"Thank the Lord because He is good. His love continues forever." (Psalm 107:1)
It has been a while since I have blogged but I want to write when there is a medical update. A dear friend from church, Norma, drove me to St. Louis yesterday for blood work and to see Dr. Dipersio. Blood work was good - some counts still high and some still low but all in all he was pleased. He took me off of one of the anti-rejection drugs, CellCept, and reduced the other anti-rejection drug. I see him again in a month with blood work every two weeks. I am continuing the Pantamedine treatments for a year (once a month) and also the Immunoglobulin treatments. He told me I could get out in public some but to protect myself as best I could. He said if someone is about to sneeze around me, run. Lord willing, I am going to try to go to church on Sunday.
We have so much to be thanful for everyday of our lives, but this Thanksgiving I am especially grateful for what God has done in my life this past 15 months. I stand in amazement! And I owe a debt of gratitude to all of you who have been so faithful in praying for me and my family. We serve an awesome God who is aware of everything that happens in our lives, and He Cares.
May you all have a wonderful day of giving thanks with your family and friends is my prayer.
Love,
Becky
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday - Day 120
Dear Friends and Family,
"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisifies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle." (Psalm 103:1-5) What a blessing to know the Lord and have Him in our lives every day, but especially when we are going through sickness and other trials in our lives.
As you can tell, I have not been blogging like Barb did but some days are uneventful as far as sharing on the blog. In fact, a friend in Ky. said she wasn't even checking the blog anymore because she thought I wasn't writing on it any more. To those of you who might check once in a while, I had another Immunoglobulin infusion yesterday at St. John's. Everything went well. They also drew blood so I won't have to make another trip to Dr. Hoos' office just for blood work.
A couple from West Plains, MO shared the room with us yesterday. Her name is Marsha and I think her husband's name was Terry. She had a stem cell transplant in St. Louis in May using her own stem cells but it didn't work very well. She is having some problems now. It is amazing how God puts people in our lives when we least expect it. She was encouraged to hear my testimony of what God has done in my life through bouts with cancer. You know, we don't have to preach at people. All we have to do many times is share what God has done in our lives. Share our faith in Him. Please pray for Marsha and her family.
Thanks to everyone for your continued calls, cards, visits, food brought in and especially prayers. Bill Yoes, one of the elders at Glendale, brought by a video Tuesday night that the young people on Wed. nights had made for me. They sang, read scripture, and had sweet comments to me. Needless to say, I cried some tears. Our youth praise band, "Reality", from Glendale was also on the video and they are so good. It is wonderful to see young people using the talents God has given them to glorify Him!!
Please continue to pray for gaining of strength and stamina and for patience. I miss being in church and out with family and friends. But "this, too, shall pass" as my Momma used to say.
Love in Him,
Becky
"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisifies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle." (Psalm 103:1-5) What a blessing to know the Lord and have Him in our lives every day, but especially when we are going through sickness and other trials in our lives.
As you can tell, I have not been blogging like Barb did but some days are uneventful as far as sharing on the blog. In fact, a friend in Ky. said she wasn't even checking the blog anymore because she thought I wasn't writing on it any more. To those of you who might check once in a while, I had another Immunoglobulin infusion yesterday at St. John's. Everything went well. They also drew blood so I won't have to make another trip to Dr. Hoos' office just for blood work.
A couple from West Plains, MO shared the room with us yesterday. Her name is Marsha and I think her husband's name was Terry. She had a stem cell transplant in St. Louis in May using her own stem cells but it didn't work very well. She is having some problems now. It is amazing how God puts people in our lives when we least expect it. She was encouraged to hear my testimony of what God has done in my life through bouts with cancer. You know, we don't have to preach at people. All we have to do many times is share what God has done in our lives. Share our faith in Him. Please pray for Marsha and her family.
