pray boldly... EVERY day.

Sometimes I find that I pray more and pray harder when I am facing a difficult situation.  When everything is going smoothly and life is good, I continue to pray, but not quite the same way.  Why is that?  I have pondered this often, but I still haven't came up with a good answer.

What I do know is that we have no idea what's in store this afternoon or tomorrow, God does.  Tomorrow might be wonderful.  Tomorrow might be horrific.  Regardless of how tomorrow looks, we should praise God and thank God the same everyday.  Prayer should not be conditional or based on "what's in it for me."  It should be unconditional regardless of the outcome, just like God's love is for us.  We should pray because we want to be lead and we should thank God for the GOOD things we have just as much as we ask him for miracles.

This morning, while I was reading devotions to Josh we stopped.  We prayed that God would speak to us today and lead us any way he chooses.  It was nice.

Okay, let's talk Josh.

In case I have not explained this before, the doctors take four measurements of his blood to chart progress.  Hope you're ready for a science lesson from an amateur.

1. White blood cells - Infection fighters
2. Hemoglobin - Total blood (Includes white, red, & platelets)
3. Platelets - Blood clotters (Stop you from bleeding to death)
4. Neutrophils (ANC) - Strongest & best type of white blood cells

We want all four of these numbers to climb.  Depending on the day they've flexed up and down.  Yesterday, they were mostly up.  Today, white blood overall is down, but the rest of the numbers climbed including the best kind of white blood.  Doctors are confident that the blood cells are engrafting - starting to make a home in his bone marrow and beginning production.

Yesterday, Josh ate better yet.  He got up on his own and sat in the recliner for a couple of hours.  By the end of the day he was ready to try to walk.  Josh walked from his bed to the door of our room and had to sit down.  He said he wasn't ready.  I told him that was okay; we would try to make it a little farther each day. 

After sitting there for awhile, he said he wanted to try again.  Such determination!  I said I would get a wheel chair so he could sit whenever he needed to.  He walked into the hallway and past 2.5 hospital rooms!  It was awesome.  Once he got in the wheel chair, we decided to continue around the floor for a change of scenery.  I need to practice my wheel chairing abilities for sure - we may have ran into a wall or two.  : )

Taking a little snooze in the recliner.

Watching a movie before bed.

Josh has continued to have fevers on and off, which really drain his energy.  He still has some nausea and frequent loose stools.  His original rash is almost gone, but the doctors have noticed some redness to his skin.  This morning they advised us that they would like to test for GVHD.  GVHD stands for Graft versus Host Disease.  They are concerned that the new donor cells may be "attacking" his GI tract (stomach, intestines).  They will double his dose of steroids and start GVHD medication until they get confirmation either way.  They already sent the GI team to meet with us.

Naturally, Josh continues to ask how long it will be until he goes home.  Today the response was a little different.  The doctor said they want to make sure Josh is healthy before they send him home.  Josh was not thrilled, but I agree fully with the doctors.  I would rather them catch things on the front end and address them, versus wishing they would have later.

Kidneys are still doing excellent.  They cancelled dialysis yesterday and today.  This is great news.  Josh just got back from a CAT scan, which they ordered to check his sinuses.  Now, I am going to go try to get him to eat some lunch!

We do not want Josh to have GVHD, but if he does, we will deal with it the same way we have dealt with this whole process - prayers and support!  I'll let you know as soon as we hear about the GVHD and the CAT scan.

Love and hugs!

Heidi