Brandon Jones continues struggle

It’s like the harder I try to be a better witness, the more tests and trials get thrown my way,” said Brandon Jones before his Sept. 28 surgery.
   
The surgery, which fused the first four vertebrae and removed part of a tumor, was the most recent addition to Jones’ medical saga, which began in 1997.
   
A June 15 article about Jones in The Alabama Baptist drew national attention to his three-year battle against cancer. Jones, who has dealt with bone cancer and lung cancer, had his right leg amputated in 1998 because of a 15-pound tumor that stretched from his hip to his knee. He also had a rod and two screws placed from the ball joint of one of his shoulders to the elbow earlier this year.
   
“You find out there’s a whole lot of decent people out there that you never even know … that do things like this,” he said of the phone calls, prayers, presents and donations.
   
“There’s been times it’s been tight with bills and stuff would show up in the mailbox,” he said. “God works things out in mysterious ways.”
   
Jones was hospitalized Sept. 15, the day before he and his family were to travel to Green Bay, Wis.,  to watch a football game. He had a chance to meet Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, earlier this year when he was in Birmingham for the Bruno’s Memorial Classic.
   
Since that time Favre, Bart Starr and his son, Bart Starr Jr., have been trying to work with Jones and his family to fulfill his lifelong dream of experiencing a game at the Packers’ Lambeau Field. While Jones will face another round of radiation to combat the tumor in his neck, he has not given up on his dream trip.
   
Jones’ story is also set to be part of AllYouth, a quarterly published by LifeWay Christian Resources aimed at students in grades 6 through 12.
   
Frank Jones, Brandon’s father, said he and his family are thankful for the prayers they have received.
   
“People’s prayers are extremely important,” said Brandon’s father, who is  minister of music at First Baptist Church, Sandusky. “That’s how we’ve gotten through the mountains and valleys the last three and a half years.”
   
Brandon was still running a small fever Oct. 2, and there was some fluid in the lungs. Brandon’s father said they were keeping the bed elevated as much as possible to prevent more fluid in the lungs.
   
Frank Jones is asking family and friends, as well as churches, to set aside Oct. 8 as a day of prayer for his son.
   
James Merritt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, also encourages Southern Baptists across the nation to pray for the Jones family on that day.
   
“God said you should approach His throne boldly,” Frank Jones said. He estimated his son has visited 124-140 churches and 35 schools since the first diagnosis with cancer in 1997.
   
For updates on Brandon’s condition, call 205-491-9393.