College World Series

Well, we all thought that this would be the year for the Tar Heels to win it all....but it wasn't. Much to our dismay, after a what seemed like a short week, we were headed back home from Omaha. Chase was out there for his third year straight and what was University of North Carolina's fourth. We joined him after the opening ceremonies and before the first game. The drive was long but well worth it as we loved every moment we had with him. The atmosphere out there is something to soak in and will not be the same after the new stadium is built. Many of the team's and Chase's thoughts and feelings can be found by reading his Post Card From Omaha articles that he wrote for the News and Record while they were there. Clicking on that link will get you to the first of this year's articles. After that you can click on his name and find other articles that he has written. Who knows, maybe journalism is in his future.
One thing I know is that I am a proud mom of a 21 year old, brain tumor survivor, who has really made his life into something special. Right now, he is in Cary, on the Team USA Collegiate baseball team and will be traveling abroad this summer to such places as Japan and Canada. A mother couldn't be any happier to have a healthy, happy, young man.
May God Be The Glory....
Judith~mother of Chase

Clean Scans!

Whew! God is Good!

After a few days of being sick and a mother being worried, Chase was given the great news of "clean scans" once again. AMEN! For the two days prior to his scheduled MRI last Friday, he had been sick as in nauseated, vomiting and even missing classes. That is highly unlike him. He also knows that when he tells his mother he is not well, he better have a plan in tact for getting better. So, he did go and see the UNC Team doctor who advised him to stay at home, drink fluids and rest; it was probably a virus that was going around the team. That was Thursday. Friday morning he went in to the UNC Hospital for his scheduled MRI at 8:00 and at 2:00pm he was finally able to call me and tell me he was leaving and was feeling better. (After all, they had a game that night, a weekend series against Duke.) Seems like they are doing his spine in three sections now with contrast and then the brain. So it is taking much, much longer than it usually does. Then, the brain takes about 45 minutes itself.

When all that was done, he goes over to the clinic to meet with Dr. Gold, his oncologist, and discuss all of life's challenges. :-) Chase shared about what he has been doing with his speaking engagements and how he is supporting the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Dr. Gold is quite supportive of all that Chase does and will do what he can for this foundation too.

The weekend series against Duke did not turn out as well as we would have liked. They won Friday night, but lost Saturday and Sunday. I did enjoy seeing Chase all weekend and spending time with my mom who came to the game on Saturday along with Buddy's Mom. Then on Sunday when Jacob and Kailey came along with Buddy's sister Rene.
After the game on Sunday I took us all out to eat to celebrate Jake's receiving the Teaching Fellow's Scholarship for UNC Wilmington. We are all proud that he wants to follow in our footsteps and be a teacher and especially a coach. There are many out there that know that Jake will make both a great teacher and a great coach.

All in all a great weekend, we just wish UNC could have pulled out a few more wins. Oh, and if you look in the picture to the right of me....you will see Coach Roy Williams. He was just another guy in the stands watching the game. Kinda cool, huh!

Judith~ mother of Chase

DC and Friends of Jaclyn

We could not have asked for a prettier weekend for March 7th and 8th! The temperatures were in the 70's as we walked around DC, saw the sights and enjoyed each other's company. We visited many places that meant different things to the three of us such as the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and of course, even took a look through the fence at the White House. All of these things were just amazing to Chase, a place he has wanted to visit for many years. However, as you can see by the look on Chase's face, the White House just wasn't ready for him yet. Drats!

Buddy and Chase with Lincoln; Judith and Chase at the Korean Memorial; Chase at the Vietnam Memorial; Buddy and Chase in front of the Capitol and others.

Now on to the real reason for the trip, the Friends of Jaclyn Gala Banquet.

