Welcome Home

Good morning! I am happy to write Mom has returned home! Her counts continued to rise to a level where the doctors were comfortable discharging her. After a busy day she arrived home late yesterday afternoon. She was very happy to be home and was excited to sleep in her own bed in the comfort of her own home.
 This comes with mixed emotions for her and us as a family. Her being discharged by no means indicates that she is "better". She is just at the point where her counts are high enough to go home. She will still be very closely monitored, as they look for signs of graft versus host. Mom now has a minimum of three appointments per week, which can range from 1hr to full day visits. The same rules apply for her as they did in the hospital, restricted diet, no new live plants/flowers in the house, and no sick visitors.
Mom is still very tired and will have to adjust to living back at home. Dad has taken some time off of work to help her around the house, which is great. It will be an adjustment for us all as we hope to help out as much as we can.
We are so thankful to the Lord for his continued care over Mom. All things considered she is doing well, and we pray she continues to stay strong and continues to recover. Please keep her and Dad in your prayers as they adjust to life at home, and the busyness of her many appointments.  

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of all those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Praise The Lord! Engraftment Has Taken Place!

With pure joy and nothing but thankfulness in our hearts to the Lord we are happy to report that Mom's bone marrow transplant has engrafted as of this morning! She was awoken by a team of very happy nurses at 5:30 this morning who were elated to tell Mom her white blood cell counts have reached .7 which is the point of engraftment! It is clear to us the Lord has His guidance and providential hand working in all of this as it has only been 19 days since the transplant took place! 
She was able to leave her room this morning for the first time since the transplant. She was very excited to make the journey down to the cafeteria. Later today she hopes to venture outside for some fresh air as well!
If things continue as they are, she hopes to return home this coming Wednesday already. We are so happy that she is able to go home and recover in the comfort of her own home. She will even be able to spend Mother's day at home, something we didn't think would be possible.
We know her going home will have a whole set of new challenges and life will be busy with many appointments. She is still awaiting the 100 day period to be over. During this period her nutrition is carefully watched, and she is not able to eat certain foods as her immune system will still be very weak. For the foreseeable future they will also be closely monitoring her for signs of graft versus host disease. We will continue to pray that she will not suffer too much from the side effects of this.
Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. Please continue to hold her up in prayer as she begins this new part of her journey.

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion". Psalm 103:2-4

Indeed Not A Hair Can Fall From My Head

I am happy to report that Mom is doing so well! The nurses keep commenting how proud they are of her and her progress. Her counts continue to sit at 0 and we are still waiting for the day they begin to rise. We are also happy she has had no fevers recently. She is dealing with a couple of painful mouth sores, which are a side effect of the chemo. Thankfully she is still eating well, and the nausea has stopped. She received her last dose of chemo today! Mom is so thankful that part is over.
This past weekend her hair began to fall out as a result of the chemo. Since all her hair would fall out on its own over time and become very uncomfortable she decided to shave it off. Krista cut her hair for her during her last chemo treatments 12 Years ago, so Mom requested she help shave it again. Sunday was the big hair cut day! They buzzed it right down to the scalp. Mom's head is really soft and fuzzy, and she looks super cute with no hair! I went to see her today and she allowed me to take a couple of pictures of her.

Please continue to hold her and Dad up in prayer. We are so thankful for the progress she has made so far, and we pray the Lord continues to bless her healing, and Lord willing she may return home soon. 

"He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation." Lord's Day 1