It looks like Jeremy’s counts aren’t going to be high enough to do the bone marrow aspirate this week.  His counts are still climbing up, but just not to the point where a bone marrow aspirate would give an accurate enough assessment of his remission status.  They’ve rescheduled for sometime next week.

That also means that Jeremy will need to have his stitches taken out tomorrow, without sedation.  Originally, they were going to be taken out while he was under for the bone marrow aspirate.  Understandably, Jeremy is still very scared of anyone going near his leg.  He’s been extra sensitive with the skin biopsy site the last two days and wouldn’t let us change the bandage without some serious convincing on our part.  The doctors tell us that taking the stitches out is a very simple, 5 minute process … for anyone holding still.  We are praying for God to give Jeremy peace when the stitches get taken out.

When Jeremy actively gets chemo, I’m usually the one who sleeps with him.  With the delayed bone marrow aspirate and IT (intrathecal) chemo, it means that Alice and Jeremy get to continue sleeping together for a while longer.  We’re all ecstatic about that.  Here’s one of Jeremy’s favorite sleeping positions.

Praise God for another fever free day.  Jeremy continues to be his playful self.  When we look back at the last two months, we really see how much Jeremy’s matured physically, mentally and emotionally.  He’s able to verbally express himself so that we can have real conversations with him.  He’s gotten a little bit taller, he’s practically potty trained, he can say “flucanazole” (an anti-fungal med).

With the maturity also comes testing boundaries.  When he doesn’t get his way or is upset or frustrated, he can sometimes hit instead of using his words.  It’s hard to find that balance being in the hospital.  We want to teach and discipline, but there are times when it’s easy to see why he would be so upset.  He says no when the doctors try to assess him, but we have to tell him that they need to make sure he’s ok and so he allows it, even though he had already used his words and said no.

Still, we’re so thankful for how God’s made him.  Even with the difficulty of being in a hospital room all day, every day, he’s remains a very sweet kid.  He tells us he loves us at least once a day (multiple times for Alice, I’ll get at least one).  It’s been hard knowing that he’s growing up in the hospital, but we rejoice being present for every minute of it.

Tonight, Jeremy prayed, “Dear God, thank you for today.  Thank you for pokes.  Thank you for this bandon (pointing to his leg).  Thank you for spider out.  Dear God, heal me.  In Jesus mane, Amen.”

On a side note, we’ve been here long enough to get to know some of the nurses that come in and out of our room.  There have been nurses that aren’t ours for the day, but come in anyway, just to say hi.  Please pray for our interactions with them.

Praise God:

• for Him, for His provision
• Jeremy’s counts continue to go upward
• Jeremy has been fever free
• Jeremy continues to eat
• for giving the doctors wisdom in holding off on the aspirate
• baby brother continues to grow and kick about
• Alice and I are in good health

Please continue to pray (new/updated items in bold):

• 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 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 next week would show < 5% blasts (leukemia cells) in his bone marrow and negative MRD (minimum residual disease) and that the procedure would go smoothly
• 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 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 God would relieve Jeremy of the traumatic stress of the skin biopsy procedure
• that God would comfort Jeremy when the stitches on the skin biopsy site are taken out next week
• that God would continue protect Jeremy’s central line and there would be no additional infections as a result of it
• 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
• that God would give us wisdom in teaching Jeremy in the hospital environment
• that we would be witnesses of God’s love and grace to our neighbors and the medical staff