Since I have emails from several of my blog buddies, I thought I should update the blog. I am still alive and kicking for those of you with curious minds. I have been working on a grant funding proposal for the past week, so my efforts as a wordsmith have been focused on completion of that project.
Others have inquired about our young friend of the family for whom I requested prayer on the blog. She is much improved and was dismissed from the hospital last night. She needs continued prayer as they adjust blood thinners and she recuperates.
I realized that I departed from the blog, leaving my readers hanging in suspense about the donor search. Evidently there is a donor or donors that have matched to some degree. The NIH transplant team only has the results of the transplant donor preliminary search. Evidently, I will not be given details of this search. Now, more intensive searches will begin on the potential donors. The NIH transplant coordinator contacted me and told me that the transplant team would like to meet again in person with me. For the time being, my calendar is a bit overbooked, so that trip may be delayed for a short time. I have 4 more weeks of treatment, nanny duties with Lil Man, a fall vacation (destination to be determined), and other regularly scheduled programming that fills my next few months. When I find an opening, I will most likely just hop on a plane and fly out for a quick day or two trip.
My total WBC (white blood count) is 34,900 as of yesterday (you might recall it was over 160,000 when I began). That makes an 80 percent decline in the Absolute Lymphocyte Count (B lymphocytes are cancerous)! My hemoglobin is rising steadily and is 11.8 - much better than the breathing busting level of 7.9. My platelets remain steady at 147,000.
I am neutropenic again - I will most likely receive the Neupogen injection sometime this morning to help my body's immune system to fight off infections.
The uric acid levels remains slightly elevated, so I continue to drink 2+ liters of water per day and receive IV hydration to prevent Tumor Lysis Syndrome. My kidney counts were all normal and I had one liver count that was slightly elevated.
I have not felt as well this past week as I have after the previous weeks of treatment. I liken this to the passage of Scripture in Mark 4.
Jesus Calms the Storm
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Despite some of my counts still not declining and a pesky spleen and lymph nodes that continue to swell and shrink in a vicious cycle, I want to be like Jesus. While everyone else in the boat filled with fear and looked at the physical circumstances, Jesus slept soundly in the stern - the furious waves and threats of drowning and death did not even faze Jesus. I pray for that same calm that He sensed and proclaimed over the storm He was facing. Leukemia - be quiet! Be still! I ask for Him to continue to increase my faith so that I will not falter in the midst of threats and torments.
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