Krista's still in the hospital, though she hasn't had a fever since Sunday. Her counts are still low. They're not giving her neupogen this time, because, in addition to causing white blood counts to increase, it can also cause leukemic cell counts to increase. So it's a slower recovery... and today she was dealing with awful migraine headaches. She could be returning home as soon as Wednesday, but while it would be great to have her home, I recognize that they are taking good care of her right now in ways we just can't. So Krista and I continue to try to be patient as we wait for her white counts to increase. Tomorrow, she's supposed to get a platelet transfusion and a bone marrow biopsy (with sedation). They're looking to see what progress was made after the first round of chemo. I think the best outcome is that they find no leukemic cells there -- but even with that they may still want to do another round of chemo in a few weeks just in case.
Meanwhile, I've been negligent on thank yous... so let's see if I can catch up.
Krista's mother, Janelle, who lives outside of Denver, surprised us on Saturday by calling from the airport -- the Santa Barbara airport! I knew she was looking into possibly catching a free jumper seat thanks to a friend whose husband is a pilot. Janelle had said that it usually doesn't work out, but she caught the first flight she tried. So it's nice to have her out, helping around the house and playing with the kids. Thanks Glenn for loaning her to us for a bit!
My mother, Jan, had come up the week of the first round of chemo. I'm afraid I wore her out trying to get the house hospital-clean for Krista to be safe to return to as her numbers dropped. It really was effective, despite the infection -- the doctors said that the infection she got was probably from bugs already inside of her. With no white blood it's impossible to fight off bacteria that's normally kept in balance by the immune system. So thanks Mom for staying the extra time -- and I'm keeping up on the cleaning now so we don't have to do the big jobs for a long time!
Katherine Marton has been organizing people to bring us meals three days a week. That's been really good because I haven't had the time or energy to shop, prepare food, and cleanup. Melanie, Nancy, Susan, Carol, Regina, and Martha... thank you all so much! I'm often frazzled at the end of the day and probably don't express it well, but I really appreciate you all and we've been enjoying the food. It's been just the right amount, too!
Drew Kawiecki is organizing a marrow donor registration drive at Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara on September 1. If you're between the ages of 18 and 44 and you happen to be in the area, stop by and get registered for free. It painless and it just might save a life. I'll put more information in a later post. Thanks Drew!
And we've been really blessed by Joyce and the great people at Providence Hall Santa Barbara. We had planned to enroll Adam there for his Sophomore year because it is such an amazing match for him. (As he put it, "it's just like what we do in homeschool but even more!") It was a financial stretch to get him there, but with a generous scholarship and some help from my parents we managed to make it. Trevor was going to continue homeschooling for 7th grade, but we just can't do it like we wanted to with Krista getting treatments. Then Joyce called me and said that they wanted Trevor at Providence Hall too! They worked out another scholarship and we're trying to do what we can to cover the rest. I don't have the final numbers yet, but I really want to make this work! Providence would be perfect for Trevor too -- he needs an outlet for this performing/acting need he's developed! We're trusting that God will make it happen one way or another.
I'm not worrying about finances... but we could use some help in that area. My insurance (Aetna) was awesome last time but I remember that there's up to a $6000 out-of-pocket maximum before they stop charging me. (It's an 80% covered PPO plan, so we get charged 20% until we've paid $6000.) We haven't started to see the bills yet, but they're coming... and if it's like last time, it won't take too long to hit that ceiling. Plus, the extra education expenses on an already stretched budget! If God puts it on your heart you can donate to us through our Paypal account. From what I've seen, that's probably still the best way for us to do fundraising for our medical and schooling expenses. (Paypal charges some fees, I think 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction -- which is less or equal to the medical crowdsourcing fundraising options that are so popular right now.)
Thanks again for your prayers and kindness... it makes a huge difference as we face this beast a third time.
Thanks again for your prayers and kindness... it makes a huge difference as we face this beast a third time.
How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you,that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues;you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues.Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege.In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!”Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.
(Psalm 31:19-22)
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