Praise God, the last few days have been relatively uneventful.  Thank you all for your prayers.

From 8/30 – 9/3, Jeremy was hitting 38 C at least once during each 24 hour period.  But because that temperature didn’t persist for more than an hour each time it spiked, he never had a true fever and was never put on more antibiotics.  Yesterday, 9/4, was his first 24 hour period not hitting 38 C.  Additionally, because he hasn’t had a true fever, they were able to detach one side of his central line.  That’s great because it’s less weight on the line hardware, so there’s less stress on it and it’s a lighter load for Jeremy to deal with when he’s walking around.

Speaking of walking around.  We haven’t done too much of it lately.  With the skin biopsy and his late nights throwing off the daytime routine, it’s been difficult to find those opportunities.  Today was better, though.  Jeremy was up between meals and got to walk around and play on his feet.

In regards to appetite, it’s been getting better.  Praise God, thank you for your prayers.  He gained a little bit of weight, which is great. They turned down his fluids when they discontinued the more toxic antibiotics, so he’s been drinking more on his own.  Jeremy’s a bit of a picky eater and every meal can be a challenge.  He’s learned something new to make things even more fun for us.  We gave him a spoon of food today and noticed that he was chewing on it for a really long time.  Turns out, he had swallowed it a while ago, but just kept pretending to chew so we wouldn’t offer him another spoon.  This guy.

Jeremy’s also been doing great on his potty training.  Since the last post, I think we’ve only seen messy diapers in the evenings when he’s asleep.  This is a praise because with the chemotherapy, there’s a higher risk of skin irritation and breakdown the longer kids sit in a dirty diaper.  The more he uses the potty, the less risk there is to him of irritation in his diaper area.

We also had a dressing change today (every Wednesday, this round).  The nursing staff thought it would be ok to go back to the chlorhexidine, which is more of a skin irritant for Jeremy and gave him a huge reaction last time around.  It is the more effective cleaning solution though, and preferred to betadine.  We agreed to it this time because Jeremy has recovered well since that last reaction and he hasn’t show any sign of new reaction with that biopatch they put on, which is soaked with chlorhexidine.

Child Life Services came around today, too. Actually, I think it was a special visit because she’s a friend of a friend. She brought along a baby doll with a central line that Jeremy could care for, which he enjoyed.  He got to play with all the real, official medical supplies.

All in all, it’s been a quiet few days, which is always good.  We talk to the doctors and when they don’t have any new news they say, “You want to be bored in the hospital.  Bored is good.”  We agree.  We like bored.

And it looks like Jeremy’s counts are trending upward!  We’re excited to see his neutrophil count go up, which means that this round is nearly complete and we will get to go home, even if it’s just for a little bit.  It’s a reminder, though, that bone marrow transplant is around the corner and a match still hasn’t been found.  But God has taught us much in regards to waiting on Him and we surrender this situation, the search, the transplant, everything to our Heavenly Father.

“I remain confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27: 13-14)”

我深信今世必能看见耶和华的美善。
要等候耶和华，要坚定不移地等候耶和华。

I also wanted to take a moment to request prayer for our parents.  Our parents have been here everyday since diagnosis and have been providing meals around the clock.  They’re great.  I often forget, though, that in addition to being saddened as they witness their grandchild undergo these treatments and all the associated side-effects, they also worry about Alice and myself, their own children.

Praise God:

  • for Him, for Jesus in whom we have eternal hope
  • that Jeremy is covered in prayer by the fellowship of Christ
  • that Jeremy gained some weight and continues to eat
  • that Jeremy is fever free and additional antibiotics are not necessary
  • that there is no indication that Jeremy’s central line will need to be taken out
  • that Jeremy continues to be energetic and playful
  • that baby brother is doing well
  • that Alice and I are in good health
  • for blessing us with such wonderful family and friends

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 God would sustain Jeremy through this block of treatment
  • that Jeremy’s bone marrow aspirate at the end of this block of treatment would show < 5% blasts (leukemia cells) in his bone marrow and negative MRD (minimum residual disease)
  • that God would provide with the whole process of finding a bone marrow match, the risks of transplant, and the anxiety of it achieving long-term remission for Jeremy
  • that word would continue to get out about the need for a perfect bone marrow match and that one would be found for Jeremy
  • that Jeremy’s little brother would be a match and that there would be a sufficient volume of cells in the cord blood to qualify for a good transplant
  • that God would give Jeremy an extra portion of His strength for this block of treatment
  • that we would not encounter any side effects that would affect his appetite – nausea, vomiting, mouth sores and that Jeremy would have a good appetite throughout the entire block of treatment
  • that Jeremy would not experience any more stomach pains
  • that Jeremy would not encounter any life threatening side effects
  • 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
  • that God would protect Jeremy’s heart with the new medication (mitoxantrone)
  • that Jeremy would not encounter any more fevers due to bacterial, fungal, or yeast infections, especially in his neutropenic state
  • that the antibiotics will be effective and that the line infection Jeremy has will clear up quickly
  • that there wouldn’t be any more line infections and that we wouldn’t need to replace it at any point during Jeremy’s treatments
  • that God would protect Jeremy’s kidneys and liver as they process the antibiotics coursing through his system
  • that fevers Jeremy does encounter would subside quickly
  • that Jeremy skin biopsy site would heal quickly and would not cause too much pain or discomfort
  • that God would relieve Jeremy of the traumatic stress of the skin biopsy procedure
  • that the skin bumps would not be a result of any additional infections and that they would fade soon
  • that God would continue protect Jeremy’s central line and there would be no additional infections as a result of it
  • that today’s dressing change will not cause any skin irritations or itchiness
  • that Jeremy would sleep better at night
  • 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 Alice and I would not get sick in order to care for Jeremy
  • that God would protect Alice and baby brother from all the emotional stress
  • that baby brother would be full term before deciding that he wants out
  • for our neighbors who are also enduring trials of their own
  • for our parents – that they would have rest and place their trust in Jesus