The banquet was in honor the the kids and their families that the foundation supports. The kids either have or have had brain tumors. The foundation matches each child up with an athletic team from a University or High Schools in their area. In return, the child gets 20-30 new "brothers or sisters" to help them cope with the illness that they are going through. The team supports them by doing a variety of different things, sending cards, phone calls, allowing them to attend games, being an honoree for the team and much more. This goes on for a long, long time, not just a quick visit, but rather as long as the team and the child choose to stay together. Chase and his baseball team, the UNC Tarheels have adopted a child, James Neubauer, through FOJ and are very happy to have the opportunity to reach out to this family. Coach Fox sent Chase to this fabulous event to do his speaking engagement as a way to represent UNC even though they were in a big series against Clemson that weekend. Denis Murphy was proud to have Chase be a speaker because Chase is a brain tumor survivor, a Division I Collegiate Athlete and is now supporting such a wonderful cause. The Murphy Family will forever be in our hearts for what they are doing for other families with kids battling brain tumors.

Below are a few pictures from the evening. The beautiful young lady in the picture with Chase, Buddy and me is Jaclyn Murhpy. What a terrific young lady!What a special evening, one that I will not forget for a long time. I am a proud mother of a son who continues to impress me with his strength and courage. His commitment to do whatever he can to help raise awareness of Pediatric Cancer is truly amazing. Even while taking a full load of classes at Carolina and playing baseball, he finds the time to do many things for others that reach beyond my own small mind's ability to grasp, "how does this kid do it all?" But I love him for it and I know that God has put him on this earth for a special reason; to help others to cope with the dreadful disease called, cancer.

Our thanks to all that attended that evening and supported the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Denis Murphy, you are a wonderful man doing such phenomenal things for children all over the country. To the the rest of the Murphy family, Linda, Taryn and Jaclyn, I was delighted to meet you that evening and hope that our friendship will continue. To Sarah Walsh, Denis' right hand "woman", the event was beautiful and I know you are already planning for the next one. May God bless all of you.
Judith~mother of Chase

Let the Season Begin

ACC Baseball was off to a very cold start last weekend, February 20th; however it was a winning weekend all the way around. Chase is now an official bullpen catcher and to put it in his words "I couldn't be happier!" He now dresses out with the team for every game, is in the dug out amongst all the excitement until he gets the call to go to the bull pen. That is when he goes and warms up any pitcher that may be going into the game. He can tell you what everyone of them throws, what speed, what their best pitch, their worst pitch and their favorite pitch might be. Some of these guys will be going to the majors, and he will be able to say, "I warmed him up before such and such game." What a fabulous life to be living after cancer.

The Tar Heels have played eight games and they are 7-1 right now! They are loaded with pitching and even on the off days Chase can be seen out their new stadium catching with someone because they will be throwing that week and they want to keep themselves in shape. Who do they call? Number 41, Chase Jones.....he will never say no. He loves his role on the team and continues do well academically too. He was accepted into the Business school at Carolina a couple weeks ago, and that was BIG TIME. Coach Fox even recognized him in front of the entire team before practice. That is a humbling experience for any young man, especially Chase. He has officially worked his way up to being recognized as a part of the team. I couldn't be prouder!

After one year in the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, they are now back home in the new Boshamer Stadium. You may take a tour with Coach Mike Fox or you may look at a few of the players reactions during the opening weekend at The Bosh. Much more information can be found on the Tar Heel website and it is updated after every game with photos. If you love Carolina Baseball, you may want to save this website to your favorites.

Until next time,

Judith~mother of Chase

After Christmas Posting....

A very busy Christmas this year. Driving to Memaws, then to Grandmas and now the guys are back in Greensboro. Chase is planning his big trip to the Bowl game that Carolina will be playing in Charlotte. Can you say excited? Then, he gets to come back to Raleigh, Grandma's, and I will take him to Fayetteville to then fly to New Orleans so he can work baseball camp at Tulane University. What a busy time man he is! Buddy and Jake get to do all the driving by themselves. This is because Chase is flying down there and even back due to a certain someone special coming to visit Chase in New Orleans. I sure hope they have fun. :-)

I am sorry I don't have any pictures to share right now. Someone, me, forgot her camera on this trip. Buddy was the "official" photographer. Believe me, we have plenty of pictures, I just don't have them available on my computer to share.

In the meantime, I would like to share a short piece that a student at UNC did on Chase. This was a part of their ABC News: On Campus and then became a part of their Christmas Day special. Just click here and you too can watch this interview.

