It is So Good to Be Home...

There is something about arriving home after a few days away that makes everything in us take a sweet breath of contentment. No matter how kind everyone is at the hospital, the saying "there is no place like home" is so true! Just pulling in our driveway brought a sense of peace and rest. What a gift!

The first things we did were unload everything at the front door, make our juice protein drink, feed the pups, and sit! We are learning that some things can just wait and others can't. In fact, the bags are still lined up by the front door this morning. For those of you who know me well, that speaks volumes to my learning to rest in the Lord. :-)

On Tuesday we return to Dr. B.'s where Stew will receive an injection. The hope is this injection will keep his WBC where it should be until the next chemo. The side effect of the injection can be a lot of bone pain. He is also on two antibiotics for the next 30 days. The goal is to help him stay healthy as they try to achieve remission for his body so a stem cell transplant can take place.

From this point on Stew is not to go out in public, but if he has to, then he is to wear a mask. He is to do his best to avoid anyone who is ill, or even feels they might be. Looks like he is back to being the "Masked" cancer fighter!

We were also told that the side effects of chemo will kick in approximately a week after each treatment...and they can be intense. We are praying that Stew is the exception and would so appreciate if you would agree in prayer with us.

This morning is a new day filled with new mercies that follow all of all His children all the days of their lives. We are thankful and hopeful!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the  Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6

Keeping you close in heart and prayer,
Stew and Deb
Face to the Wall

P.S. A friend shared the following song with us.

https://youtu.be/NLk9U3W6f9U


After listening to it, Stew's comment was: "what grabs me is the phrase "He's bigger than the universe." It led me to the thought that when I remember He is "bigger than" then I realize He is truly "greater than."

 Love the way my husband's mind works!

Taken from Stew's journal notes this morning:

Anticipation, expectation, scriptural, in hope, spirit-led, reciting the word, desperation, pleading, thanksgiving, universal, and pinpoint . In listening to the responses to the blog sent off this morning at 4 am, by 6 am many of the above types of prayer had already been received.

I am so blessed with family who pray, friends who pray, co-workers who pray, Internet blog prayer warriors who pray, churches who pray, pastors who pray, delivery people who pray, and those in the Pray for My Dad prayer group who pray. 

Whenever my story is heard, Your Grace enters in and the response is always an offering of prayer; 
some in promise
some in enlisting others to join.
One in particular called his pastor to pray for me right then over the telephone.

Each of these touches Your heart, God, as they touch mine.

I thank you, Lord, for their love and their responses.

Blessed be Your Name.

Hospital Update

It's the wee hours of Sunday morning. Stew's vitals have been checked and 3 am labs taken. Our room is quiet except for the soft clicking sound of the machines and his peaceful breathing. Hopefully we will be able to return home today.

He has done well except for some headaches, a reaction to the prep IV, and bone discomfort. The chemo protocol this time is called DHAP with Ritoxan and steroids. It has been a much longer treatment as the Carboplatin alone requires 2 ten hour IVs.

We did learn that normally no more than 3 cycles are given because as the doctor shared, "the body can not handle more than that." (That alone speaks volumes to us as to how strong this chemo regimen is.) So, after the next cycle a pet scan will be taken to check for the remission we are prayerfully seeking, followed by one more treatment.

Medical City Dallas is a new hospital for us, but the staff  here on the 12th floor cancer ward are so professional,  kind, caring, and helpful. They even sweetly tease Stew and I for being so "cute." Not sure what that means, but we will take it!

We have walked many times around the floor while here, and each time we pass the door for the stem cell lab hope springs up that one day soon there will be some healthy ones in there labeled with Stew's name.

As strange as it may sound, we do miss the infusion center. Not because of the chemo treatments we received, but because of the fellow cancer patients we journeyed with while there. There is a quick and close camaraderie that can happen when people are walking in a similar experience. Except for a few,  personal walls rapidly come down and hearts are bared. Relationships in that moment quickly bypass surface hellos, and connect in the laughter, tears, frustrations, encouragement, and joy that comes from a warring place of pain, hope...and for some, faith.

To Stew and I, it was a picture of what relationships can be in the body of Christ.

May your today be filled with hope.
Love,
Stew and Deb
Faces to the Wall