Am I Really Home?

When I headed for M D Anderson near the end of May, I took a "Nazarite" vow. I did not take any instrument to shave with. So my beard grew and grew and grew. Following is the evidence. The final photo shows that it is great to be home. By the way, I did not drink any alcohol either.

A quick update on my situation: We came home immediately after my second round of chemo was finished; we have an appointment back at MDA on August 21, conditional on my blood counts being satisfactory; I have to go to the hospital every day for an infusion of anti-fungal medicine.

Twitter is a wonderful thing for our family. I love the way it is working for us.

Flexibility

It appears that one must remain flexible in getting treatment for cancer. Our instructions were to come to M. D. Anderson every evening at 7:00 pm for an infusion of Ambisome, an anti-fungal medicine. The process would take about 3 hours each time.

But everything has to be pre-approved by our insurance or there is a chance I would have to pay the full amount for the treatment. So we started following up on the pre-approval process Thursday afternoon. The person helping us was on top of it, and submitted request right away. On Friday afternoon, the person helping us called and said that the request was sent for investigation by the insurance company, but Friday was a holiday so everyone was out of the office. Therefore no approval would come before Monday. We started calling everyone we could think of to get help. Finally we called the nurses station in the ward where I had been for the last three weeks. They knew how to get in touch with a doctor. They called back in a few minutes and said the doctor had ordered a pill to be taken orally, that insurance would definitely pay for it, and we could pick it up at the M. D. Anderson pharmacy. We drove up to the hospital and picked up the pills, and went by the place I was to take the infusions and told them I would not be coming in for any of the appointments they had me scheduled for.

This method of treatment may not be as effective as the infusions, but it surely is more convenient. Now I take a pill in about 5 seconds instead of driving, infusing, and driving for about 4 and 1/2 hours. We should find out Wednesday when I finally see the clinic doctor how much damage has been done by this change, but I an expecting there to be NO damage. I think the doctors were just being very cautious. We shall see.

At any rate, one must remain flexibile. Monday I will have some blood tests to see how my counts are doing. In the meantime, I am doing some walking, and trying to get back to a more normal life. It sure is nice to walk from one room to another. We are really enjoying visiting with Tinker and Betty.

God is good.

Out But Not Free

I spent last night in a real bed next to my sweet wife. What a joy! Of course, the bed is here at Tinker and Betty's house. They are such good hosts. It is a joy to be with them.

For the first time in 30 days I am not connected to the infusion tower that I would have to roll to the bathroom with me and then plug back in to the electricity when I was done. I am OUT of the protective environment. My WBC has, in the last few days, gone from 0.0 to 1.4. Yeah!. My platelets are in the normal range. My hemoglobin is still a bit schizophrenic, but I do not need any transfusions.

However, I am not free. We have to go in to M. D. Anderson every night at 7:00 pm to get an infusion of antifungal medicine. This will continue until Wednesday when I finally get to see the clinic doctor. After that I do not know what will happen. There are several options. But at this time, my chemo treatments are following a "best-case" scenario. So I am asking you to continue to pray for my treatments to work, and work in such a way that we can get back to Abilene as soon as possible. Thank you for your love and support.

Remission

I waited a day to write this note so that I could be slightly removed from the euphoria of the moment. The best of what we have been praying for is happening. On day 29 of my treatment plan, the preliminary report from the bone marrow biopsy showed that the blasts were down to 4%. That is low enough to be officially called "remission." Of course, I still have cancerous stem cells in my marrow, but now my body can again produce the blood that I need to exist. My blood counts are coming up, and when they reach a point that satisfies the doctors I will be released from the hospital. I will remain in the Houston area long enough to begin the long-term treatment of the leukemia. Be and I will be staying with my brother who lives in League City, south of Houston. What could be better? From now on, I should have treatment on an out-patient basis, some of which can be done in Abilene. I do not know details of a schedule yet.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude. First of all to God, the Great Healer. But please understand -- if this treatment had not worked, God is still good. Second I am grateful to my family. The love and support I feel makes living a precious gift, each moment to be savored and cherished.

Finally, to the Body of Christ on this earth, I extend my sincere thanks. Hundreds, if not thousands, of this Body have been praying for me and for Be, and encouraging us daily . It is a humbling experience to be the center of such devotion. We are accepting this gift in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, and to the praise of His glorious name. I and my family have been lifted to a higher plain in the spiritual world, and we are eternally grateful. May God bless each of you with spiritual gifts that are beyond what you could ever dream or imagine. There is no boundary to God's mercy, love, and grace.