Pharmacy 101 - Prayer need

In the last few weeks, as we stopped luke's steroids, his appetite hasn't been great, but ok. Also, every so often, he'll go a day or 2 without a bowel movement (#2), and sometimes, may not have a #1 more than once a day.

Here's Pharmacy 101. The medicines he gets daily, weekly, etc. carry side effects as well as benefits to his condition. Most medicines follow steps we call "pharmacokinetics". Pharmacokinetics consists of steps that include: absorption of drug, distribution of drug, metabolism of drug, and excretion of drug.

Our prayer need, specifically, is for Luke to continue to eat and drink well, and also, that he excretes (#1 and #2; and also, sweat) well. We have upheld this in prayer for a little while now. Also, we've been giving him a laxative, Miralax, as well as trying to get him to drink water (because without water, most laxatives don't work), juice, and to have a well-balanced diet.

Overall, we are very thankful that Luke is feeling and acting so much better.

We know there is a lot going on inside his body every second, and we do not see any of that. We trust in Him, and pray that Luke continues, happily and healthily (is that a word?), to full recovery. Praise God.

Church

With last week's blood counts coming back favorably, we were told to "resume normal activities". Going back to Church was great. We went to the Vineyard last Sunday, and went to Trinity MTC today. It felt really awesome to be back in God's house, with folks that love the Lord, and have been joining us in praying for Luke. Luke did well last week, and did even better today.

Luke is walking better every day

When Luke first complained of leg pain at the very beginning of our journey with leukemia, he did not walk for 20 days. Can you imagine? My goodness. It was so sad and heartbreaking to see our once extremely happy and active child bedridden. He didn't walk because of leg pain, and then, probably a combo of pain and the fear of pain. Now Luke is walking more and more every day. He is testing out running, and has been spotted kicking a ball here and there. Here's a video of a Luke with his new remote controlled car. I like seeing him crouch down and get back up. That is great improvment in his leg strength. We thank God for these answers to the prayers cast upon His ears.

Luke's commentary on his implanted IV port

Every day, we are amazed at what Luke experiences, and he's still in good spirits and encouraged. Last night we were talking about this amazing thing: even though Luke has gone through all of this stuff, and continues to have to endure things, like weekly injections in his vein, in his backbone, etc., he still has a smile on his face. They say that children are extremely resilient, and it seems that Luke is a trooper. We can't imagine what he is feeling inside, but we pray that the next 3 years goes by swiftly. This week we found out an interesting thing. Even after his 3 1/2 year treatment plan, he will need to have annual bloodwork for the rest of his life. We pray that he remembers God's faithfulness, as well as the love of those around him, as he goes through life. We pray that the leukemia leaves his body, and never comes back. We also hope and pray that we all come out of this miraculously better all around.

Luke's Status, as of July 13th, 2010

Most current results: PRAISE THE LORD
Bone marrow is clear of leukemia (0% blasts),
Cytogenetics shows that the marrow is clear of TEL-AML.
The above indicates that Luke's leukemia is in remission.

The physician described what Luke's treatment and care will look like for the next 3+ years. We all have a long road ahead. Thankful, our God is faithful, and we continue to pray to remain steadfast in faith. It has been tough for us, physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

God-willing and God-providing, Luke's treatment should end on Sunday, August 11, 2013.

Joyce's Birthday was yesterday

We are thankful that Luke could celebrate Momma's birthday (July 12th)! We had some loved ones over. Luke's friend, Sanjay, came over, and they had fun. We were so thankful that Luke could have such an awesome time on the eve of his port-a-cath surgical insertion.

Port-a-cath Placement (July 13, 2010)

Our Luke had his first surgery today. I am beginning this post while waiting for him. They are placing a "portacath" or implanted IV port in his chest, below his left collarbone. This morning was the first time anyone has ever taken Luke away from us against his will. I am concerned about how he will feel about this. I pray that God's goodness is known to him as time goes on. This morning, Luke had good spirits. Very happy and loving. This was also the first time he has gone to the hospital and entered without crying. Prior to this diagnosis of leukemia, I believe I might have said "Luke is a trooper". By God's grace, today, I see this with more depth. "Luke is a trooper. I am thankful to God for that." I believe that we have learned that it is so easy to overlook rejoicing and giving thanks. When we were in the hospital, our brother Robin prayed, and something in that prayer continues to resound. "Through all of this, we pray that we continue to grow to see Your face clearer." We pray for peace and strength for our family and loved ones. At this time, we especially lift up our Luke, God's blessing to us. We pray for no pain and suffering from his procedure today. We also pray for a successful port placement, that can last for the remainder of treatments. Prior to the procedure, Luke donned a hospital PJ set. He was remarkable in great spirits. He was also a little tired, since we were up early. My goodness. No words can describe how we felt when we let them take Luke back to the operating room. When we were notified of the procedure completion, we rushed to recovery where he was already waking up. We are scared and anxious as we start on another path with this implanted IV port. Over the long run, it will probably be less traumatic for Luke. And here's our blessed child when we got home. Ready to eat some chinese moodles and chicken, and listening to Joyce's iPod.

Here's a video, prior to the procedure. Luke is playing with a vacuum. Pay attention to the end, where he credits the 2 people that taught him how to vacuum.