Amos Ross Updates

Hello Friends,

It’s Bonfire Night here in England (at least it was when I wrote this) so we’re settling in for a loud evening that will – unsurprisingly – be wet, soggy, and celebratory! I can’t believe that November is upon us already. Autumn is flying by and we are thankful for all the things we’ve been able to do, including apple festivals, visits from family, a trip to the Cotswolds, and a good first few months of home schooling.

In our last update we mentioned Amos’s upcoming endocrine test to see whether he is growth hormone deficient or not. We had met with the CHOC and Addenbrookes endocrine specialists and got a lot of really helpful information to think about as we moved towards exploring whether growth hormone treatment would be the right choice for Amos. This week we heard back on the test results and they clearly indicate that Amos needs supplemental growth hormone treatment. Our first reaction to this news was to be very thankful that the results were so clear. Everyone is in agreement that Amos needs growth hormone therapy – which is not a given when it comes to pediatric endocrine issues! So we are very thankful to have a clear path forward.

For those who might be wondering, growth hormone therapy isn’t just an effort to help Amos grow taller, although that is a needed and definite outcome. Human growth hormone impacts not only height but also muscle strength, bone health, and cardiac health as well as contributing to overall hormone balance. Kids like Amos who have had brain tumors and radiation often find their hypothalamus function lacking and thus need various hormone therapies.

Now that we know the path ahead, please pray for Amos as we begin treatment hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks. The treatment involves a daily injection and a fair bit of blood work to make sure the dosage is correct, etc. There are also a good number of possible side effects that Amos could experience. Please pray for us and for his doctors to be discerning as it’s not always easy to know what’s causing what when hormones enter into the picture. Please pray for peace as well, that we would trust God knowing that Amos needs this treatment no matter what the side effects end up being.

A quick vision update too: we have decided to wait on another eye surgery to correct the vision issues we are seeing. Instead, we’re going to spend the next few months working really hard on vision therapy to see if we can get the muscles in his eyes to do what surgery would otherwise accomplish. Please pray for special diligence for Amos as vision therapy is a hard and often frustrating thing for him and us to work on. We’ve got a great team of doctors supporting Amos and we are thankful for their continued help!

And thank you so much for continuing to pray. We are mindful of how much Amos has overcome and we’re so thankful for the strength that the Lord gives him (and us) to persevere. Please pray for Amos’s ongoing vision, endocrine treatment, overall recovery, and continued protection from a recurrence of cancer.  Please also keep us in prayer as Will travels to the east coast of the US for conferences this month and then 3 days later takes Amos to CA for an MRI checkup. So it will be a busy month! We are thankful for you all.

Love in Christ,

The Ross Family