Getting closer...

Dear family and friends,
     This will be a brief update from Marcie again this week.  We received very encouraging news from our local oncologist this past week - Don's numbers are under a "1" for the first time!  This means that the cancer is shrinking and he is moving in the right direction to be ready for the stem cell transplant!  We give thanks to our heavenly Father and to all of you for your prayers.  We wish somehow we could know how many prayers are being sent to the Father on Don's behalf - I'm sure they would number in the thousands! They are obviously having a great effect!
     He finished round 5 of the intravenous chemotherapy, and no more is scheduled of that for now.  He will finish round 2 of the Revlimid chemotherapy drug he takes by mouth on March 13.  We have an appointment with our University Hospital oncologist this Wednesday and we are hoping that he will give us some firmer dates for the stem cell collection and the actual stem cell transplant.
     One of the next things in the process is for testing to be done on all of Don's major organs - heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc. to make sure they are strong enough for the stem cell transplant.  I would imagine that will be taking place sometime in the next month.Please pray that God will strengthen these vital organs.
     Don continues to work at least 5 hours a day - sometimes they are turning into longer days with meetings, etc.  He loves being able to continue with his work and ministry.
     We were surprised and excited to realize that the newspaper article in the Akron Beacon Journal was picked up by many other newspapers around the country.  It has appeared in Washington state, Idaho, Florida, Canada, California and many more.  We have received several phone calls and letters from people who read the article and were encouraged by it or have endured Multiple Myeloma themselves and wanted to encourage us!  It has been very interesting to hear people's stories.  Don will share more about them when he has time to write a longer post.
     Please pray for us as we get closer to the next couple of hurdles - the testing of major organs and the stem cell collection itself.  Pray that everything would go smoothly so that there will be no delays in scheduling the transplant.  But we also pray that God's hand would be in the timing of everything. 
     Don's pain has become more intense in the hips - it is usually quite acute in the morning and evening.  We are thankful it is only during those times because this gives him several hours during the day when he is at work that are relatively pain free.  However, it does make mornings and evenings hard to get through. I have so much more empathy for people who live with chronic pain - some who have even lived with it for years.
    Don will write soon - most likely after our appointment on Wednesday when we hope to learn more information.  Until then,  grace and peace be to you all.
     Love, Marcie and Don