Oh The Blood

Wow...I did it again.  I haven't written in a while.  There just aren't enough hours in a day.  I guess we all feel like that at times.

Last week when I wrote I had an inkling that the week was going to be more of a challenge than we knew, and it was.  When we got to Vanderbilt last Monday, Nick's doctor said that we needed to stay all week.  We had not come prepared to stay, so he arranged for Nick to get treatment in Jackson.  It was good to get treatment near home, but due to several factors, it was SO very hard.  Nick felt horrible all week, but in retrospect, we survived!

Glenn and Nick went to Vanderbilt this past Monday.  His blood counts were very low, so he got 2 units of whole blood along with his chemotherapy.  The life really is in the blood!  He feels much better this week.  Next Monday he will be admitted to Vanderbilt for the week.  They are going to infuse him with high doses of methyltrexate.  He has been getting low doses of this drug all along during his lumbar puncture procedures and has not had any adverse reactions.  So, we are hopeful that this will be the thing that does the remission trick.  This is kind of a dangerous procedure.  So, he will be monitored closely.  Please pray.

A couple of weeks after the methyltrexate they will re-do the bone marrow biopsy.  The leukemia has got to be gone this time!!!

(As I finished typing the above sentence I got a text from Nick. (I'm in the living room & he is in his bedroom)  He asked me to come and check his temperature.  It is up again.  I was planning to go to church tonight, but now need to stay home.  Parenthood, in general, is not for wimps!)

Several of you have been asking me about donating blood for Nick.  I finally have some answers for you.  Lifeline Blood Ctr (here in Jackson) is set up to receive donations in Nick's honor.  He will not actually get the blood that you give, but your donation will help to replace what he has already gotten and the blood that he will receive in the future.  When you donate in his honor they will give you a card that can be mailed to let him know that you have given for him.  Blood donors have literally been tools that God has used to keep Nick alive.

(If you do not live close to Jackson, please donate at your local blood center.)

Lifeline has moved recently.  It is now at 183 Sterling Farms Drive.  It is off of the bypass frontage road that goes past Coffman's Furniture.  They take donations from 8 am - 2 pm on Mondays and Fridays, and from 12 pm to 6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Leviticus 17:11      New Living Translation (NLT)

¹¹ for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord.^[a] It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.

Because of the blood of Jesus...It is well.

Change

The fevers broke and Nick has felt fairly well for the last couple of days.  (Thanks for the prayers!!)  I can also tell that the back brace has helped.  Even when he doesn't have it on, his posture is better than it had been.  We still don't have the results from the tests last week, but the pain has also been absent for the last couple of days....so I'm just believing that God took care of whatever it was.

He and I will spend the day at Vandy tomorrow.  Then, he and Megan will go back for the day on Thursday.  It will be a relatively easy week.  At least that is the plan as we know it today. 

Pastor Cupples at Love and Truth Church in Jackson frequently asks the congregation, "What is the only constant at Love & Truth Church?"  The answer is "change."  (Not change in the message of the Gospel, but frequent change in the delivery methods, technology, and physical surroundings.)  The question and answer apply so well to our personal lives as well.

The only constants at our household seems to our faith in God and our love for one another.  The rest of almost everything else has been nearly constantly changing for the last year now.  However, one of the best lessons that I have learned in constant change is to focus on the things that actually matter.  Frustration and distraction seem to be the results of focusing on the temporary changes instead of the trustworthy constants.

We serve a God is who the same yesterday, today, and forever.  If you think about it...He is the only thing in all of life that never changes.

Changes and all...it is well!

Not For Wimps

Nick has had some problems with elevated temperature and feeling very badly for the last couple of days.  We need some answers.  We haven't heard from yesterday's test yet, but will hopefully get those answers today. 

We also got some less hopeful statistics this week.  Again...we don't serve a God that is governed by statistics.  So,  it's gonna be o.k.  However, we are fighting a battle on several different levels: physical, spiritual, & mental.  Balancing this trial as an eternal spiritual being, living in a time-limited physical body, controlled by a mind, will, and emotions that are not yet perfected is not for wimps!  Let me just tell ya...It's really not for wimps.  I can not even imagine going through this without knowing in Whom I have believed.   Focus on faith is essential.

  It is well.

