Monday, Monday

Hello dear friends....Bill here,

After a very rough Saturday night and Sunday morning, Erin slept most of the rest of Sunday. The medical team is trying to find the right med or combination of meds to alleviate the nausea and the stomach pain. I think the stomach pain is mostly due to the Cyclophosphamide (last chemo drug). She was able to eat a few bites of lunch and some dinner and she begrudgingly got four laps in but really did not feel well doing it. Yesterday was also the first day she got Methotrexate which is a drug to help keep her cells from attacking the new cells she received Saturday. They told us that a side affect of the Methotrexate can be mouth sores, also known as mucositis (for you southerners...that's where the lining of your mouth and intestinal tract peal off and cause alot of pain) and that it will be very important to use the mouth rinse that they provided as often as possible. She had experienced some of that last year and it was no fun so we are praying that she can avoid that side affect this go round. For those of you interested in her counts, it looks like her white cells have bottomed out (<.3), her platelets are down to 69 (they transfuse at <10) and her HCT is at 27.9(they transfuse at <27).

As we await the establishment of the new bone marrow cells, our prayers are for minimal side affects from the meds but at the same time we are told that, in general, a little bit of graft versus host disease (GVHD) is a good thing. What we really want is graft versus Leukemia (the new cells attack the Leukemia cells) and the doctor has told us that the best transplant results occur when there is a little GVHD. I think it is an indicator that the new cells are going to behave differently than her existing cells.

Today's scripture verses are about waiting:

"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." - Romans 8:25

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." - Micah 7:7

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" - Isaiah 30:18

We pray God's richest blessings on each of you this day. - Bill

A Whole New World

Dear Prayer Warriors, Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the prayers and birthday wishes. Last night when we turned on the T.V. Aladdin was on and they were singing "A Whole New World" and I thought that was very appropriate for our special day. Erin is doing o.k. She still has a ton of nausea. They are trying to control it, but she is allergic to so many of the antinausea meds, there just isn't anything to help. She is so tired of the golden bucket! She can't get much rest and feels so weak. The Dr. is always urging the walking, so in a moment of God given energy yesterday, she walked her mile. I figure God made her donor cells strong to get her walking so quickly. We were talking with a couple of nurses about our incessant curiosity about who the donor could be and they said alot of times they get donors from the military. So even if it comes from overseas. it doesn't mean the person is European. He could be one of our GIs. Isn't that cool?? Although I must admit we were all looking forward to a trip to Europe in 2 years to meet him. Who knows? He could be a good ole boy from here. Either way, he is our personal hero. We are just so thankful he was willing and able and that the cells arrived safely. I prayed up til the last second as they were spiking the bag. My nurse friends will understand. Sometimes when you spike a bag, the spike goes through and ruins the contents. And we had a trainee doing it. God likes to keep me on my knees every SECOND!! Wow. Please pray for Erin's nausea today too. She is getting Methotrexate to suppress her immune system so her new cells can get going. It causes yet more nausea. Poor baby. We love you for your prayers. blessings, janet

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is make perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Cor 12:9

TRANSPLANT ACCOMPLISHED

Dear ones, Thanks for the prayers. We have just completed the transplant. Hallelujah!! Erin sailed through, thanks be to the Good Lord!! Apparently the donor gave enough for 2 transplants, so they froze the rest in case she needs a boost later. She didn't have any reactions. The tech from the cell lab said they washed off all the plasma so she wouldn't react with the different blood type. Anyway, it went great. The Dr said it will take 10-14 days for engraftment to take place. In the meantime, her counts will drop and she will be in for the other side effects like mouth sores and skin rashes. But I am sure if we all pray real hard, God will ease the way for those as well. We can't thank you all enough for your support through all this. All the nurses came in and sang their version of Happy Birthday and we hung the coveted GA balloons. If I can ever figure out how to post pictures on this blog, I will put the transplant photo on here. Until then, just imagine the fun. As for Erin's night, she had nausea all day and night and is still having a lot of stomach pain. She did manage to walk 8 laps yesterday, so that is good. All in all, everything is going fairly smoothly. We are just praising God for all his grace! We pray that God richly blesses the young man that gave Erin a second chance at life!! May God use her gifts to His Glory. blessings, janet