In this time of good news for Chase and his health, there are others that I do continue to pray for and I would like so much for your continued prayers. Coleman Larson and his family along with two other brothers, Bronson Lee and Braedon, both of which are battling brain tumors. Just imagine, if you can, what life would be like in their shoes.

The You Tube video below was posted on Coleman's Carepage and I have to share it with you. Listen to the beautiful music and see the beautiful children that have earned their angel wings.



Until next time....

Judith~mother of Chase

Have a Merry Christmas

Chase is home now and we have enjoyed many conversations together. It is good to have the family around and just "being together". The boys do seem to do their own thing at times, but, they are both adults, so, we have adjusted. Buddy and I enjoyed our 23rd anniversary on the 21st! Chase is quite impressed realizing at his young age of 20, how hard marriages can be. I am proud of him in so many ways.
Our Christmas will be spent between our two mothers, Grandma and MeMaw, as both our fathers have passed away and we feel the need to spend time with our Mom's. The boys usually split up between Buddy and me. One will go with me to my mom's and one will stay with Buddy at MeMaws. Not sure who it will be this year. Whoever comes to Grandma's gets a wonderfully hung stocking from Santa though, and that is always exciting. :-)


After Christmas this year, all my men will be going down to New Orleans to work baseball camp at Tulane. I will stay behind with JD, my wonderful companion, because my back is not allowing me to handle the long drive. Maybe next year. I think JD and I will enjoy watching movies and eating ice cream together. Right JD? ;)

I am sure I will have some wonderful pictures to share after Christmas. Right now we are thankful for yet another clear MRI last month for Chase. We hope that the MRI's will go from every 3 months to every 6 months pretty soon. However, we know that we are blessed this Christmas with having him healthy and happy. Baseball is so much fun for him and this summer he will even get to travel with Team USA across the country and even into Japan and Canada. What an exciting time of life for him!

I continue to pray for so many more that are battling this awful disease called cancer. Please say a special prayer for Chase's friend Ashton. She had a recurrence and had some major surgery just last week. Now she is having to handle some decisions about her upcoming care. She is also 20 and attends UNC Chapel Hill. I can't imagine going through all of what she is going through, AGAIN! Then there is a special child who I have not ever met, Coleman Larson. He is a 5 year old boy who has a twin brother. Coleman has a brain tumor and his brother does not and their story is remarkable. They have a Carepage if you would like to follow his journey. Go to Coleman Scott Larson at this carepage. You may need to do a search for his name and then create a user name and password. Believe me, it is worth it, these boys are precious.

Merry Christmas everyone! I will be in touch later!

Judith~mother of Chase

Friends of Jaclyn

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Denis Murphy. He is the man behind the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. What a pleasure it was. It was so nice putting a face to a man that I have spoken with so many times. What a busy man he is too! While coming through Greensboro on his way to spend the weekend in the Durham/Chapel Hill area to make a couple adoptions for kids with Duke University, was able to meet with Chase for the first time. I believe they have really connected in a way that many others could or would not understand. See, Denis is a man who's daughter has a brain tumor and is the reason for him starting a program in which he organizes university athletic teams to "adopt" kids with brain tumors in order to uplift their spirits on a daily basis. If not daily, then at least when they can. It is like having 30-40 additional brothers or sisters. When Chase was sick and in the hospital, he had that with the Carolina baseball team. They rallied around him and still to this day are continuing to do so. This is one reason, I believe, Chase has done so well and is a cancer survivor today. So, Denis knows that with Chase being the leader of the outreach program for the UNC Baseball team in which they have adopted a child, he loves this connection; Chase, a brain tumor survivor, division I athlete, leading up the program that he has created. Chase is not your usual young man, God has great plans for him.

Thanks Denis for all you do! Merry Christmas to everyone!

One last bit of news that is exciting for the Jones family~we have a new Seahawk in the family~Jake was accepted to UNC Wilmington! We are so proud of him.

