ANSWERED PRAYER

Dear Friends and Family,

Writing this letter reminds me of how much people love us. The encouraging cards keep coming. The texts, e-mails, phone calls, (I'm really not up to face book), and my pastor stopping by for a visit. All of these ways to communicate, "We love you and we are praying for you!"  Well guess what? I actually believe God has answered prayer. I was in the hospital for my transplant for only 2 1/2 weeks after being told to expect 3 1/2 to 5 weeks. My good blood counts have come back at an astonishing rate (according to my doctors). I have not had any mouth sores or very much of the (you know what I'm talking about....don't make me spell it out) yes that stuff didn't go on as expected for abnormal bodily functions.

 I've been home now for nearly two weeks in which I've had the privilege of having my brother in law and mom over most days to "babysit" me.  I don't think I'll have this kind of time at home again for a long time.

 Overall I'm feeling better day by day and have had very little nausea.  So what do you think? Can we just pause here and give God a high five?

 I've been able to get back to work some from home; i.e. wrote a short article for EMERGE's web site following the massacre in Connecticut. Finally I've gotten the courage to look at e-mails (I know I better do this more often than sort through 2-3,000 mostly spam/junk..it takes a long time to go through them all to find the ones that really matter.) We have been blessed in every way imaginable and I praise God for all of you who take the time to read our blog.

 Don: Thanks to all of you who remember to ask how Marcie is doing. Frankly I wouldn't want to ever go through a trial like this without her. There really are no words adequate to describe the love and care for me  as she has done so selflessly.

Marcie:  I am so proud of my husband, for the courage and endurance with which he has faced the last 13 months.  Both of us praise the Lord who has enabled us to get through this one day at a time.  And we cannot put into words how thankful we are for all of you, the body of Christ, who have been His hands and feet.  We don't know what the future brings but we know that God is going to be with us every step of the way.    

 Love,

Don and Marcie

DAY T-10

Dear family and friends, 
    We give praise to God that my blood count numbers are starting to rise which gives every indication so far that the transplant has been a total success. Before I can be released my white blood cells and platelets need to reach a certain number.  So it looks as though the next several days will be spent managing the nausea, etc. and resting while the stem cells do their job.  I will probably be in the hospital for at least another week, then move to a near-bye facility as an out-patient for one to two weeks more.  We will share with you the hurdles we face as they come, but I would encourage you to join me in praising the Lord. We have so much to be thankful for! I truly believe that God has answered all of our prayers.
     I want to thank all of you for the increase in the number of cards and notes I have been receiving while in the hospital and also for the giant posters full of get well wishes from Emerge, CVCA and CHCS.  What a blessing to read the words of encouragement and verses of Scripture!  

A HAPPY TIME WITH GRANDKIDS IN ANNAPOLIS A MONTH AGO

Prayer Requests:
     Pray for Don that he would not get an infection, accidentally cut himself or have a fall.  Pray that the nausea would be gone for good!  He says it feels like he started his day in one of those tilt-a-whirl rides at Cedar Point and his head is spinning for the rest of the day! And of course, pray that the counts will continue to rise to the point where he can be released from the hospital.
   
Praises:
     For the entire stem cell transplant proceeding as expected and for the doctor's report that, as far as they can measure, there is no cancer left! 
     For traveling mercies for the many miles Marcie has traveled thus far between home and Cleveland.
     
     
    

COME, YE THANKFUL PEOPLE, COME!

DON ENJOYING THE SUNSHINE IN FRONT OF SEIDMAN

       The days are passing slowly but surely as we move from Day 0 (the day of the transplant) toward day T+10 - the day when we might expect Don's immune system to start coming back and for him to begin to feel better. Between now and then his counts still have to dip down to pretty much 0.  He may still experience some of the side effects from chemo blast last Thursday.  
     We thank God that the nausea is pretty much under control.  The nurses are very good about keeping it at bay.  Don is walking around the 3rd floor of the hospital 2 or 3 times a day, so he is doing great about following the doctor's orders.  Yesterday it was so nice here in Cleveland with the sun shining, we asked permission for Don to go outside for a few minutes.  So they unhooked him from the IV and we got to go outside and sit in the sun for about 20 minutes.  It felt so good to both of us and it was such a blessing to get outside in the fresh air!
     Thanks for all your positive comments and prayers on the blog - we look for them every time we post something!
     Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone! As you gather with your loved ones this Thanksgiving Day give everyone extra hugs and tell them how much you love them!  Don't let any more time pass without showing them how much they mean to you and the love you have for them.  Finally, we encourage you to let your thankfulness flow heavenward to Him who has given us so many reasons to be! 

TRANSPLANT COMPLETE!

