Red Cells and White Cells and Platelets, Oh My!

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Hemoglobin 11.8 13-17 Platelets 140 140-375 ANC 2440 1800-8300 September is on the horizon. Can you believe it? In years past, but not since the pandemic began, that meant a couple of weeks' vacation in whatever RV we were using at the time. We were looking forward to renewing that tradition this fall. Then we got the news that my leukemia has relapsed, which put everything into question. This is a big part of why we have adopted a pretty strict "one day at a time" lifestyle.  Today, we are going to try two days at a time. We have been unable to use the travel trailer since spring, and we have today and tomorrow with nothing on the calendar. (You'll learn in a moment why that is importa...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Hemoglobin 12.8 13-17 Platelets 165 140-375 ANC 3130 1800-8300 I am overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love and prayer support I have been receiving. Among those who have contacted me are a friend and former ministry partner in Texas and my "little sister" in São Paulo, Brazil, not to mention many others closer to home.  My "little sister" is actually the little sister of my "Brazilian brother," who was once an exchange student living in our family home, when I was in high school. Tinho's younger sister, Ireninha, was six years old at the time. I first met her face to face when she was 16, and I visited their family home in Brazil. Since then we have maintaine...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Hemoglobin 11.8 13-17 Platelets 197 140-375 ANC 3300 1800-8300 "So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." (Genesis 2:3) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. " (Exodus 20:8-10. This is the fourth of the Ten Commandments.)  God is serious about rest. He spent 14% of the week in which He created the universe resting. Not...

  BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Hemoglobin 11.6 13-17 Platelets 203 140-375 ANC 2100 1800-8300 It's Hump Day! This is day 4 of the seven day stretch of daily chemo injections. So, although it is Thursday on the calendar, and not Wednesday, it is Hump Day. Halfway through this cycle of injections. I guess when you are quarantined and going through something you'd rather not, you tend to grab at straws for something to celebrate. Hump Day is good enough! Jill and I hang on to Psalm 118:24:  "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." When you get right down to it, every day is a day for rejoicing. We give thanks for each and every day, because, truly, each one is a gift. So, ...

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Hemoglobin 10.7 13-17 Platelets 222 140-375 ANC 1150 1800-8300 Monday. Monday means labs. My Monday morning labs are reported in the Box Score above. My scores are all up significantly, even though hemoglobin and ANC are still lower than "normal."  Still, increased hemoglobin gives me more energy, and increased ANC gives me more immunity. In fact, I am currently in the "non-neutropenic" category, which means I can be a little more relaxed about things like raw fruits and veggies. I miss them tremendously.  In about an hour and a half, I will begin my seven days of chemotherapy injections. The injections are easy to receive, but later they do leave me feeling as if I ha...

There's an old joke about a Naval Captain who was notified by the radioman that both parents of Seaman Appleby had been killed in an automobile accident. The Captain was naturally uncomfortable with having to pass this news along. He couldn't bear to face the young man one on one and see him break down in tears and sobbing. So, the Captain called for a formation of all hands on the poop deck. When all were assembled, the Captain said to the crew, "All hands with two living parents will please take one step forward."  Since the crew was assembled alphabetically, Seaman Appleby was standing at attention in the front row. He took one step forward. The Captain at that point raised his hand and his voice and said, "Not so fast there, Appleby."  The point, I guess, is not only that the Captain was something of a coward, but also that sometimes our circumstances change without our knowledge or consent. Such was our experience yesterday. Our original schedule for th...

What do you do when you get good news? Each of us is different, of course, but most of us celebrate good news one way or another, even if it's just a brief "WOOHOO!" I wish I could say that my first response is to thank God for my good fortune, but alas I don't always go there immediately...eventually, but not necessarily immediately.  The book of James tells us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17) Who is the Father of lights?  God said, “ Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15  and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth .” And it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15) Yep, our Heavenly Father provided lights for us, just as He has provided every other good thing we have. That included ...

Monday morning means labs for me. Today was a good day in that department. The phlebotomist easily found my vein, and the whole business took about five minutes. We like to go early to avoid both the weekenders feeling the need for urgent care, which opens at 9:00 AM, and the line up at the lab that results from their coming in. So, we arrived at 7:15 AM and were on our way to Walmart for a curbside grocery pickup by about 7:25 AM. The extra five minutes comprised walking to and from the car.  Once we got home, we had some breakfast and plotted the day. We began by taking our daily constitutional, about two miles around the neighborhood. We are so grateful for cooler weather. It has been at or near 100 degrees for a week. Today, the highest I actually saw on the outdoor thermometer was 83. By the time we were back again, my labs had come in. I am accustomed to finding my platelets have tanked over the weekend. In fact, I had a contingency appointment on the books for this afternoon...