G105 Radiothon

What a great day! Black Friday started out for most of us at 3:30 am with a bit of shopping. Chase decided that sleeping is was a better idea, and so that is what he did. As for the rest of us, we were up and shopping and helping the economy. First it was Kohl's at 4:00 am; WHEW! Who says people are not shopping! Next is was on to Target. Again, another long line wrapped around the building. But, in order to get that surprise for Chase, "you gotta do what you gotta do" as they say. People for the most part were very nice. However, I would never have expected to find what I was looking for in Men's clothing.....(don't ask, Chase isn't supposed to know)

After a short nap it was off to Crabtree Valley Mall to sign in and volunteer for the G105 Radiothon benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Parking was a bear! Again..... who says people aren't shopping!

When we arrived we quickly met Michael Beaver whom I had emailed and chatted with on several occasions lately. His family has also been affected by brain tumors. He was in the radio business until five years ago when he left that job to come and work for the foundation. What a great one too. My sister, Mary Beth and I were put to work on the phones while Mom was posted as a greeter. She loves to smile and say hello and strike up conversations. That is her gift, one of her many talents one might say. :-)

So, after an hour or two of volunteering, Chase and I had our 4 minute interview. It was very nice to be able to put in a plug about the UNC Hospital and how good our doctor's were. The PBTF has a lot of research going on at Duke Hospital and we are thankful for that, but we know that UNC was good to us too. We also met Mike Traynor who is the founder of the PBTF. What a neat man! I am so thankful for him and for his entire family for what they are doing for pediatric brain tumor research. Thank you Mike for including us in that wonderful event.

Thanks Michael, for taking my emails and seeing that Chase and I have a passion for trying to help others with pediatric cancer. Thank you G105 and Bob and the Showgram for supporting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. We need more people like you! Chase and I will continue to do what we can to help also and were blessed to be a part of such a great program yesterday.

Did someone say MALL?

Yup, that's right, Chase and I, along with Aunt Beth and Grandma will be going to Crabtree Valley Mall on Black Friday. My mother and sister both swore off of shopping on that day. However, I have managed to get them there for a very good cause. Bob's Buddies, along with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation have invited both Chase and me to be part of their big day. We have a one hour time slot from 2:00-3:00 to be interviewed on G105 radio. Prior to that we will all be volunteering by either manning the phone or being greeters. You know how Grandma is....she loves to greet. Maybe if you come on out to the mall you can stop by and say hello! Or, you can listen on the radio.....
Can't wait to be a part of the mob scene, right Grandma? Right Aunt Beth?

We Won!

We Won! Yippee!

What an exciting morning when they announced it over the radio and then Clay JD Walker showed up on our classroom to do some live "spots" for the radio station. Needless to say, with so much money raised, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation was extremely happy with us and has also been in contact with both Chase and me. Our next adventure will be being part of a radiothon in Raleigh to raise more money for the same great cause.

Chase is beginning to get a lot of exposure due to all of this. Take a look at this following interview that was put together by our local Fox 8 station here in Greensboro. It is very inspirational, so you can see why both foundations are seeking him to speak for them. Both Friends of Jaclyn and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation have found a great young man.

Delivering the check to 93.1 The Wolf

After all those weeks of collecting coins, having the Tar Heels come to our school and sign autographs and then the auction, our school ended up raising just over $15,000! Wow, what an amazing thing to be able to do in just 4 weeks during such hard times that we were and still are in these days. I am so proud of our school, our community and especially the kids. The kids have learned so many lessons about Kids giving to Kids, it is heartwarming.


Above are Jennifer B. and Jennifer R. and myself along with the radio show hosts Chuck and Leanne who sponsored the School Spirit contest to raise money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. We took our $15,071.49 check to them on Monday, November 3rd and waited until Wednesday the 5th to see if we had won the promised concert with Kellie Pickler. See, the school that brought in the most money would win the concert. So, the waiting began....

Benifit Auction for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation

October 25, 2008 was quite a night for the Jones family and a night to remember. At Oak Ridge Elementary, as the third part of our raising money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and as a way of having closure for us as a family and our fight against brain cancer, we ended up raising just under $5,000. Rich Brenner was our guest auctioneer with Chase doing a wonderful job of speaking to the crowd about childhood cancer and his experiences. A video that was put together by Mitch Townley, my brother-in-law, was a way to send the message home even more, that cancer has hit our family more than once. It is dedicated to not only Chase, but also to my late father who passed away in April 2004 from complications of a brain tumor. Brain cancer has hit my family twice; fortunately for Chase, he can say he is a survivor!

