Hi Friends - not much to report around here but since our silence apparently makes people a little worried for us, I thought I'd just give a brief update.
James completed dose #7 of chemo last Wednesday. We are thankful that James's body holds up so well to chemo. Other than his bald head, people might not otherwise know that he is undergoing treatment...though this time around I noticed that even his eyebrows have thinned out considerably. I hope they hold on until the bitter end. Ha!
Dr. Gupta runs blood work on James each week he's in chemo, and his "numbers" continue to be very good, meaning that all things considered, he's not much at risk for infection, anemia, or bleeding out. Whew. And last week, Dr. Gupta reduced the steroid that James has been on, which meant James was able to get a bit more sleep this week. Wonderful blessings. Additionally, James continues to notice a decrease in pain, which surely is a sign that the chemo is "working." We always hasten to add, though, that this chemo is not exactly seen as a cure - it may work on the remaining tumors, to reduce their size or even eliminate them, but apart from God's miraculous healing, James's chances of survival are quite slim. (Cheery, I know...sorry! Welcome to our world...)
However - As James is handling things so well, and as the sun continues to rise each day, we find ourselves settling in to this "new normal." We've adopted the attitude of "You might be dying, but you're not dying today." We have today. (Isn't that all any of us have, really?) We continue to be strengthened and encouraged by your prayers, and face each day with tremendous hope and confidence. We believe that God is at work, and we are trusting that James will be healed. We continue - as I know you do - to plead before God for life, for completely restored health. Naturally, we are longing for the day when this season is behind us - at the same time, we know that God is working good things as we learn to wait on Him and persevere.
[As an aside, we know many of you have been praying specifically for James's family - some events are unfolding in our absence that indicate the Spirit moving in their hearts. Please keep praying for them, that His work would not be hindered, and that Light would shine in the darkness.]
A date to keep in mind - on October 9th James will have a PET scan. Who knows what will be revealed! We will likely get the results October 14th. Of course we'll let you know...
Thankful for you all...
james & kristen
No comments:
Post a Comment