Thanks to everyone for your continued calls, cards, visits, food brought in and especially prayers. Bill Yoes, one of the elders at Glendale, brought by a video Tuesday night that the young people on Wed. nights had made for me. They sang, read scripture, and had sweet comments to me. Needless to say, I cried some tears. Our youth praise band, "Reality", from Glendale was also on the video and they are so good. It is wonderful to see young people using the talents God has given them to glorify Him!!
Please continue to pray for gaining of strength and stamina and for patience. I miss being in church and out with family and friends. But "this, too, shall pass" as my Momma used to say.
Love in Him,
Becky
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Day 111
"Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, 'Rejoice'". (Phil. 4:4)
Dear Friends and Family,
I am REJOICING again after hearing from the bone marrow biopsy. There is NO sign of cancer; all cells are normal. Plus, I am still at 100% donor cells which is great! There is a possibility of losing some cells, but so far, so good. We certainly serve an amazing God! How I thank Him and how I thank all of you for your prayers and support!
Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Ozarks and I went outside and walked a little ways down the street and back. Most of the week is supposed to be nice so I am planning to walk some every day, if possible. Of course, I will be wearing the mask, cap, and jacket even if it is warm. By the way, the hair is coming back in but I am not sure what it is doing exactly. Maybe a little more time will tell. At least it is coming back in.
People have been so kind to bring food in. It is all been very good and very helpful.
No doctor's appointments or treatments this week. So just a week of trying to gain strength.
Please rejoice with me over the great news and continue to pray for daily strength and patience. I miss being in church and around friends and family.
Love,
Becky
Phil. 4:4-7
Dear Friends and Family,
I am REJOICING again after hearing from the bone marrow biopsy. There is NO sign of cancer; all cells are normal. Plus, I am still at 100% donor cells which is great! There is a possibility of losing some cells, but so far, so good. We certainly serve an amazing God! How I thank Him and how I thank all of you for your prayers and support!
Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Ozarks and I went outside and walked a little ways down the street and back. Most of the week is supposed to be nice so I am planning to walk some every day, if possible. Of course, I will be wearing the mask, cap, and jacket even if it is warm. By the way, the hair is coming back in but I am not sure what it is doing exactly. Maybe a little more time will tell. At least it is coming back in.
People have been so kind to bring food in. It is all been very good and very helpful.
No doctor's appointments or treatments this week. So just a week of trying to gain strength.
Please rejoice with me over the great news and continue to pray for daily strength and patience. I miss being in church and around friends and family.
Love,
Becky
Phil. 4:4-7
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Day 103 Post Transplant
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Phil.4:4
Dear Family and Friends,
That is what I am doing...REJOICING!!! As you know, we went to St. Louis Sunday evening for early appointsments on Monday morning. I had a Pet Scan, blood work, saw Dr. DiPersio and Stephanie (PA) and had a bone marrow biopsy that afternoon. When I saw Dr. DiPersio, he had the results of the Pet Scan and said there was NO evidence of lymphoma!!! And he expected the bone marrow biopsy to show the same; although we won't hear from it for a few days. Blood work was within limits but still low. He wants me to have it checked every two weeks - here and then in St. Louis. It was a very long day and very tiring, but what wonderful news! We serve and awesome God!
BJ and I saw Lynn and Beverly Kelly at the Siteman Cancer center. That was a wonderful surprise. They had brought Lynn's brother-in-law up for an appointment. No hugs, just lots of smiles...
As you can tell, I am not blogging as much now that I am home and mainly trying to gain strength and not catch a cold or any of the viruses going around. But I will let you know when I hear from the biopsy.
I can never thank all of you enough for all of your prayers and support. I wouldn't be where I am today if not for your prayers to our God on my behalf. I love you all...
Becky
Dear Family and Friends,
That is what I am doing...REJOICING!!! As you know, we went to St. Louis Sunday evening for early appointsments on Monday morning. I had a Pet Scan, blood work, saw Dr. DiPersio and Stephanie (PA) and had a bone marrow biopsy that afternoon. When I saw Dr. DiPersio, he had the results of the Pet Scan and said there was NO evidence of lymphoma!!! And he expected the bone marrow biopsy to show the same; although we won't hear from it for a few days. Blood work was within limits but still low. He wants me to have it checked every two weeks - here and then in St. Louis. It was a very long day and very tiring, but what wonderful news! We serve and awesome God!
