Praise God for another quiet day.  Jeremy continues to eat and be fever free.  He was feeling a little grumpy today and was very attached to Alice.  He cried when she left the room to eat.

We were told that today will be one of the last “good” days for some time.  Tomorrow, Jeremy starts yet another medication to help with graft rejection and bring his counts down – ATG.  It is likely to cause flu-like symptoms, so it’s expected that Jeremy will be feeling pretty crummy over the next 4 days.  We are praying that Jeremy will not feel too badly and will be able to eat and play.

We were also told today that his liver numbers had gone up a bit.  The doctors aren’t too concerned, but will keep an eye on it.  He will have daily monitoring of his liver from this point on.

Jeremy also had the nose swab done today.  He really doesn’t like it and it’s easy to see why.  It needs to go pretty far in and it looks extremely uncomfortable.

The side effects are expected to kick in over the next week – mucousitis, fever, infection, organ damage.  We’re praying that Jeremy will not encounter any of these side effects and that he will continue eating and being his playful, energetic self.

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Those two lines are Jeremy’s message to you.  He started hitting keys when I stepped away.

Jeremy’s also had a few scrapes since we’ve been admitted.  He’s bumped his head twice on the bed rails got a small scratch on his foot.  He’s got a lot of pent up energy and it’s difficult to help him get it out in such a restricted environment.  He should be fine for now, as his counts haven’t started dropping dramatically yet, but when his counts go down, these small bumps can be more serious.

I’ll have to end this update abruptly.  Jeremy is starting to get very rambunctious.

Praise God:

  • for Him, His presence that comforts us
  • Jeremy maintains his energy level and playfulness
  • Jeremy is eating well
  • Jeremy continues to be fever free
  • Alice, Matty, and I continue to be in good health while we stay with Jeremy

Please 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 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 Jeremy would clear the congestion/runny nose
  • that nothing will come out of the nose swab that was done today
  • that God would protect Jeremy from any scrapes or bumps
  • that Alice and I would not get sick in order to care for our family
  • that Matty would nurse easily and sleep well
  • that Matty’s diaper rash would heal and not cause him too much discomfort
  • that God would give us wisdom in teaching Jeremy in the hospital environment
  • that we would extend Jeremy an extra portion of patience and grace as we try to care for him with the added hyperactivity
  • that we would adjust well to the new challenges of being in the BMT unit, with all it’s necessary rules and regulations

Please pray for the conditioning chemo regimen:

  • that it would be effective in destroying any lingering cancer cells
  • that Jeremy would not encounter any mucousitis (mouth, GI tract sores) that would prevent him from eating or drinking
  • that Jeremy would not encounter any fevers during the neutropenic period
  • 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 and antibiotics
  • that Jeremy’s behavior would be unaffected by the pre-medications he receives with each dose of chemo
  • that the new chemotherapies Jeremy will receive over the next  4 days will not cause any nausea or vomiting or any additional harm to his vital organs
  • that the new antibiotic will not cause any c-diff and that it would be effective in preventing any harmful infections
  • that the new medication, ATG, will not cause Jeremy to lose his energy, playfulness, or appetite
  • that Jeremy’s liver numbers would stabilize and the chemotherapies would not cause additional stress to his liver
  • that Alice, Matthew, and myself would not be harmed by the chemo we might come in contact with when changing Jeremy’s diapers

Please pray for the bone marrow transplant:

  • that the potential 9/10 donor would follow through with donation, so that a haplo transplant can be avoided and thus avoiding total body irradiation and a riskier transplant
  • that the donor cells would engraft, that Jeremy’s body would not reject the transplant
  • that Jeremy would not encounter any graft vs. host disease, acute or chronic, especially anything severe or fatal
  • that God would protect Jeremy’s skin, kidneys, liver, stomach, and intestines from both the donor cells and the medications used to treat and prevent gvhd

Please pray for our family and neighbors:

  • for our neighbors who are also enduring trials of their own, that they would find their comfort in Christ
  • for our parents – that they would have rest and place their trust in Jesus and receive His comfort
  • that we would be witnesses of God’s love and grace to our neighbors and the medical staff