Praise God for another fever free day.  Jeremy had a great day of eating.  We’re glad for that since he has to fast for most of the day tomorrow to prepare for the bone marrow aspirate.  We tried to load him up on food and snacks so that he won’t be too hungry tomorrow morning, but we’ll have to see.  Jeremy’s best and favorite meal is breakfast, so it will be a difficult one to skip.

After labs were drawn by our homecare nurse this morning, we were left with the decision of whether or not to give him a GCSF shot.  We were told that there was a 50/50 chance he would need it.  With those odds, the recommended course of action was to give it.  We were going to do it ourselves, under the watchful eye and guidance of our homecare nurse.  Last time we gave it through Jeremy’s thigh.  This time, we were going to use the soft part of the right side of his belly.  I gathered up the meaty part of his stomach by lightly pinching it and injected the needle.  Well, tried to anyway.  Jeremy was already crying before the needle went in and when it did partially, I couldn’t get it in as far as it had to go and panicked and pulled it out.  The instincts just kind of kick in there.  We’re not trained health professionals.  If we do something that causes our children to cry due to pain and discomfort, the instinct is to stop.  With the failed injection on the right side, we had to try again on the left.  This time, it went in easier and it was done and over.  Jeremy, trooper that he is, was quick to forgive the fact that I had botched the first attempt.

It was a rough morning.  Honestly, we’re not sure how many more of these shots we can give him ourselves.  We know what needs to be done and how to do it, but working up the nerve to do it and actually doing it is the hardest part.  And it hurts.  It hurts him and it hurts us to have to do it.  I felt that needle break through his skin.  It was awful.  The other day, we were playing and he said, “Daddy, I give you a small poke, then you get a surprise.”  As he was approaching me with his tiny hand positioned in the way he thinks is how one would hold a needle, he told me, “Go, cry.  It’s ok.”  Kids play, imitating real life.  We’re heartbroken to say that this is his life right now.

The lab results came back and showed that his ANC had indeed dropped, so that GCSF shot was necessary.  Praise God that He orchestrated it so that we had a health professional here with us while we did it.  I received a call from our outpatient nurse practitioner and she told us that we may be able to switch the GCSF shots from 3 times a week to 2 times a week.  If that was the case, I asked if the homecare nurse could administer those injections.  If we don’t have to, we don’t want to and if it needs to be given, it’d be better for a trained professional to do it.  Praise God for the opportunity to be relieved from this part of Jeremy’s care.

The aspirate continues to weigh on our hearts and we continue to lift it to the Lord.  Thank you all for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

While the morning was difficult and emotional, the rest of the day was, thankfully, quiet and uneventful.  Jeremy spent the rest of the day learning, playing, eating, and sleeping.  Praise God for these quiet days.  Here is our official Day +40 photo.

Praise God:

• for His peace through Jesus Christ
• Jeremy is fever free
• Jeremy is eating well
• Jeremy continues to have great energy

Please pray:

• that God would continue to use this situation for His glory
• that we would be obedient to God’s plans for this situation
• that we would continue to cast our worries and fears on the Lord, that we would fix our eyes on Him
• that we would continue to be reminded of God’s greatness and provision, that we would wait on Him, and that we would not allow fear to creep in
• that we would rejoice in the moments that God gives us
• that God would provide full and complete healing and total health for Jeremy, that the bone marrow transplant would be Jeremy’s final cure
• that Jeremy would not develop any late effects from the chemotherapy and drugs used to treat him, especially any second cancers
• that Jeremy would not have any brain, liver, lung, kidney, pancreatic, heart, or any other type of organ damage as a result of the chemo and antibiotics
• that God would protect Jeremy from any scrapes or bumps as his new marrow is not producing enough platelets yet to avoid transfusions
• that Jeremy would not experience any spontaneous bleeding from his nose, central line, or anywhere else on his body
• that the CMV would be eliminated from his system, that the CMV would not infect Jeremy’s lungs or cause any issues with his eyes
• that Jeremy would not encounter infections for fevers while he is home
• that Jeremy’s counts would start trending up more, especially his ANC, so that he will not need any more GCSF injections
• for Jeremy’s mental and emotional healing from the traumas he’s endured for the last 6 months and whatever he will have to face in the future
• that Alice and I would not get sick in order to care for our family
• that Matty would nurse easily and sleep well
• that Jeremy would maintain the desire to pray
• that God would give us the proper balance in caring for Jeremy and Matty

Please pray for the bone marrow transplant:

• that the donor cells would engraft, that Jeremy’s body would not reject the transplant
• that Jeremy would not encounter any graft vs. host disease, acute or chronic, especially anything severe or fatal
• that Jeremy would experience the maximum graft vs. leukemia effect, that cells produced by the new marrow would attack any cancerous cells
• that God would protect Jeremy’s skin, kidneys, liver, stomach, and intestines from both the donor cells and the medications used to treat and prevent gvhd
• that the mismatched blood type would not cause any issues for Jeremy

Please pray for our family and neighbors:

• for our neighbors in the bmt and oncology unit who are also enduring trials of their own, that they would find their comfort in Christ
• for our parents and families – that they would have rest and place their trust in Jesus and receive His comfort
• that we would be witnesses of God’s love and grace to our neighbors and the medical staff