T+51 Death, taxes, concrete boats and light at the end of the tunnel.

BOX SCORE	6/27/2024
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	11.2	13-17	^
Platelets	152	140-375	v
ANC	3660	1800-8300	^

Back in the days when I was sailing, and practically every waking moment water and boats were on my mind, there was a craze for building one's own sail boat using a technique called Ferro-Cement construction. Essentially, the concept was to build an armature from re-bar and chicken wire to give the boat shape, and then pack concrete into the armature to provide substance and a waterproof hull. Sounds simple, right? Riiiggghhhttt! 

If you have any experience with building something as complex as a boat, you may imagine that many of these craft wound up unfinished in someone's barn or field. As far as I know, there may be many of them still sitting there, because a lot of these builders underestimated the cost in dollars and energy or forgot to count the cost of disposing of the mess, if for whatever reason the project was not completed. 

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you..." (Luke 14:28-29)

"Nothing in life is certain, except death and taxes." "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." 

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)

We human beings like to look into the future, to make plans, to dream dreams. Clearly the wisdom of the statements above would argue against doing these things, but we keep right on. I don't think this is evil, I think it is usually optimistic. We were created by a magnificent Creator God, Who made us in His image, and I believe part of that image is the...what?...drive?...instinct?...to create. Creating things requires imagination and vision and planning. Look around you at those houses and hydroelectric dams and automobiles and hospitals. They didn't just pop up on their own. Someone had a dream, which became a passion, which became a plan, which became a ________ (fill in the blank.) 

Men and women of faith tend to seek God's will before undertaking huge projects. I spent hours in prayer before making the decision to proceed with bone marrow transplant. In the end, I believe God has a plan for me and a job for me to do. We are all works in progress, and I don't think He is done with me yet. 

When Jill and I contemplated spending 107 days away from home, it sounded daunting. That's three and a half months, for goodness sake. We love our home and our neighbors and gardening in the summer time. We have been looking forward to enjoying our new patio. So here we are in a basement apartment in the hills overlooking OHSU hospital. 

Well, today is Day 51 post transplant, and we are more than halfway through the post-op recovery process; at least the critical first 100 days. Full recovery may take up to a year. But today we are celebrating what appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, trusting that it is not the headlight of the train. 

Yesterday, I received a message from the appointment scheduler at OHSU oncology, laying out all of the appointments I will need prior to coming home. When I had entered them all on our calendar was the moment for me when I began to see that light. We also saw Tracey, our NP, yesterday. She looked at the results of the day's blood work, did a quick exam and said, "There's nothing I can do to you. You are crushing it!" 

Jill and I are confident that God will continue blessing us with good news, as He has done for three years of this journey. So, we don't apologize for dreaming about being home in another 50 days and planning some things we would like to do when we get there. After all, God made us in His own creative image!