Waiting for Healing

Right now it's like we're playing the waiting game. There's a battle going on inside Jerry's body with the chemo drug trying to knock down the leukemia blasts. We won't know until October  if the drug is doing what it's suppose to do.

Jerry is suffering from some of the side effects of the chemo drug. He tires easily and hasn't a very good appetite. He's lost a little more weight. We're still trying to take a day at a time. We know we have a good God who is still in control.

Grandchildren sure help raise our spirits. A cherished moment with PawPaw and Hayden.

They were watching Beauty and the Beast.

Please don't stop praying. We need your prayers more than ever now for this alternative treatment that they are giving Jerry. If it works, they can consider doing the transplant.

Also we want to thank everyone who brought meals last week - Murriel Stiltner, Dorothy Huggins, LaRue Jones, Jack & Edith Pope, and Mary VanCleve. Your thoughtfulness means a lot to us and it was a great help last week with us being at the hospital every day for the treatments.

We love you and thanks again for the prayers, love, and support.

In His Hands.....

God's Plans

I always marvel at people who have their whole lives planned out ahead of them. When they were going to retire, where they were going to live, how much money they were going to save, how many kids they were planning on having. They forgot to include in their planning an almighty God who is in control of our present and our future.

It helps me to know that He is in control, because I don't think we have ever been able to plan anything in our lives. Whenever we did, God always had other plans for us. I have always been amazed at that. Even when we didn't understand the why behind it, we knew that God loved us and He always had something better for us.

Even through this, we want to question God and say "Why"? But we know that through personal experience in our lives, God's plan is bigger and better than any that we have. We know He's a good God Who loves us.

Today was the last day of chemo for three weeks. We go to the oncologist here in Greenville on Monday for them to check Jerry's blood count. Our prayer again is that this alternative chemo treatment will work and knock the leukemia blasts down. Please continue praying.

In His Hands.....

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

It was two months and one day ago that Jerry was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Since then it has been like we have been on a Merry-Go-Round ride that just doesn't stop. We have felt every emotion - good and bad. We have cried and we have laughed. But through it all, we have continually brought our focus back to the Lord Jesus knowing He's the Author and Finisher of our faith. And we have never wanted anything but His perfect will for our lives.

When I first got saved and Jerry rededicated his life, one of the first hymns we learned was -

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

God Bless and We Love You,
Jerry and Patricia

The New Chemo Treatment

Today was the second day of the alternative chemo treatment for Jerry. It is a 5 day treatment We go to Pitt County Hospital each day as an out patient. The treatment takes about 2 1/2 hours. The good part about it is that they were able to do it here in Greenville which is definitely a lot more convenient for us.

Our prayer is that this chemo drug will knock down the leukemia blasts enough that they might be able to do the transplant. Also pray that Jerry will not have a lot of side effects from the drug. So far he is doing good with it.

We are still so amazed by the way God is working in our lives. We realize as we come to each phase of  the treatments, He's already working things out for us even before we know our needs.

As we were leaving  the hospital today, we saw  Bro. Sam Harris. What a blessing and encouragement he is.

I know we say this over and over, but we are so grateful for family, friends, churches,  and all their love and prayers shown to us.  Also we always look forward to the encouraging words people post on our blog.

Keep Going Forward!

Blind Eye to the Telescope

When Lord Horatio Nelson was fighting the Battle of Copenhagen, his senior officer, Sir Hyde Parker, also known as “Old Vinegar,” hoisted the flag signaling retreat. Nelson was blind in one eye. Nelson deliberately put his telescope to his blind eye and said, “I do not see it.”

If he had surrendered when it looked like defeat, he would not have captured twelve Danish ships.

I don’t see defeat. Do you?

            When you’re fighting the Battle of Perspective, Satan will hoist his flag, trying to discourage you. Remember to put a blind eye to the telescope. Refuse to see the retreat flag. Keep going forward.

This morning we went to Duke Clinic to see Dr. Diehl, Jerry's regular oncologist. He always gives us the bad news first, so at first we were afraid he might not continue treatment. He said the heavy dose of chemo in the hospital did not work and that was the strongest chemo available.

He said Jerry had two other choices - to do nothing or to try another less invasive chemo drug, the one recommended by our transplant oncologist, Dr. Chao. Dr. Diehl agreed with Dr. Chao that this drug would be worth a try.

We couldn't just sit by and do nothing. So we decided to try the other chemo drug.

It will be a 5 or 7 day round of injections of a chemo drug called vidaza. After 3 weeks, he will undergo another round of injections. Then after another 3 weeks, he will return to see Dr. Diehl and have another bone marrow biopsy to see if the drug is helping with the leukemia. Jerry might have to receive another round of injections, if the drug has not knocked the leukemia down.  If the drug knocks the leukemia down to where they can do a transplant, then we will continue with the transplant.

The good news is that they set it up to do the injections here in Greenville. We will not have to travel back and forth to Duke for the injections. That is going to be so great.

We are still taking a day at a time. We know that we have a good God and He's Already In Our Tomorrow! He put it in two doctors hearts to be in agreement with this new treatment. We were told there are no guarantees with this, it's an alternative treatment, but we need to try. We need to KEEP GOING FORWARD!

We appreciate your prayers as we begin this treatment.

 

Thank You!!!

I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.  ~William Shakespeare

It's hard to know how to say Thank You to people who have been so kind and have given a part of themselves to be such a blessing to us.

All the wonderful visits, cards,  and good meals these past few days while we have been home have been such an encouragement to us.

We had some long time friends from Kentucky, Perry & Judy Newcom, come for a couple of days. It was so nice. We had a wonderful visit and hated saying good-bye.

And what a sweet time of fellowship we had with Bro. Johnnie Brown. Even though we know he had a broken heart and missing his son, Ryan, who went home to Heaven recently, he was such a blessing, encouragement  and testimony to us of God's love.

And thank you, Bro. Lee Johnston, for keeping Jerry stocked up with Chocolate YooHoo Drinks and Gatorade. He's very happy!

And all the wonderful meals this week  - From Carlton and Carolyn Smith, Dawn Brown & Family, Lisa Aldridge & Tina Speight. Thank you all so very much.

We have so enjoyed everyone's visits and support and the love and support from our family and church family. 

In the morning we'll be headed back to Duke Clinic. We are praying that they will be able to do the 7 days of chemo and start the transplant process. Please be in much prayer about this. We are very hopeful.

In His Hands.....

 

Hope

This morning as we drove to Durham for the appointment with the new oncologist, we had no hope. We had been told by our regular oncologist that they would not be able to do anything else because the leukemia was coming back too aggressively. We were wondering why we were even going -  just to hear more bad news. But we went ahead and met with a bone marrow/stem cell transplant oncologist. After checking Jerry's bone marrow biopsy, he came back to the room and told Jerry that he felt that he could do the transplant. It will be a less invasive chemotherapy treatment, but it will target Jerry's particular problem with his leukemia.

If our other oncologist agrees and they are sure he will, Jerry will receive an injection of a chemo drug for 7 days straight and wait 3 weeks and receive another round of the chemo drug. Then after another 3 weeks, they will check Jerry's blood to see if the chemo had worked. And if it has, they will be able to do the stem cell transplant.

They are already working on obtaining a donor through Jerry's siblings and through the national bone marrow registry.

It will be a long process. If they are able to do the transplant, we will have to move to Durham for about 3 months.

We left knowing there was hope once again.

We want to Praise the Lord and to thank everyone for their  love, support, and prayers.

Psalms 71:14

But I will HOPE continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.