a lot on Jacob right now. One special thing, Sofia said, is that they’re all sleeping in the same room right now…Simon sandwiched between mom and dad, and Jacob in his own bed in their room. She said its comforting to wake up and have everyone be all together right there.

Coming Up:
On Friday, Jacob will have another visit to the hospital to check the bone marrow and spinal fluid for cancer cells, and they really hope those numbers are very close to zero. Sofia stressed that the numbers on Friday are very important.

Who Visited:

  • Moms from Jacob’s school
  • Principal from Jacob’s school

Please Pray:

  • For Friday’s tests & numbers – Zero cancer cells would be ideal!
  • For more strength for Jacob as he continues walking more
  • For the right timing/help regarding Sofia’s labor and delivery coming up in the next few weeks

David’s Reflections Feb 16, 2011

Posted by david in Uncategorized - (2 Comments)

Yesterday we came home, we were all somewhat tired and had a weird feeling of everything is back to normal but in a way it’s not… Jacob still has cancer cells in his spinal fluid and bone marrow and might have a few more hiding somewhere in his blood system… Today Jacob could play with his cousins before his first visit to the clinic… At the clinic the nurse draw some blood and then we got the wonderful news, the highlight of the week: Preliminary analyses of his DNA shows no signs of Philadelphia chromosome which for the last 2 weeks has been our worst case scenario and a big stone was lift off our shoulders and Sofia and I celebrated with a Starbucks visit while waiting outside of the pharmacy for some additional meds for Jacob (Magnesium and Tums). This preliminary good news means Jacob will likely not need to go donor hunting for bone marrow transplantation. Sofia and I are now giving Jacob all his home treatment meds and in a way it feels good we are in control of a little part of Jacobs treatment and we chat like nurses with each other each time we measure up the meds to figure out technics to use or whether or not to add some of the optional meds for various side effects. On Friday we go into the operation room with Jacob for his next procedure where he will be put to sleep and get “poked” for spinal fluid and bone marrow and also receive new doses of chemo in spinal, bone marrow and into the blood system (through his chest port).

Link to today’s photos and videos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36414830@N02/sets/72157625946679167/

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Daily Update 2/15/11

Posted by the Allens in Daily Update - (1 Comments)

Jacob’s Status:
Jacob arrived home with David & Sofia around 6:30pm today and when I talked to Sofia around 9pm, she said that both Jacob & Simon were sleeping. Earlier today, Jacob had some ultrasounds and tests today, and he did really well with them. His kidneys have reduced in size and look much better. They are still a little bigger than normal, but the doctors are glad to see improvement. They also searched for the mass in Jacob’s stomach that was roughly the size of a tennis ball a week and a half ago. Miraculously, they can’t find any trace of it. There is a chance there is still something small there that they can’t pick up on the ultrasound, but it’s an amazing that it has reduced in size so much, it can’t be detected (if it’s even there at all!).

Today:
Jacob was much more active today and did more walking around the hospital. He still struggles but he’s showing improvement. He is not as swollen throughout his body as he was before, but he still complains of stomach pain. Everyone was surprised and excited to come home this evening, and Sofia thinks he’ll do really well being at home. This evening, they gave Jacob his medications through the nose tube for the first time without a doctor present. It may take some time before they feel completely confident about doing that at home.

Tomorrow:
David & Sofia will take Jacob back to the hospital to check some of his levels and to also be able to ask more questions about the transition to home care. On Friday, Jacob also has a more involved spinal procedure that they’ll do at the hospital also. They may be able to find out at that time what mutation the leukemia cells are, which will help them know what further treatment options will be necessary. If they don’t find out Friday, they will find out early next week.

Sofia says she feels really blessed right now. Facing Leukemia is obviously hard, but she said that everything else – including the encouragement, support, and help of everyone has been such a blessing. She’s thankful for all of your support.

Please Pray:

  • For the coming results regarding the mutation
  • For the procedure on Friday
  • For Jacob to adjust well to being back home

Some Present/Urgent Needs

Posted by the Allens in Urgent Needs - (0 Comments)

Glad to hear Jacob is coming home today! There are a few things that David & Sofia said they need, if anyone is able to help them out this week.

1) More large containers of Purell/Hand Sanitizer – perhaps from Costco. David wants to be sure they have an abundant supply as they expect to be going through it readily. — covered!

2) Costco-sized containers of Clorox Disinfectant wipes. We were unsure this last weekend if these were fine to use in the house, but I’ve now been told they are fine for surfaces.

3) A light weight cordless vacum cleaner for day to day floor cleaning…They’re especially having trouble keeping dirt out of the entry.

4) Would someone be up for resolving the entry way problem by thinking through a better system for guests as they enter? Maybe a better mat for on the patio so people can minimize the dirt on their shoes, and/or a small bench or chair that isn’t too in the way so guests can sit to remove their shoes outside, or maybe the disposable hospital booties you can put over your shoes?

If you can help with one of these tasks, please fill out the main contact form or help sign-up form so David can contact you.

Jacob is going home today

Posted by david in From David & Sofia - (2 Comments)

Jacobs calsium levels are stable and the ultra sound shows no more signs of the tumor in Jacobs belly. Also the kidneys are almost back to normal size. We got some meds for the high blood pressure so we can treat that from home. Today is a good day and an important mile stone for all of us, jacob is well enough to come home!! :)

Simon’s Birthday Party

Posted by the Allens in Family News - (3 Comments)

Just wanted to share the little clips of video I shot at Simon’s birthday party last night. I also took some photos that will be available soon. I love the look on Simon’s face when everyone starts singing! Thanks everyone for making the party so much fun. It was terrific to meet all of you.