Today was the last day for eyedrops! Jeremy toughed out the last dose and said goodbye to eyedrops for this round.

Praise God,  Jeremy ate well today, with some minor nausea.  He kept it down, though.  Always a good thing.

We had a hard time sleeping last night.  I was in bed with Jeremy and Alice was on the couch.  Jeremy was tossing around, eyes wide open, staring at the wall.  I asked him what he was thinking and he just said, “Oh, nothing!” A few minutes later he told us, “My sad.”  We asked why he was sad and he said, “My sleep with Mommy.”  We told him it was only going to be a little while longer.  I got up to get something and with no obstacle keeping him from his Momma, he crawled over to the other side of the bed and reached out for Alice long enough for me to snap this photo.

Forty-eight more hours and they can cuddle all they want.

Jeremy had a dressing change today.  Praise God that the last few have been easy on his skin and haven’t caused any severe irritations.  Today, though, in the middle of the change, Jeremy had to use the potty really badly.  Not wanting to move him around with his site completely exposed, we told him it was ok to go in his diaper, but he refused and insisted on the potty.  The nurse rushed a bit and the central line site area may not have fully dried before she put on the new dressing.  Praying that there will not be any irritations or opportunities for bacterial growth.

Jeremy was also unhooked from the IV pole today.  It’ll be nice for him to be able to roam around without being tied down for a while, hopefully the entire time we are in-patient.

Otherwise, not much new today. Chemo is done and now it’s waiting for his counts to drop and come back up again. He’ll be neutropenic very soon, a period of time in which he will again be highly susceptible to infection. Alice and I, along with our parents who bring us meals all have to be extra cautious to avoid anyone who’s ill or showing signs of illness. A small cold for us can be devastating for him. This is especially true when he goes to bone marrow transplant. Speaking of, no news on that perfect bone marrow donor match yet.

Praise God for how Jeremy has been through all of this – potty training, resisting the urge to scratch where he’s not supposed to, laying still and helping with the preventative care on his diaper area, toughing out his eyedrops, taking his medication, eating, drinking, being in good spirits, clearly communicating with us – just in general being so adaptable. Praise God for how He continues to sustain and strengthen Jeremy.

Alice continues to feel contractions, just not labor contractions, though they seem to be getting closer together.  Can’t predict anything, just taking everything a day at a time, enjoying every God-given moment.

Praise God:

• for how He continues to strengthen and sustain Jeremy
• that Jeremy came into this round with great counts
• that Jeremy can be unhooked from his IV pole
• Jeremy is fever free
• Jeremy ate well today
• for the uneventfulness of today
• that Alice and I continue to be in good health
• for how Ant’s work continues to be extremely flexible and understanding

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 pain
• that Jeremy will not encounter any life threatening side effects during this round of chemo
• 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 continue to protect Jeremy’s heart from the lasting effects of the medication (mitoxantrone) from the last round
• that God would protect Jeremy from any bacterial, yeast, or fungal infections
• that Jeremy would not encounter any infections so that he can remain unhooked from the IV pole for the duration of this round
• 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 will receive during this block of treatment
• that God would continue to protect Jeremy’s central line and there would be no additional infections as a result of it
• that today’s dressing change would not cause any irritation or opportunities for bacterial growth
• that Jeremy would sleep well during this round of treatment
• that Jeremy would continue to eat well during this round of treatment
• that Alice and I would not get sick in order to care for our family
• that God would protect Alice and baby brother from all the emotional stress
• 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 from baby brother’s birth
• 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