Enjoy the video, it is a pleasure to share it with you and many others. We are blessed and know that God's grace continues to be among us with every MRI that shows Chase to be "clean" every three months.

Evening With The Tar Heels

Wow, what a night it was when the Tar Heels came to Oak Ridge! We estimated about 500 people to have come through the line to have items signed by the baseball team. Each of the players took time to chat with the kids and adults too. Those players are so enthusiastic for this cause and their manners are second to none.

One of the most enjoyable moments for me was when I was able to introduce James to the team. They applauded and Jame's face showed such excitement. Coach Fox proceeded to give him an autographed jersey and baseball cap. Later it was said that they thought James would probably sleep in that jersey. What a heartfelt moment. At the end of the night, James and his mother were given some time to share their journey of being in the brain tumor world with the guys sitting on the edge of their seats listening. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, "There for the Grace of God go I". Please, pray for James and his life with a brain tumor. It not only affect him, but his entire family; those of us who have been there know this.

My thanks to the UNC Baseball team and to Coach Fox for coming out to Oak Ridge Elementary school. The whole school the next day was just abuzz with excitement from the night before and could not stop talking about it.
In the end, another $2,000 was raised that evening for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. You guys are the best!

Fund Raising!

Whew....what a busy time Chase and I have had recently! Our whole school has been collecting "Coins From Colts" to raise money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. In just a little over three weeks we have raised over $3,000! Isn't that incredible!?!

Thursday Chase came to my school, Oak Ridge Elementary, and was thrilled with the kid's enthusiasm. We were both interviewed by GCS TV channel 2 (which will be broadcast a bit later), then we were interviewed live on Fox 8 with Brad Jones.

Our next event will be Thursday, October 23rd, when the UNC Chapel Hill Baseball team will come to the school to sign autographs for anyone in the community who would like to come out, meet the guys, and support the cause. Just come out to the school that evening from 6:30-8:30. We will have a small admission fee of $2.00 to get in the gym, and baseballs for signing are available for $3. The entire team will be signing! Wow, they are so excited. Again, all the proceeds will be added to our donation to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

Coach Fox is excited too because his UNC team is a part of the Friends of Jaclyn and have adopted James, who will be coming that day to meet the team for the very first time. I love what Denis Murphy has done with this program in arranging kids with brain tumors to be involved with college athletic teams. It is so cool that these kids can be uplifted in spirit while going through such trauma in their lives. As Chase remembers, it is not an easy battle. That is why he was the first to volunteer to lead the outreach program for his baseball team. He makes me proud to say the least.

For our final project to help bring closure to Chase's cancer battle, Chase and I are having an Adult Evening Out at Oak Rige Elementary School on Saturday, October 25th. There will be food provided by JP Looney's with the help of our local IKON Office Solutions. Desserts will provided by Bistro 150.

We'll also have a live auction hosted by Rich Brenner offering some really nice UNC things such as an autographed basketball from Roy Williams as well as a ball signed by the whole team. We'll have many items from Nascar drivers and even a thrill ride in a Ferrari!

Chase will be the guest speaker and we are so looking forward to a fun and rewarding evening. After the big event, we will tally up what we have raised throughout the month and enter our school's donation to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation via 93.1, The Wolf's School Spirit Contest The school that raises the most money for the Foundation will win the concert with Kellie Pickler, and winning that concert was the goal for the kids at school.

But I can tell you now, they have learned way more than just seeing if they can win a concert, they have learned about kids helping kids. Thank you kids of Oak Ridge~You are the Best!

I could say "boo" like my sister did, but that would be too much like her and she wouldn't want me to be like her. Hee hee, but it is almost Halloween! This is no trick, I am blogging, yes, me, Judith; Chase's mom. It has been two years now and we are so thankful that Chase has continued to be tumor free. YEAH! His MRI's every three months are a "pain" he says and merely an inconvenience. Such a teenager, oops, can't say that anymore, he is 20 now! Man, I'm getting old.

