Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day! I hope that everyone is able to enjoy the sunshine like we are in Omaha! Things continue to go well, and I continue to feel great- praises!! I think the shots are making Keith a little sore, but he doesn't complain so we don't really know. Tomorrow morning, 7-12, is the first (and hopefully last) day of stem cell donation. Should know by tomorrow evening if we got enough.
Our days are in your hands...

A busy, fast week

It's been a busy and fast week in Omaha- lots of visits with ancillary hospital staff for both of us and several trips to the lab for Keith. I received all the final results on my bone marrow and everything came back completely cancer free!!
Last night we went to the Omaha Royals - a "normal" activity!! For the next several days, we're "free" except for Keith's daily shots to stimulate his bone marrow. Still praying that the donation process will be quick and painless for him - done in 1 day! In the meantime, the only thing on my agenda is to continue getting stronger, enjoying having my appetite back and cherish the sunny days of feeling good!
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure. ~Psalm 16:9

"Schedule"...

Sorry that it’s been a couple days, but I’ve been very busy enjoying the sunny weather and hanging out with friends – it’s been great remembering what it feels like to feel good! Praise God! I originally wasn’t happy about the delay in getting my transplant, but having a few weeks to regain strength is probably a good thing. I’m glad He’s in control.
Here’s our schedule for the next couple weeks:
5/25 Keith starts lab work, meet doctors…
5/26-27 Random appts for me with specialists…
5/28-5/31 growth factor shots for Keith
6/1 Labs and start stem cell collection (this will be a long day, please pray for Keith)
6/2-6/3 continued stem cell collection if needed
6/4-6/7 weekend at home!! :)
6/8 I get admitted to hospital
6/9-6/12 Scheduled for final round of chemo to prep for transplant
6/14 TRANSPLANT DAY (if all goes according to schedule)

Thanks for all your continued prayers and special thanks to everyone that was able to attend Saturday’s prayer service!

Answered prayers!

After a long day of testing yesterday, I met with Dr Vose today and they can't find any signs of cancer! I'm officially in remission!!! They have a few more tests to run on my bone marrow but said that even if they see microscopic evidence of the lymphoma, we'll still be moving forward with the transplant. They were all very optimistic with where I'm at after all the chemo. So, as soon as I finish getting a couple units of blood, (they weren't impressed with my anemia), we'll be heading for home! Going to be a long day full of sitting on a sore bum after yesterday's bone marrow. Later this week I'll send out the schedule for transplant preparation.
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" ~Jeremiah

Prayer Request for Tuesday

It's been a good couple days - over the weekend the rain dampened some of my plans, but I was still able to see some friends and family, felt decent, no fevers! Praise God!
Tomorrow I head up to Omaha for restaging and would love any prayers that you can send my way. It will be a day full of testing to assess the effectiveness of the 4 rounds of chemo. We're praying for remission of the cancer. After the testing on Tuesday I'll meet with Dr Vose on Wednesday to find out if everything is "a go" for the transplant. At that point I'll have a slightly more definite time-line of events (which I'll share in a future post) and hopefully answers to some of my many questions.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Glad that's over...

Yesterday was a bit of a scary adventure. After going to the clinic for a seemingly innocent fever on Tuesday afternoon, by Tuesday night I wasn't feeling well and by Wednesday I was light-headed/passing out, still running fevers and feeling kind-of like I did when in the hospital. (Thankfully, Tues night the symptoms were feeling similar to past experiences so I had restarted some antibiotics for GI infections). Mom took me to the clinic Wednesday afternoon where they gave me steroids, IV fluids and more antibiotics. After going to bed at 7:30p, I woke up feeling much better and am so grateful that I was able to get the Flagyl started Tues night otherwise I'm sure I would have been toxic by Wed. Not exactly the week I had expected, but each day is a gift and today is better than yesterday.
"Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you hear me always" ~John 11:42

Each day is an adventure

Fever is back today, back to the clinic...

Well, today is a little step back from yesterday, but I'm praying that it will be short-lived and a result of my bone marrow rebounding. I really don't feel too bad but back on IV antibiotics until cultures show negative.

Still thankful for a new day!