Monday

After a week of additional chemo, Bonnie was discharged from Sparrow Hospital Saturday evening. We can’t say enough about the nursing staff on 5 West that have become like family to us, although we wished it were due to other circumstances. The care and compassion they have shown to us has been incredible, even the housekeeping staff (or environmental services staff) has the same caring characteristics as the nurses. It’s a comfort to know that should an unfortunate turn of events require us to go back to 5 West, we have friends ready and waiting to care for us. Please pray for the 5 West staff as they have an incredible responsibility day in and day out.

Now that we are home, Bonnie is doing okay, however the chemo is still working in her body to deplete the White Blood Cells. Along with the depletion of the WBC comes the reduction of her platelets and hemoglobin. More than likely, she will need to visit the Cancer Center later this week as an outpatient for a blood transfusion. As the hemoglobin decreases the fatigue increases. Thus far she has not had any intestinal side effects like she did the last two rounds of chemo, which is an answer to prayer. Right now the side effects (other than the fatigue) are limited to sores in her mouth, an infected big toe and heels that are sore and tender. The sores in her mouth are very painful and run up the nerve to her ear. This limits her ability to talk and eat, however she does have a “magic” mouthwash that numbs the area to make eating more palatable (no pun intended). The infection in her big toe isn’t serious, however it is very uncomfortable to stand or wear shoes. If you recall, the first two rounds of chemo caused Bonnie’s fingernails to curve in and fall off. Now her toenails appear to be doing the same thing, however it is causing ingrown toenails. A podiatrist came to the hospital to do a minor procedure on Bonnie’s other big toe with the same issue. Because her blood counts are down, she will have to wait to have the other nail cut back or removed. Please pray that the pain will be minimized.

We are still waiting to hear from Karmanos Cancer Center on the testing of the blood of the three potential perfect matches for the bone marrow donor. We are thankful that three out of the six agreed to go to the next step and continue to pray for each of these individuals that they would indeed be a perfect match, that they would be willing to be a donor, that their schedules would fit Bonnie’s and that God would bless them in a special way.

I (Steve) had my (hopefully) last chemo treatment this past Thursday. I wished I could say that my body is getting used to the poison, but it seems the side effects of nausea are prolonged after each treatment, which I learned is not unusual. I have also found that the upper respiratory issue (wheezing and coughing) is not necessarily from a lingering cold, but rather a side effect of the chemo. The coughing becomes tiresome and has strained some of the ligaments along the sternum so it is somewhat uncomfortable. Please pray that I can endure the nausea as well as the coughing and that both will subside soon.

We are grateful for our small group that we have been involved with for over 19 years. They have been the nucleus of the incredible rings of support that have surrounded us since this journey commenced. We had our traditional end of summer dinner scheduled for this past Wednesday when we learned Bonnie was to be readmitted to the hospital. The rest of our group quickly changed plans and brought dinner into the hospital so that we could all be together. They all wore hats so they could be cool like Bonnie and I!

As events and circumstances in our lives ebb and flow, God wants us to continually be in His word as it never loses its freshness. It’s almost as if a specific trial, such as what we’re dealing with, is like putting on a unique set of glasses that opens a whole new vantage point of God’s word that could not be seen before. For that reason, we are grateful for this trial and continue to pray that God will enable us to continue to see more depth to His words we have read so many times over the years. Yesterday we read Psalm 100 as a family:

1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

In verse 1 we are to make a joyful shout or noise to the Lord, regardless of the circumstances we face.
In verse 2 part of that joy is serving Him with gladness and singing, regardless of our earthly trials.
In verse 3 we can take comfort in knowing that it is He that made us and we belong to Him and He knows our suffering. Jesus our Shepherd is watching over us and knows our needs.
In verse 4 we are to be thankful to God for all things, including the trial of having leukemia and lymphoma (which is easier said than done and requires a lot of prayer – particularly when we are feeling the harsh side effects of the chemo and disease as well as the unknowns and uncertainties).
In verse 5 we are comforted knowing that God is good (in all things) and that in the midst of the storm we can still experience his goodness and mercy which is the source of our joy.

We pray that we will continue to be thankful to God for the trial we are enduring. True thanksgiving brings us a supernatural joy that is never ending. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Steve and Bonnie