Another retroactive update.  It’s hard to get these updates out on time.

Praise God for each day He gives us with our boys.

Praise God, it looks like we may be able to get out of here by this weekend.  They kept us here for the first week of treatment to see how Jeremy would tolerate the new medications.  Praise God, Jeremy’s been doing well and they’re comfortable with letting us be home for the rest of this treatment.  A bone marrow aspirate will be scheduled in about 3 or 4 weeks to see how the leukemia responded.  We are praying hard that God will place Jeremy in remission.  As long as the Lord continues to open doors for Jeremy to be well, we will walk through them.

The results of the lumbar puncture showed no leukemia cells in Jeremy’s cerebral spinal fluid, Praise God! We also learned that the blast count in his peripheral blood has not increased.  Through it all, God has poured out His loving mercy on Jeremy and we are in awe of His provision.  God is good.

Jeremy, despite being back in the hospital, is trying to make the most of a difficult situation.  He does Legos, reads stories, sings, dances and plays iPad.  God has blessed him with incredible resilience.  Jeremy still looks out for his little brother.  The other night, I got frustrated (again) with Matty’s poor sleeping habits.  Jeremy was cuddling with Alice in the hospital bed, but wasn’t asleep yet.  I raised my voice a bit and made a fairly loud and harsh shushing noise at Matty in an attempt to quiet him down by being louder than him (parent of the year, right?).  Jeremy got up and said to me, “Daddy, don’t do loud shhh.  Remember the verse? A soft answer turns away wrath.  Don’t do wrath, Daddy.  Sing Baby Mine softly.  Don’t do wrath, Daddy.”  Praise God that His word is in Jeremy’s heart.  The verse is from Proverbs 15:1, Jeremy’s bible verse from earlier this week.  “Baby Mine” is the song from Dumbo, when Dumbo is briefly reunited with his mother after she is chained and caged for defending him.

For us, there are still ups and downs.  Many times in our prayers we have wept and cried out to God, asking Him why He would choose this suffering for Jeremy.  So much of this is out of our hands, yet at the same time, there is comfort in that very truth.  I don’t believe for a second that Jeremy is being punished for some great sin in his life, nor do I think it’s some hidden, unconfessed sin in our lives (John 9:1-3).  God is at work here and we can only trust in Him.  Praise God that we are able to approach His throne with confidence in Christ. (Hebrews 4: 14-16).

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9: 1-2, 9-10)

Thank you all for praying for Jeremy.  Praise God, he has been open to praying for his own healing again.

Here are some photos from our week in the hospital.  Jeremy is still playing iSomething, reading, being silly, and planking (in that order).

Here’s a video of Jeremy and Matty, just hanging out.

Please continue to pray with us.

Praise God:

  • for His goodness and faithfulness
  • for His protection and mercy over Jeremy
  • Jeremy’s CSF is leukemia free
  • the blast count in Jeremy’s peripheral blood has not increased
  • Jeremy is eating well and fever free
  • we get to go home this weekend

Please pray:

  • that God would receive all the honor, glory, and praise for this trial
  • that we would fix our eyes on Him
  • for spiritual protection from the enemy’s lies
  • that our families would have the Lord’s peace and comfort as we all wrestle with the recent news of Jeremy’s current situation
  • that God would miraculously heal Jeremy from this aggressive disease
  • that God would give us wisdom in making the best decisions for Jeremy’s care and treatment
  • that the new treatment would be effective in treating the relapsed leukemia
  • that God would strengthen and protect every inch of Jeremy’s body – his brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas – from the side effects of the new treatment
  • that God would protect Jeremy from any dangerous or fatal infections during his treatment
  • that God would protect Jeremy from mucousitis, stomach issues, or any other painful side effects from the chemotherapy
  • that Jeremy would be able to eat and play through the upcoming chemotherapy
  • that God would give the doctors wisdom in treating Jeremy and recommending next steps
  • for our protection (Alice, Matty, and myself), that we would not be exposed to any of the medications being used in this next treatment phase