A Good Answer

We are back at Vanderbilt.  It's a familiar routine.  Nick is lying in a comfy bed getting chemo.  I've been trying to study....but....??#@)   In an hour we go down stairs and down the long hall for a lumbar puncture and more chemo.  It really has been a fun day.  Nick has entertained many a chemo patient with various and sundered quips, one-liners, and impressions.   He is in rare form.  It is such a joy when he feels good!!

Tomorrow he is having some tests done to find out why he is having intermittent intense pain.  We really just need God to take care of it before the tests.  "We can't find anything wrong" will be a good answer.

As I typed the words "good answer," the following is what came to mind.  It speaks for itself.

Proverbs 15

 ¹ A gentle answer turns away wrath,
   but a harsh word stirs up anger.

It is well.

Face Forward

No...we haven't fallen off the the face of the earth...and...No, nothing bad has happened.  I have simply been so very busy that I couldn't take the time to compose a blog entry.  Last week was my first week of Nursing School.  I was literally at school every day...some days I was there for 10 hours at a time.  The rest of the time I was caring for my family, at church, or doing homework.  I do think that I remember sleeping and bathing once or twice as well.  It will not be at the same pace for the next two years...it just can't be!

I do want to sincerely apologize to  those of you who were concerned because of my short writing sabbatical.   It makes all the difference in the world to know that people care!  I will try to do better in the future.

Nick has been back to Vanderbilt for chemo a couple of times.  He is still feeling fairly well...although he has had some very severe pain.  Please pray for relief from the pain and wisdom to manage it as we await God's intervention.  This week his doctor elected not to give him the specific chemo that lowers his clotting factors.  For this we are very thankful!

We found out, last Friday, that Amanda is a perfect bone marrow match for him.  That is a miraculous thing!  According to the national statistics there is a slight chance that any family members will match a patient, but we do not serve a God that is bothered by statistics!!  Only Amanda & Megan were tested.  Megan was a partial match. 

If we end up having to do the transplant, it will be during December.  They will re-check him by doing another bone marrow biopsy in about 6 weeks.  If that is completely clear, we may not have to do the transplant.  Please keep praying for wisdom & healing.

Today, Nick was fitted for a back brace.  His orthopedic surgeon says that his fractures will heal, but the brace is needed to protect him from any further damage, and to realign his posture.  It is painful for him, but when he walks with it on his gait appears almost normal.  We are moving in a positive direction.  Please add the restoration of his back, including height, to your specific prayer lists.

Next week he will have to be at Vanderbilt all week long.  We will arrive on Sunday.  Lumbar puncture, chemo, and Dr. visits are on Monday.  I will stay with him until Monday evening.  My Mom will come Monday night to stay and bring him home on Thursday.  She will be the designated chemo escort for most of the week.

Some time in the next few weeks he is going to be a part of a chemo scientific study.  He will be admitted for a few days, receive chemo, and be interviewed about his side effects and the process in general.  All of that treatment will be complementary because of the clinical study. (Just a bit more provision)

I heard from a friend last week that was having a difficult time.  She described her situation as "being at the red sea."  As we all know, the Israelites were freed from Egypt after being protected from the plagues, laden with treasures from the Egyptian people, and headed off toward the promise land...only to be eventually trapped between the red sea and Pharaoh's approaching army.

As I prayed for my friend, all that I believed that I heard God say was to "focus forward."  The Jewish people had been walking in faith and believing for freedom for 400 years.  Now they were experiencing the miracle for which they had been waiting.  Yes, there was a churning sea in front of them.  Yes, there were approaching angry men with orders to slaughter them.  Yes, it did not look good....But....what good would it do to focus on the ill-tempered, armed, swiftly coming destructive force.  Answer:  not one bit of good.  If Charlton Heston and his compatriots portrayed it accurately, people were still grumbling as the sea opened up revealing a dry path of escape.  (I'm pretty sure that they were grumbling because later on in the journey the Bible says that they wanted to go back into slavery so that they could eat some leaks and onions...talk about priorities being messed up.)

I don't know about y'all, but I don't want it to take 40 years for my family to receive the promised outcome.  Yes, we do need to learn from the past, but that is not where our focus needs to be.  We can't change the past, but we can alter the path of our futures.  If there is some sort of big hairy destruction chasing you, don't give it the attention that God deserves.  Face forward and watch for the way of escape to open up.  It is always there.  If you are willing to look you will find it.

1 Corinthians 10:13(NCV)

¹³ The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it.

Footnote:  The word that is translated "tempted," can also be translated "tested or tried."