There are many things going on in our lives that have to do with raising awareness of pediatric cancer, especially with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. I am proud to say that my school is part of a great community and we are raising money for a great cause.

Keep watching the blog for more information!

Chase has been through with treatment for a year now and he's still cancer free! As a matter of fact, all his test results have been normal!

Congratulations, Chase! Let me shake your hand...

On second thought - what color was the soap?

So I saw this teen from the back today. People said he was a member of our family, but with that curly hair? Who could it be?

Chase? Really???

Ha! Now that's hair! Not that I'd ever want to go through chemo, but if I ended up with nice thick curly hair and people pushing me to gain weight...

They told him his hair might come in different, and it sure did. The only editing needed was red eye removal.

Well, and a little smudging to get rid of a few pre-anniversary cruise tanning bed wrinkles, but no one needs to know about that, do they, Judith?

Good grief, I've forgotten how to blog...

Anyway, for the three of you (that would be Mom, our friend from Sweden, and... okay, for the two of you) still watching, Chase is back in Chapel Hill!

Packed and ready to go. And I mean packed.


Leaving in the Fantasy Car (don't ask).


Unpacking. Um, yeah. Soooooo effective.


Sit. Stay. Good boy.

As far as I know, no tears were shed, but he was definitly told that we did not want to meet him in the ER in six weeks.

He's officially on the baseball team in some capacity my non sports mind refuses to recall, his gig at the Omaha College World Series earned him a job as a High school sports stringer for the Greensboro paper, and then there are all those pesky classes.

NO TIME TO GET SICK THIS FALL!

Boo!

Did I spook you? Aunt Beth here, under direct orders from Judith to post links to Chase's blog from Nebraska. Oh, you didn't know he was in Omaha? Well, Chase is the freshman manager for UNC's baseball team, and they're in the finals of the College World Series in Omaha, NE. Chase has been asked to write a column for the Greensboro News-Record! No, I have no idea how this came about, but I follow orders real well. Just a little late. He started blogging, er, last week sometime...

:: rummages through inbox ::

Last Friday, his first blog

Saturday, Opening Ceremony

Sunday, I don't ever want to leave!

Monday, reporting on a little family fun

Tuesday, Ouch

Wednesday, visiting some hospitalized kids

Thursday, Rocky!

Friday superstitions...

And he and Reece even got press in the Omaha paper!

So far, UNC's in winning mode. Well, there was that one game, but we won't mention that. Saturday is the first of the double elimination games against Oregon State, who just happen to be the defending champions. Watch them play on ESPN and keep an eye on this page for Chase's next installment! And note the picture - look at all that hair!


:: waves to Judith, fresh(?) from her 18 hour drive to Omaha ::

Go Heels!

What's this?

:: rubs eyes with fists ::

A new blog???

Yup. The sitemeter keeps rising so I figure someone other than Grandma's checking in occasionally. Chase has been back in Chapel Hill, doing whatever it is he does with the baseball team and whatnot, looking forward to getting back into school full time.

Speaking of baseball, Mom and I met Judith and Buddy today in Chapel Hill today to watch a double header with Duke (yeah, Mom & I were a little late seeing as we got there just in time for the 9th inning of the second game). But the real reason we went was for this!

In honor of Reece Holbrook (Coach Holbrook's son) and Chase, the entire baseball team "volunteered" (some more willingly than others), to shave their heads to raise money for pediatric cancer research at UNC. With 39 team members charging $100 a head, they hoped to raise nearly $4000.



If I were having my head shaved, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with everyone laughing...

At any rate, it was a huge success, and they raised over $5000! So the coaches had to get their heads shaved too. Even head coach Fox!



A few more pictures. Sorry I don't know names, and I don't even know if the camera was in my hands when these pics were taken, but here ya go:





If we're lucky, Chase will add some names to these pictures. If we're really lucky...

The link to the donation site from the Carolina Baseball news site is still active. Just sayin'

PS. He's got hair growing back. Just a little bit so far...be very, very quiet - we don't want to scare it away...