Psalm 18:29 For by you have I run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
Dear Friends, I am so grateful to report to you that chemotherapy rounds 1-6 are complete!! So, even though I don’t feel like I have “jumped over a wall” today, and though “running through a troop” has been no walk in the park, make no mistake– God has carried us through every trip, treatment, and transfusion. (I’m getting one even as I type!) And, as we look forward to stem cell transplant, currently scheduled for September 5, I am a bit shaky, but excited and crazy optimistic! The docs have informed me that all has gone well, and that I have tolerated my treatments very well. Yay! The blood game has become routine, as about ten days after the beginning of my inpatient treatments my blood counts begin to drop. Today I was informed that my white blood cell count is a big fat 0! And hemoglobin and platelets are crazy low. So, thus the transfusions earlier referred to. If we weren’t assurred that the Lord is perfectly in control, and if we had not been here already numerous times, this would be a time of fear. Meanwhile, Mark jr. is packing up, and preparing to head to Maranatha thursday. I’m hoping to have the “get up and go” to go to Watertown and at least make up his bed, and put out his toothbrush and toothpaste. Mom and Dad Brooks are on the road–again even as I type– for a visit with us Brooksies and Lydia, Matt, and their kidos. We look forward as usual to a sweet time with them.
As far as prayer requests go, there are many procedures, tests, and scans required before the transplant. I need to be healthy and gain as much strength as possible before September 5th. There are a number of calculated risks associated with the transplant, including serious stress on the heart, and increased risk of Leukemia down the road. So, we don’t go into this lightly, and if there is more information we need, or a different course of action to be taken, we are trusting God for wisdom and guidance. It is reassuring to have an army of prayer-partners behind us– thank you so much!! As far as the actual transplant process, it will begin with six days of high-dose chemotherapy. Day seven is a day of rest. On day eight, I will get my stem cells, and then, it is a wait game. Those stem cells will need to go to the bone marrow, settle in, mature, and begin reproducing. It is at this point that I will be at the highest risk of infection and will be in Froedtert for at least nine days. Mom and dad Nowack plan to be here to help us navigate through these uncertain days and I am most thankful to them for this. A brand new immune system will take time to mature, and so we will need to be so careful. It seems a bit daunting, but as God’s child, I know He is already there. If I can trust Him with my soul’s salvation, I know I can trust Him with this. None of this has been accomplished without much love and help from our own dear Heritage Baptist family, our former church family- Calvary Baptist, and other precious friends. . Each card, prayer, gift, visit, and meal provided has been a gift from the Lord, and has blessed us tremendously, and enabled us to go on in courage. I wish you all a great week as we all see school and Fall in the not-so -distant future, and will look forward to “chatting” again soon. Blessings, Melissa
