Praise God, the blood draw and dressing change today went fairly well.  Blood draws have become more or less routine and painless for Jeremy because drawing from the central line is much easier than trying to draw peripherally.  Before Jeremy had his central line placed, we had to get blood draws every evening and nurses had to poke him several times in difference places, while we held him down, before finally drawing blood successfully.  Now, it’s just a syringe pulling it out from his central line.  The dressing change went well,  but there still seems to be some irritation on the areas surrounding it.  Jeremy’s been scratching more than he has in the last few days, but we are praying that it doesn’t turn into a full blown allergic reaction.

We were also able to get the results of the blood draw from today.  Praise God, his counts were looking much better!  His white blood count, hemoglobin, and neutrophil count were still slightly below normal, but his platelet count was right in the normal range.  This was great to hear because prior to this, his counts were basically zero, which means he’s now producing these counts on his own, without the support of transfusions.  The nurse we spoke to on the phone said he’s looking good for his procedure tomorrow, meaning he will not need any transfusions.

We didn’t find out until today the specific time of the bone marrow aspirate and LP (lumbar puncture/spinal tap).  They will be on Thursday, August 9, at 1:30pm.  We will find out the results on Monday, August 13, at 10am.  We’re nervous about the results, as they will determine Jeremy’s risk category, but casting our worries and anxieties on the Lord has become a daily activity and we continue to pray that Jeremy will be low-risk.

Praise God:

• that the dressing change went well today
• that the blood draw showed good results
• that the brief exposure of the central line site that one time Jeremy scratched it off in his sleep doesn’t seem to have caused any infection
• that we have been able to catch up with family throughout our time out of the hospital
• that Jeremy remains his playful, energetic self

Please continue to 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 God would provide full and complete healing and total health for Jeremy
• that the regenerating bone marrow would produce only good white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets
• that the bone marrow aspirate on August 9th would show no leukemia cells (that Jeremy would be in remission)
• that the bone marrow aspirate on August 9th would be performed without incident and there would be no allergic reaction to any of the sedatives used
• that we would be diligent in Jeremy’s line care
• that we would not see any more fevers for the duration of Jeremy’s recovery, especially since we are at home and would like to avoid going back to the hospital
• that the additional antibiotics for the fevers would not cause any kidney damage
• that the rash under the dressing on his central line site would heal quickly and we would not need to give him any more Benadryl
• that the irritation from the previous dressing would continue to subside
• that the current dressing would not cause any allergic reaction
• that God would continue to give Jeremy an extra portion of His strength, so Jeremy would continue being his playful, energetic self.
• for safety and protection for Jeremy, since we are now at home without immediate access to medical assistance
• for wisdom for us in being careful about where we can take him to prevent any of us from getting sick
• that we would continue to be in good health so we can care for Jeremy during the subsequent blocks of treatment