BJ and I saw Lynn and Beverly Kelly at the Siteman Cancer center. That was a wonderful surprise. They had brought Lynn's brother-in-law up for an appointment. No hugs, just lots of smiles...
As you can tell, I am not blogging as much now that I am home and mainly trying to gain strength and not catch a cold or any of the viruses going around. But I will let you know when I hear from the biopsy.
I can never thank all of you enough for all of your prayers and support. I wouldn't be where I am today if not for your prayers to our God on my behalf. I love you all...
Becky
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday - + 90
Today I want to use the entire Psalm of praise of David - Psalm 145. Please read it and reflect on God's greatness and power. Praise be to Him!
On Wednesday I had to be at St. John's at 9:00 a.m. for the immunoglobulin infusion. BJ took me to the hospital because she had to go into work at noon. At 12:00 noon, they started the infusion. God is really teaching me patience through all of this. Seems the orders were not there and once they got the orders, it took pharmacy some time to mix the drug. Thank the Lord, there were no problems with the infusion this time; just took much longer than we had expected. Julie, a friend of mine, picked me up at the hospital and brought me home. It was a very tiring day.
Then Linda Marquis from Glendale called and brought dinner over. We visited for a while and it was great to see her after several months. Dinner was delicious!
Today, I saw Dr. Hoos for bloodwork and a checkup. Some counts were lower than they were in St. Louis last week but he said they all looked fairly good. Some we will watch...He said I am doing so well, that unless something happens or St. Louis says otherwise, he doesn't need to see me until the middle of December. By the way, my daughter Jessica was able to leave work a little early today to take me to the appointment. She didn't mind that at all...
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Still a ways to go with all of this but Jehovah Jireh.
Love,
Becky
On Wednesday I had to be at St. John's at 9:00 a.m. for the immunoglobulin infusion. BJ took me to the hospital because she had to go into work at noon. At 12:00 noon, they started the infusion. God is really teaching me patience through all of this. Seems the orders were not there and once they got the orders, it took pharmacy some time to mix the drug. Thank the Lord, there were no problems with the infusion this time; just took much longer than we had expected. Julie, a friend of mine, picked me up at the hospital and brought me home. It was a very tiring day.
Then Linda Marquis from Glendale called and brought dinner over. We visited for a while and it was great to see her after several months. Dinner was delicious!
Today, I saw Dr. Hoos for bloodwork and a checkup. Some counts were lower than they were in St. Louis last week but he said they all looked fairly good. Some we will watch...He said I am doing so well, that unless something happens or St. Louis says otherwise, he doesn't need to see me until the middle of December. By the way, my daughter Jessica was able to leave work a little early today to take me to the appointment. She didn't mind that at all...
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Still a ways to go with all of this but Jehovah Jireh.
Love,
Becky
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sunday - Day 87
"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble, He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:4,5
What a blessing to know that God will keep us safe and shelter us in times of trouble.
Here is my first try at blogging...sister Barb has gone home and left it all up to me. I want to thank her for all of the blogs she wrote and for all of the journaling she did during the three months she was here. Most of all, I want to thank her for her care and devotion to my care while she was here. She truly has a servant's heart and a caregiver's heart. Thank you, Barb, I love you and am thankful you are my sister.
Barb and I left for St. Louis on Friday morning about 6:30. Of course, it rained most of the way, but we made it just in time for my appointment at 10:30. The blood work showed that platelets and hemoglobin were up from the last blood work done at Dr. Hoos'. That is a good sign. Stephanie (physicians asst.) was real pleased with how everything is going and is anxious to see the results of the Pet Scan and bone marrow biopsy which will both be done on the 26th of Oct. in St. Louis. They are concerned about the contact that I have with people right now because of all of the flu and germs floating around. So it seems I may be spending most of the winter at home. I certainly wouldn't want to get the flu and undo everything I have been through.
