Saturday, August 8, 2009

11 days...but who's counting! :)

This is the email that Gary sent out yesterday....it is wonderful to report that they might be home in 11 days! I'm not sure who is counting more than they are...maybe the us kids...or maybe the grandkids(no actually we have spared them the need...and haven't told them yet...I know how disappointed I'll be if it doesn't work out...I don't want them to have to deal w/ that) Keep praying...as he will tell you the next days are still critical....but each day that passes by w/o any issues means he is less and less likely to have issues creep up!


Dear praying friends:
Shirley and I were encouraged today by the "counts" we received at the Bone Marrow Clinic and we are told that this is exactly the progress they want to see. The "rash" (which is a result of Donor Vs. Host disease) is minimal. They said that it is good to see "some" of this for it showed that the new cells were getting acquainted with the older cells in my body. The amazing thing is that I now have the blood type of my donor. So I went from an O to an A+. I like the letter, wish I had had more of these while I was in school, But isn't that miraculous that the very life of someone else is now that which is keeping me alive. We just Praise the Lord.

They are spreading out our visits to the clinic and most of the time we go now on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and have the other days "off". As we progress, if counts stay stable this will be extended and ultimately will result in our being released from Duke and sent home to our own physicians. I can hardly believe it. 140 days ago, I was near death and now have the hope and opportunity to live once again. Thank you all for your continuing prayers. These next 2-3 weeks is a critical period and we are praying that all stays stable.

Shirley is doing a wonderful job keeping me up to snuff on my medicines, creams and just coordinating our days. I literally could not have come this far without her. Isn't is marvelous how the Lord "orders" all things

We look forward to the day when we will be together to praise His name!
Gary & Shirley

3 comments:

Susan said...

That's awesome Beth! Continuing to pray that all goes as well as it has been and they will come home in a few weeks.

♥ Karen Luke ♥ said...

So happy for you and your family!!! Chris just mentioned that we need to get together...he specifically mentioned Ian...loves his prayers before a meal and how he told Chris he didn't want to hold his hand~ so seriously! LOL! Love and miss you!

BE said...

I am so happy to read this good update. We will continue to pray for your whole family. Thanks for keeping us updated.