Amos Ross Updates

Dear friends and family,

It’s been such a joy to be home these past few days. Again, the brain surgery on Monday went exceptionally well and we are still somewhat stunned that we’re not still in the hospital. At the same time, it feels like a year has passed in just the last week.

Many of you have asked us what is next. The answer is, a fair bit. Although we are still waiting on formal pathology results, there is little question that the small tumor removed from Amos’s brain stem last week was cancerous. It was in the same location as his initial brain tumor in 2015 and in the opinion of the neurosurgeon it looked and acted like the same type of cancer (anaplastic ependymoma). The good news is that the tumor did “peel off” the brain stem fairly neatly and in a way that left nothing “visible” to an MRI. That is a very important state of affairs.

Even so, Amos will receive radiation treatment at the site of the tumor that was just removed, since even one cell left remaining will turn into a problem eventually. We have spoken with Amos’s neurooncologist at Duke and are beginning to get a picture of what radiation will look like. Essentially, it will look the same as it did ten years ago. He will receive brief/small doses (~10m), five days a week, for five or six weeks.

We are waiting to hear from a few teams about what sort of radiation is best for Amos (there are several kinds). The likelihood is that radiation will occur somewhere other than Charlotte, possibly Duke, possibly St. Jude’s. We don’t know yet, but we should have a better idea in the coming week. Radiation will not start for at least two weeks, maybe three or four. So for now, we are at home focusing on healing and doing normal things as a family. Assuming radiation occurs outside of Charlotte, that will obviously entail some serious logistics for our family this spring. Time will tell.

Over the last few days we’ve enjoyed being together so much. Every day is a gift, friends. Amos is doing great. His pain is fairly minimal and he’s sleeping and eating and walking around pretty normally. Most importantly, he’s in good spirits. Today we spent most of the day watching his two younger brothers play baseball in the sunshine (pic below), and he was joined by a friend of his from school. Still, Amos’s neck is still pretty stiff at the site of the incision, and he is dealing with some loss of motion on the right side of his face at this point. We are hopeful he’ll regain that with therapy.

Please pray:

• For Amos’s incision to heal up nicely and for his range of neck motion to increase
• For Amos’s facial musculature to recover
• For clarity and consensus from various doctors as to the best course of radiation
• For peace as we contemplate the likelihood a very disrupted and separate spring time

We’re so thankful for the many, many people who are praying and calling and texting to support us (not to mention the mile-long meal train, which has been wonderful). We’ll be in touch in the coming days to keep you updated.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)