     Yesterday was a good day!  Don's stem cells were infused over about a 45 minute period from 3 large "turkey baster" type of injections.  It went very well and Don had no problems.  In fact, he slept off and on throughout the infusion and the rest of the day because of all the pre-infusion medications they had to give him.  The nurse who performed the infusion wished Don "Happy Birthday!" and said, "This is the first day of the rest of your life!" All praise and glory and honor be to God our dear Father, who gives us every good and perfect gift - including the miracle of stem cells and the ability to transplant them! We prayed before, during and after the transplant that these cells would begin to do their miraculous work as quickly and perfectly as possible. 
     Don has been a little nauseous this morning so he is being given medication to keep that under control and he is sleeping a lot.  Your continued prayers for the next 10 days will be very important as his counts continue to drop from the chemo blast last Thursday.  The doctors assure us that after about 10 days he will feel better as his immune system recovers.  It is also very important that Don get up and walk around this floor of the hospital - please pray that he will be able to do   this even when he doesn't feel like it. 
     With thankful hearts,  Don and Marcie
   

STEM CELLS BEING INFUSED

JOANN, THE INFUSION NURSE WHO HAS
 BEEN DOING THIS FOR 35 YEARS!

    

CHEMO BLAST...AT LAST!

Dear family and friends, 

     We are blogging from the hospital where Don has just been given the major chemo blast that we have been waiting for for nearly a year. Please pray that this chemo will be effective in killing any cancer that remains in him. Tomorrow morning he will receive his stem cell transplant.  Pray specifically that the stem cells would do their work which is to rebuild Don's bone marrow which in turn will rebuild the immune system.    

     The downward cycle of Don's immune system should last about 10 days. During that time possible side effects include fever, diarrhea and nausea. We would really appreciate your prayers for him, that he would suffer minimal side effects and that he would not get an infection or pneumonia.  Once his immune system begins to recover he will start to feel better.  

     Our new doctor has just recently come to UH from MD Anderson in Texas. He will be working with Dr. Lazarus on my case. Everyone at UH has been very professional and kind to us. 

     Please feel free to send text messages, emails or cards to Don, but because he is so exhausted and vulnerable to infection he is not able to have visitors at this time.  It is best to send cards to the house.

     With love and gratitude,

     Don and Marcie

     

  

GOOD NEWS!

Hi everyone:
Just found out this morning that Don's number is at .9!  We are so thankful and so excited!  Praise the Lord!  We meet with the transplant doctor this Wednesday, so a more detailed update will be posted later this week.
Thank you for the many, many prayers that have gone heavenward on our behalf these last several months!
Don and Marcie

WE ARE ENCOURAGED!

Dear family and friends,
     As summer turns into fall, we are reflecting on the fact that it has been almost a year since our unexpected journey began.  It was just about a year ago exactly that Don began to experience back pain, while training for his 12th marathon.  A marathon he still intends to run by the way!  For the last couple of weeks he has been running 3/4 to 1-1/4 miles on the bike trail once a week with the help of his walker, a couple of friends and a number of "rest" breaks .  It has been such an encouragement for him to be able to do that!  He was also able to do some swimming and found that to be the most pain-free form of exercise he can do.  He also set up his new bicycle  (the one he got for his birthday but isn't allowed to ride outside) on a stand and has been riding it as a stationary bike.  He is up to 8 minutes on the bike and so glad that he can do these forms of exercise to get strong again!
     We were also encouraged by our visit to the oncologist on Monday.  The cancer has crept down to a 1.2, after remaining at a 1.4 for 2 months!  Although not a huge drop it is still movement in the right direction and we'll take it!   We are getting closer to the number needed for the stem cell transplant.  Don has begun another round of outpatient chemo which will take him through to almost the end of September.  We praise God that this chemo has not caused him to suffer strong side effects and he is able to continue working. 
     Marcie is back to school and getting back into the routine of early mornings, teaching, lesson plans, grading papers, etc.  She and Don are especially thankful for friends and family who help with transporting Don back and forth to work and doctor's appointments.   Also for those who keep us supplied with delicious meals several times a week.  And we thank God for meeting all of our financial needs through many generous friends.  We are truly blessed by all of you!
     You know how a song gets stuck in your head sometimes?  Well, here is the one that has been stuck in mine for quite awhile now.  It comes to me often first thing in the morning and again while I am driving.  "The steadfast love of the Lord never faileth.  His mercies never come to an end!  They are new every morning, new every morning;  great is thy faithfulness oh, Lord, great is thy faithfulness!"  We pray that you are experiencing His mercies anew every morning and His great faithfulness every day!

Prayer Requests:

• That the cancer would continue to drop and - this is the important part - stay in remission until the   stem cell transplant.

• That Don would be protected from any infections since cold and flu season is just ahead.

• That the Lord would go ahead of us in preparing all the details and timing of the hospital stay for the stem cell transplant. 

With much love and grateful hearts,
Don and Marcie