This is going to be really disjointed.  Really just a bunch of notes here, haven’t had much sleep.

Praise God for His timing around Matthew’s birth.  Everything kind of fell in to place that day.  Jeremy hit his fever at 4:30am, so he slept in and didn’t wake up until around 10:00am.  Thankfully, we were there that morning so that we could get the information around the procedures following a fever.  That pushed everything out in his daily routine.  He ended up skipping his afternoon nap and we aimed for an earlier dinner.  Alice’s grandparents came with dinner at around 5:30pm and that’s precisely when the contractions really started to hit.  We were admitted to labor and delivery and Jeremy fell asleep that night around 9:30pm, without too much crying from missing us.  Alice and I spent the night together, with Matthew.  The next night, we split up – Alice with Matthew and me with Jeremy.

Jeremy really missed Alice.  But we were gone long enough so that he even missed me.  When I came back down to take care of him for the rest of the day, he kept telling me, “Hey! You’re back!”

It’s not possible to accurately describe the emotions we went through those two days, so I’m not really going to try.  It was rough for both us, Alice and myself, our hearts in two different places at once.  Praising God for the birth of our second and pleading with Him to provide rescue for our first.

We were all happy to be back together again when Alice and Matthew were discharged.  Needless to say, it was a sleepless night for Alice and myself (though more so for Alice).  Praise God, Jeremy slept though Matthew’s crying, but he still ended up sleeping late just because our schedules have been so thrown off.

Jeremy is the big brother we were praying for him to be.  He’s been very gentle with his little brother and even protective/possessive of him.  Yesterday, one of the nurses asked if she could bring Matthew home.  Jeremy looked at her and said, “No, only looking.”  Today, when my parents were over, he saw them touch Matthew and promptly told them, “STOP!”  We asked him to lower his voice and ask nicely, which he did.  Then Alice explained to him that Grandma and Grandpa love Matthew, too.  Jeremy nodded and allowed them to approach Matthew.  When Matthew was crying today, Jeremy gently patted him on the arm and said, “It’s ok, 弟 弟 (little brother), I’m here, I’m here.”  Love our boys.

Praise God, Jeremy continues to be fever free after that first spike three days ago.  They were able to take off the tobramycin, but they are continuing with the vanco and zosyn until the bacteria causing his infection is identified.  He also has a spot on his arm, which hasn’t gotten too much better, but also hasn’t gotten worse.  We spoke to the doctors and they are not recommending a skin biopsy, as it looks similar to the one he had last time.  However, they did mention that it’s likely that the source of the infection was his central line.  Even if the infection clears, they will need to speak with the bone marrow transplant docs about whether or not the line should be replaced.  If the line is a known cause of infection, the only permanent treatment is to take the line out and replace it.  Going into bmt with a line prone to infection is serious and dangerous.

No word yet on whether or not Matthew is a match for Jeremy.  We continue to wait on the Lord and know – that He works for the good of those we love Him (Romans 8:28).  Love Him we do, and we hold on to His promises.

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Praise God:

• for Him, His working in our lives
• for Him, He renews our strength
• that Jeremy and Matthew are getting along
• that Jeremy has been fever free and continues to eat well
• that we are able to stay together as a family
• that our families have been a tremendous help with everything
• that God provides support through the nursing and medical staff

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 Matthew would be a match for Jeremy 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 the cord collection would be sterile and free of contaminants
• that Jeremy would not experience any more stomach pain
• that Jeremy would not experience any discomfort when using the potty
• 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, fungal, or viral infections
• that the blood cultures would show something easily treatable
• that God would guide the doctors in the decisions being made regarding Jeremy’s central line
• that Jeremy would not encounter any more fevers for the duration of this round
• that God would protect Jeremy’s kidneys and livers as they process the antibiotics and residual chemotherapies
• 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
• for adjustment for all of us as we learn to care for one another in the hospital setting
• 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