In Memory of Paige James
admin | January 25th, 2010 | No Comments »“She loved the color pink, dancing and playing with her big brother Grant.”
– Friend of Paige and St. Jude Runner, Bridget Hamann.
“I’m not in control any more,” Rhonda said. “God is bigger than the doctors and nurses and machines and medications. Now it’s time for me to hand it over to Him.”
Since January, the Quincy couple’s 23-month-old daughter, Paige, has bravely battled a malignant brain tumor that has robbed her of her sight and her ability to talk, walk or even crawl.
Paige has endured a dozen surgeries and two rounds of chemotherapy.
Nothing has worked.
About four weeks ago, Paige’s doctor at St. Louis Children’s Hospital told Rhonda and Eric there was nothing more that could be done, and that Paige should be taken home and made as comfortable as possible.
“He told us she had days, weeks, months to be with us,” Rhonda said.
While still praying for a miracle, they know their time with Paige is limited and they are making the most of every moment.
“We still can’t believe this is actually happening,” Eric said. “But we’re lucky to have had her since January. She was so critical then. We had a lot of good times with her this year.”
The Jameses moved to Quincy in January from Elkhart, Ind., so Eric could take a position at Knapheide Manufacturing. A week after the move, Paige got sick.
“Her eyes were dilated. She was vomiting and was real lethargic. She was not wanting to walk,” Rhonda said. “As a mother, you know when something’s wrong.”
After tests at Quincy Medical Group, Blessing Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the family was told Paige had a mass and fluid on her brain.
It was Jan. 16, and Paige was just 13 months old.
A biopsy revealed the mass was a malignant brain tumor pressing on her brain stem and optic nerve. In February, about 70 percent of the tumor was removed and she received chemotherapy treatments for two months.
After the chemotherapy, an MRI revealed the tumor had grown back.
“Then we started a different chemotherapy protocol,” Eric said. After 12 weeks, another MRI was performed. This time, the news was good so the chemotherapy protocol continued for another 12 weeks.
But the family’s roller-coaster ride wasn’t about to end. The tumor had grown back and was starting to spread.
More surgeries took place, and one in particular caused a major setback for Paige. She was in the intensive care unit for three and a half weeks – compared to just 20 hours after her first surgery.
After five weeks in the hospital, Paige’s doctor shared news that broke her parents’ hearts. The tumor had doubled in size and there was nothing else he could do.
“Right now the plan is to make her as comfortable as we can, to love on her and to cherish every moment we can with her,” Rhonda said. “We have enrolled in hospice. That was hard, but we know that’s what had to be
done.”
They hope they’ll be able to celebrate Paige’s second birthday on Nov. 30.
A few nights ago, Rhonda and Eric sat on their living room floor with their 4-year-old son Grant and little Paige, propped up with a big pillow. The blue-eyed toddler looked adorable in pink, with tiny green, yellow and blue
bracelets on her wrist and her fingernails painted bright pink.
“I like to paint her fingernails,” Rhonda said tenderly.
Grant smothered his baby sister with kisses, and Mom and Dad gently touched her face and kissed her.
“We just love on her. She gets hundreds and hundreds of kisses a day,” Rhonda said.
Paige, sadly, can’t respond the way she used to. She’s blind, and often gets frightened at any sudden movements. She can’t sit up on her own, can’t walk or talk. Medication makes her sleepy.
It’s tough on her parents, because they remember the active, independent child whose smile could light up a room.
“She was very happy, always smiling and singing,” Rhonda said. “She would always dance to the music. She used to run around the house, and she loved being outside.”
But Eric and Rhonda don’t feel sorry for themselves, don’t ask, “Why us? Why Paige?”
Tears have flowed, certainly. But they somehow have found the strength to face each day as it comes and to accept the plan that God has for their “angel.”
“It’s not a choice,” Rhonda said. “She’ s my daughter, but she’s God’sdaughter, too.”
In addition to their strong faith, Eric says their friends and family, and even the outpouring of support from those they don’t know well, have given the family strength.
People from all across the country have been praying for Paige after seeing her story on a Web site, www.caringbridge.org. The site is a free online service designed to keep friends and family of the seriously ill updated on developments. Each patient has his or her own unique site with journals, photographs and a guestbook.
Paige’s personal site has received more than 18,000 hits, and more than 900 messages – even from strangers.
“It helps seeing all the people who get on the Web site, to see how many lives Paige has touched,” Eric said.
Rhonda says she’s also been touched by the kindness of Quincyans, including a “guardian angel,” Mary Bockenfeld; members of the Crossing church and Eric’s co-workers at Knapheide who have provided daily meals for the family; and Randy and Gerilynn Malone who are organizing a benefit for Paige on Sunday.
“We are so blessed to be in Quincy. I believe God brought us here for so many reasons,” Rhonda said.
Rhonda and Eric also are amazed with Paige.
“She has got to be the strongest child on this earth for going through all the things she’s gone through,” Rhonda said. “She’s definitely our angel. She’s definitely loved.”
