It’s now past mid September, which means that baby brother will be due in less than a month.  We’re excited and anxious about his birth.  Excited because we are overjoyed that God has blessed us with another child and we are eager to welcome him into our family.  Anxious because we have no idea what it will be like to care for an infant and a toddler undergoing chemotherapy (along with it’s side effects) all while being confined to a small hospital room, without the supplies and facilities we would normally have at home.

With the marrow donor searches still turning up poor results, we also await God’s response to our prayers (and yours) for baby brother to be a match for Jeremy.

Being in the hospital 24/7 and caring for Jeremy has been slightly more manageable with both Alice and myself fully available for anything that he needs.  Baby brother in the mix will be a new challenge.  We’ve discussed whether we should split up for a bit – Alice at home with baby, me with Jeremy in the hospital.  We decided that it’s best for Jeremy that we stay together, at least for now.  Jeremy needs his family, now more than ever, and his emotional well being will play a tremendous part in his recovery.

Still, we are anticipating a lot of challenges,  even just the practical things – where/how baby will sleep, changing his diaper, giving him a bath, his feeding schedule, washing his clothes – these are all things that we will need to do in the hospital.  We can’t strategize now on what will happen where, but I imagine that there will be a lot of trial and error to figure out what will work and what will not.

There’s also going to be a lot of adjustment for Jeremy.  We have no doubts that he’ll be a great big brother, but he’ll now also need to share his Momma with baby.  The other night, right before bed, Alice and Jeremy had this conversation:

Alice: Hey Jeremy, when dai dai (little brother) comes, we’ll all be sleeping in the same room.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Alice: Mommy, Daddy, and Jeremy will be here and dai dai will be over there (pointing to the crib next to our bed)
Jeremy: No.
Alice: No? Where will dai dai sleep?
Jeremy: On the floor.

Cute, but it may be a precursor of things to come.  Please pray for adjustment for all of us as we transition.

As for Jeremy, he’s still just soaking up all the freedom.  Running, jumping, playing, and then back to running again.  He also received some toys and things from his uncles and aunties and had a great time playing with them.

Jeremy has labs tomorrow to determine if he will be able to start round 3 of chemo.  It’s weird.  We’re eager to see what his counts are because it’s an indication of how he’s recovering.  But we also don’t mind if he’s not quite there yet because it means more time at home, more time to find the marrow donor.  There are so many unknowns.  The only thing we do know – with absolute certainty – God is in complete control.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Praise God:

  • for Him, for working in our lives
  • Jeremy’s negative MRD result (this is ongoing, I just like to remind myself)
  • baby brother continues to grow and kick about
  • Alice and I are in good health to care for our boys

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 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 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 everyone who needs to be involved in the cord blood collection would be diligent and the collection and processing would go smoothly
  • 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 from the lasting effects of the new medication (mitoxantrone)
  • that God would protect Jeremy from any bacterial, yeast, or fungal infections while he is home
  • 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 from the medications he received from this last block of treatment
  • that God would relieve Jeremy of the traumatic stress of the skin biopsy procedure
  • 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 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 adjustment for all of us when we welcome baby brother into the family
  • that baby brother’s birth would be free of complications and that it would be quick and easy
  • that Alice would recover quickly
  • that baby brother would nurse easily and sleep well
  • 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