Friday,

Bonnie’s White Blood Cells doubled from 400 yesterday to 800 today, and of these new WBC, 80% are the disease fighting type that her body needs. Obviously we are thrilled and very excited to see what God has in store tomorrow. Thank you so much for your specific prayers on this extremely important part of her recovery.

Even though she now has 800 WBC, the doctors stressed that Bonnie continues to be on “neutropenic watch”. This is a fancy name for being extremely cautious in everything see does in and out of the room; from the food that can and can’t enter the room, face masking and washing of hands every time in and out of the room and no flowers (thank you to many of you who sent cards with flowers on the front – which have been taped up on the wall together as sort of a flower collage).

The Infectious Disease doctors again stopped by and said the cultures have yet to grow anything new of concern. They are slowly going to start eliminating some of the IV antibiotics which ultimately means fewer interruptions in the night. The diarrhea has slowed down considerably and now we have to work through the mental aspects as I (Steve) mentioned yesterday.

Bonnie’s overall stability continues to be the ultimate objective so we can get to the next step of the bone marrow transplant process. Please continue to pray that we would see significant improvement over the weekend.

Today I (Steve) had both a PET Scan and a radiation setup. I should know the result of the bone marrow biopsy and the PET Scan on Monday. The radiation setup process was to prepare for my first round of radiation on Monday which will continue throughout the week until the chemo process is set up.

I continue to deal with extreme pain in the sacrum area. The prayer is that the radiation will shrink the mass enough to eliminate some of the pain on the nerve endings. The doctors have changed the pain medication which has helped to minimize the discomfort, but this medicine not only makes me extremely tired (I keep falling asleep as I write this), but is like all other pain medications in that it causes constipation. Thus far we’ve been fairly transparent on this blog, so I decided why not also ask for prayer on this issue as well. The doctors have a written regiment for pain pill constipation and thus far nothing has worked. Please pray that I’ll find relief and at the same time manage the pain.

As we were getting ready to shut out the lights for the night in our room, I assisted Bonnie in the bathroom with getting ready for bed and while she was standing we hugged one another. It was such an emotional charge to each of our physical and mental batteries just to hold one another in our arms. I reminded her we are not alone in this battle. We need to praise God that we’re not alone because Christ is at the center of our marriage. We know that there have been many occasions to discuss praising God with one another, with our kids and in previous blog post. I was so encouraged the other day when our son Caleb pointed out to me something in his daily Bible reading that was titled “How Can I praise God When Life Doesn’t Go Well?” It was based on Psalm 77:11-12:

“I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.”

The devotional started off by saying:

“When life’s twists and turns take you down unexpected and difficult roads, it can sometimes feel strange to praise the Lord. Yet He seeks our praise in ALL things – whether they appear good to us or not. So how can you praise God when adversity finds its way into your life? First, remember that our God is good and always gives us ample reason to praise Him. Second, remember that God’s overriding purpose in your life is to glorify Him and that He will use any means necessary to accomplish that. Ask Him to change your perspective so that you will see your life circumstances as he does. Third, by exercising your will, make a conscious choice to praise Him. Despite how you may feel, praise really can flow from you like a fountain.” Dr. Charles Stanley

Tonight the embrace we had in each others’ arms along with consciously recognizing we were not alone, but surrounded by Christ’s love, IS the source of that fountain of praise we continue to draw from as we strive to preserve through this trial.

Thank you again for all your prayers!