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Cor 9:15

More Rest

Hey Ya'll.....Bill here,

Erin had a pretty good day and night and that's a huge praise! She still had some stomach pain but was able to eat and hold it down so that was great. Cindy and Ellen came to visit and brought Erin a huge list to hang on the wall titled "90 Fun Things To Do After Transplant." They had 17 suggestions on the list and it is up to Erin to fill in the rest of the list. We are now up to 24 and will consider any suggestions you may have for addition to the list. Li'l sis Laura came back from UGA to hang out with Erin for the afternoon and Davis also stopped by to visit, which is always a blessing. Davis added "Preach the 11:00 O'clock Service" to Erin's Fun list....not sure if Erin would put that in the fun category, but it is on the list. Since they celebrate transplants as a birthday here at the hospital, Erin got her birthday wish which was for an iPhone. It's a cool "everything in it but the kitchen sink" phone, but once again I realize how far behind the times I am when it comes to technology. I am relegated to inheriting the "outdated" stuff when the kids get the latest thing. Laura and I are now in negotiations with Erin about what is to become of her old iPod.

Erin was able to walk a few laps yesterday and we are hoping to get back in the swing with more today :))

Thanks again for the tremendous support through your prayers and encouragement...we feel so blessed to have all of you with us! Today's scripture is one of the many that are hanging on our hospital room walls which offer words of comfort:

"But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.." - Isaiah 43: 1-2

Blessings on each of you this day! -Bill

Rest day 2

Dear Prayer Warriors, Good Morning! Erin is feeling pretty good this morning. Yesterday turned out to be a not so very good day. She was nauseous all day. But by 11 p.m. she started feeling better and slept better than she has in days. So we are praising God this morning for the start of a good day. They informed us yesterday that the transplant will definitely be Saturday morning. The extra day or 2 of rest must be God's way of giving Erin a break. We are in constant prayer for the donor as he is going to have his big day tomorrow. We loved the prayer Cindy Sykes wrote on Tues' blog. Very eloquent. I have referred back to it a couple of times just to pray it again. Thanks Cindy. We are thankful for all your prayers. And we know God is happy with them too!! He loves a cheerful giver and I think that can also apply to intercessory prayer!! Blessings on you all, hugs, janet

"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9: 12-15

How perfect is God's word?? WOW!

Day of Rest?

Good Morning Prayer Warriors, Today is supposed to be Erin's day of rest, meaning no chemo. Yeah! She had an o.k. night and is feeling a little nausea today but it is better than before. Now the new thing is her skin is super sensitive. That usually happens when her counts are getting ready to drop. We are just thankful to be getting going with this whole process. The transplant could happen tomorrow or Fri. It is rather anticlimactic. It is just a bag of blood through her IV. The cells then migrate to her marrow and set up shop. It takes a few days for the "engraftment" to take place and then the battle begins for dominance. So you can see, prayers are really needed. We appreciate your prayers so much.
Apparently after I left last night, Bill and Jo and Erin had some rousing games of Skip Bo. Now, don't you think it was sly of them to take advantage of Erin while she is on medication? In our family, Erin ALWAYS wins that game. But, alas, Bill and Jo got to win for once. Good thing they don't play for money!
Blessings on your day. May you have a restful day too. hugs, janet

"This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.'" Jeremiah 6:16

P.S. AMEN Cindy Sykes

Yucky Chemo

Dear Friends, Good Morning. Erin had a very hard night. I guess the chemo finally caught up with her and she had so much pain and nausea, it took them until just now at 11:30 a.m. to get it under control. It takes several meds combined to get any relief. So we didn't get any sleep and she hasn't been able to hold anything down since yesterday afternoon. She did manage to get some of her walking in yesterday before the side effects started, but we probably won't walk today. She has too much sleeping to catch up on. Today is the last dose of chemo, which has been slightly delayed to allow her premeds to get in her system. So we are praising God to be on the last day of this nasty stuff. Of course most of the side effects will be in the coming days but at least we won't be adding more chemo to her system. Tomorrow is her day of rest as far as medications go and then the transplant will be thurs or fri depending on what time the plane lands. They always want to do the transplant during the day so the Drs are here. Please continue to pray for the donor as his day approaches and pray that the cells arrive safely on the plane.
I picked up a little book in the bookstore yesterday titled 21 Reasons Bad things happen to Good People. I needed to refresh on those scriptures. It is taking me through alot of Job's journey. Talk about trials! Anyway, God is good, He is in charge of all this, and we are so blessed to be in His hands! Thanks for the prayers, this battle is spiritual warfare you know. Thankfully we know who wins!! Go God!! hugs, janet

"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you may know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." James 5:10-11