Tomorrow, one of my brother's and his wife are coming from Glasgow, Ky. to spend some time with me and to visit Branson. I'm anxious to see them; just don't want any Ky. germs. Ha
This week I have an immunoglobulin treatment on Wed. at St. John's. It is about a four hour infusion. Then I see Dr. Hoos on Thurs.
I will be giving updates as needed, but not every day. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. The prayers of God's people have gotten me this far. Please continue to pray for me to gain strength, to not pick up any viruses, and for patience.
Love in Him,
Becky
What a blessing to know that God will keep us safe and shelter us in times of trouble.
Here is my first try at blogging...sister Barb has gone home and left it all up to me. I want to thank her for all of the blogs she wrote and for all of the journaling she did during the three months she was here. Most of all, I want to thank her for her care and devotion to my care while she was here. She truly has a servant's heart and a caregiver's heart. Thank you, Barb, I love you and am thankful you are my sister.
Barb and I left for St. Louis on Friday morning about 6:30. Of course, it rained most of the way, but we made it just in time for my appointment at 10:30. The blood work showed that platelets and hemoglobin were up from the last blood work done at Dr. Hoos'. That is a good sign. Stephanie (physicians asst.) was real pleased with how everything is going and is anxious to see the results of the Pet Scan and bone marrow biopsy which will both be done on the 26th of Oct. in St. Louis. They are concerned about the contact that I have with people right now because of all of the flu and germs floating around. So it seems I may be spending most of the winter at home. I certainly wouldn't want to get the flu and undo everything I have been through.
Tomorrow, one of my brother's and his wife are coming from Glasgow, Ky. to spend some time with me and to visit Branson. I'm anxious to see them; just don't want any Ky. germs. Ha
This week I have an immunoglobulin treatment on Wed. at St. John's. It is about a four hour infusion. Then I see Dr. Hoos on Thurs.
I will be giving updates as needed, but not every day. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. The prayers of God's people have gotten me this far. Please continue to pray for me to gain strength, to not pick up any viruses, and for patience.
Love in Him,
Becky
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Oct. 6 Day +82
I John 3:1 "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called chilfren of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
There isn't a lot to report from here the last few days. Becky is continuing to do well and is gaining strength. She walked to the mailbox yesterday for the first time since she got home. She is able to do more things around the house too. She is trying to do more for herself since I'm planning on going home on Friday after the doctor's appointment in St. Louis, unless something happens between now and then.
We had a storm this morning and got a lot of good rain. The temperatures have cooled off and it's good weather for soup so that's what we're making today. A big pot of vegetable soup and a pot of chili are on the stove. There should be enough to freeze for meals after Barb leaves.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Josie Herren and her family this evening as they have visitation and services for Norm at Glendale Christian Church. He will be missed here but the family knows that he is with the Lord now and not suffering.
Unless something "happens" around here Becky will post again on Friday or Saturday. No news is good news for now.
Love,
Becky, Barb and BJ
There isn't a lot to report from here the last few days. Becky is continuing to do well and is gaining strength. She walked to the mailbox yesterday for the first time since she got home. She is able to do more things around the house too. She is trying to do more for herself since I'm planning on going home on Friday after the doctor's appointment in St. Louis, unless something happens between now and then.
We had a storm this morning and got a lot of good rain. The temperatures have cooled off and it's good weather for soup so that's what we're making today. A big pot of vegetable soup and a pot of chili are on the stove. There should be enough to freeze for meals after Barb leaves.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Josie Herren and her family this evening as they have visitation and services for Norm at Glendale Christian Church. He will be missed here but the family knows that he is with the Lord now and not suffering.
Unless something "happens" around here Becky will post again on Friday or Saturday. No news is good news for now.
Love,
Becky, Barb and BJ
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