Preview of coming attractions: Tomorrow (possibly Thursday), Jeremy will undergo a 45 minute procedure in which a neurosurgeon will insert a semi-permanent stint into his brain. This will allow doctors to send chemotherapy directly to the brain. Having a more permenant stint will minimize complications of repeated punctures to the brain or spinal cord. While this may sound scary (and there are risks), doctors are pretty confident about the procedure. Jeremy’s hair will eventually grow over the stint so it will not be noticeable and it will not require any special care at home. Previously, we were told the doctors didn’t find any lymphoma in the brain or spinal fluid. However, Jeremy’s MRI indicated there were several small brain bleeds (nothing alarming). Because the kind of lymphoma Jeremy has is notorious for spreading past the blood-brain barrier, the doctors are taking these extra steps to ensure they kill all the cancer, even trace elements that aren’t easily detected in the MRIs or other tests. Since the ultimate goal is to kill every cancer cell in his body, we welcome this procedure and the risks, while scary, very rarely occur. Please be praying for Jeremy over the next two days as he and the doctors prepare for and complete this procedure. We scheduled an appointment for July 10 in which we’ll meet with the doctors that will be performing the bone marrow transplant. While it seems pretty early to begin these conversations, I was told the sooner we can begin preparing, the greater the chance of success we will have in the end. Success in this case means that the first part of the bone marrow transplant, which in Jeremy’s class involves removing his own “clean” bone marrow cells, needs to happen at the point in which 100% of the lymphoma has been killed. This could be a narrow window of time and it often comes sooner than expected. This would be the point in which the doctors would say Jeremy’s cancer is in remission. There can be no trace elements, no cancer cells present. (Since Jeremy’s cancer originates in his bone marrow, no cancer present does not mean that they have eliminated the potential for cancer at some point in the future.) During this window of time when no cancer is present, doctors will harvest the clean bone marrow cells and then Jeremy will undergo chemotherapy that is 10x stronger than what he is currently getting (which is pretty strong stuff in its own right). This goal of this round of chemotherapy is kill off the remaining bone marrow completely, even healthy cells, so that there is nothing left. This will ensure no cancer producing cells remain that could create lymphoma cells that aren’t yet in the bone marrow. Lastly, the doctors will take the “clean” bone marrow cells that they had previously harvested from Jeremy and put them back in his body. The beauty of this is that there are fewer complications from an autologous (bone marrow from one’s self) transplant than if he had to receive bone marrow from someone else. Now, let’s just take a quick break in awe of what modern medicine can do. Aren’t we so fortunate to be alive when doctors are able to do so many amazing things – take away cells, kill others, return them to the body, etc, etc, etc…? If this doesn’t give us all a moment to reflect on the miracle of creation, including the miracles of science, I’m not sure I can think of anything else that would. Once we get through this process, assuming everything bad was killed off and only good, clean cells were returned, Jeremy should be “cured”. Yes, the doctors use this word, my new favorite word, “curable”, to describe Jeremy’s lymphoma. (My favorite question to ask the doctors when they make their morning rounds is, “Can you tell me again how this lymphoma is curable?”. I just love using that word!). None of this means we are out of the woods and there are no dangers in the path that lies before us. It does, however, mean we have a lot to be hopeful for and that is wonderful. It is where the will to say, without hesitation, “YES! Put that stint in my husband’s brain” comes from. Please keep praying for us and this hope and the unexpected twists that may lie before us. In practical news, we are still waiting to learn what our health insurance will cover and what we may need to pay out of pocket. We have an HMO through my employer, Outreach Community Ministries, and I can’t say enough about how awesome my OCM family has been. They are doing a lot of work to advocate on our behalf for coverage and to investigate for us any potential insurance issues. It is a blessing to work for an organization that cares about its employees and their families so much. In addition to this, they have been incredibly kind and understanding as I’ve been away at the hospital for such a significant amount of time. If you’re looking for a quality community-based agency to support, I encourage you to check them out. They have been amazing to us. We are working on finances. We’ve been told Jeremy will probably not be able to work for about a year because he will have little to no immune system once we get through all of these procedures and his risk of a serious infection would be high. We have begun the process of getting disability income (which has a six month waiting period). We are selling cars and determining where we can cut other costs. We have cashed in some retirement funds (I know those of you finance freaks know how bad this is for taxes and long-term implications) but we are putting some money into our house in the event that we may need to downsize and sell at some point. While I don’t think that is likely, we want to be in a position to do that should we need to and not be delayed by updating and repairs. We are a two-income household. However, we have never had our children in childcare (all age 5 and under and not yet enrolled in school) for more than 25 hours per week. Our work schedules allowed us to share the additional childcare duties between ourselves. With Jeremy’s on-going treatment and future hospital stays, we need a new childcare plan. This is challenging because we will have an increase in cost but less income as Jeremy won’t be working. We are praying for a good, feasible solution for this dilemma. Jeremy only speaks Spanish to our children so we have always had a Spanish-speaker in their lives. Given my work schedule (which often includes evening and weekend meetings) we are exploring the possibility of having a Spanish-speaker live with us for free room and board, plus receive a stipend, while providing childcare. Please pray with us that we find someone suitable or that another, equally feasible option will come to fruition. So here we are. Lots to pray for, lots to be grateful for… And, doing the happy dance for the Chicago Blackhawks….Jeremy wasn’t sitting around in that jersey for nothing :)
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 03:33:09 +0000
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