KU Med Center

On Thursday, December 27 our family took a trip to Kansas City mainly to have a consultation with the KU Med Center staff about my upcoming bone marrow transplant. We took the whole family and tried to make a fun day of it. Velda and I dropped off the children in Crown Center to spend Christmas money while we were at the Med Center. It was not exceptionally eye-opening but added a little clarity. We as well as many of you have wondered how the transplant works. Let me elucidate. I will be given a hormone that the body normally produces to encourage stem cell production in the bone marrow. I will given so much that my body will over-produce them. The bone marrow will then kick out the excess stem cells into the blood stream. At that time the staff at KU will draw some of my blood and separate the stem cells and freeze them. Step 2: now they will subject me to intense chemotherapy that will kill everything that remains in the area of my bone marrow (i.e. good cells as well as the malignant ones). I will be left with no living bone marrow. Step 3: is to put back into my blood stream my own stem cells. They will swim to their home in the bone marrow and start replenishing the bone marrow. It is about as complex for me as giving blood. It can be an outpatient procedure. My doctor will be Siddhartha Ganguly. Dr. Gangluly and Dr. Beck (Salina) have stressed the need for my kidneys to return to full functions. The myeloma cells have adversely effected them and are causing complications to the whole process. I believe that is why I have what is known as multiple myeloma. My kidneys have been "myeloma-tized". If the kidneys don't respond, the simple three step process becomes more involved. I won't go into those details at this time. I am suffering from information overload and I don't want you to be inflicted as well. The plan is to continue chemotherapy for 3 more months. During that time I will have a 2 day visit to KU and  5 day visit for the purpose of analyzing the effectiveness of the chemotherapy. At the end of March I will go for the bone marrow transplant and will have to stay 30 days. It takes that long for the bone marrow to be restored. I have weekly labs in Salina to monitor the effectiveness as well. They are on Wednesdays. On Thursday I have a consultation with the nurse-practitioner or Dr. Beck to interpret the lab results for me. Because I went to KC this past Thursday I have no updates on the latest labs. The routine will be restored next week at which time I will divulge the results of possibly 2 labs. After the appointment we picked up our children and had a meal at Grinder's West in the 18th and Vine district of KC. The whole day lasted from 9AM when we left Salina to 9PM when we arrived back home.

Spiritually. In Matthew 6:24-34 the King James Version uses the phrase "take no thought" three times. Modern versions use phrases like "don't worry" or "don't be anxious" but this is one time that I think the KJV got it right. Jesus didn't speak english when he was on this earth. This makes it important to catch the meaning as well as the nuances as well. The word means to focus your thoughts in such a way that it has a negative effect on your mental state. Let me illustrate. I was one of the smallest in my class in elementary school. If a bigger boy were to tell me that he was going to pound me after school, it would be good cause for me to worry. If I were to focus my thoughts on my impending doom the worrying would most likely escalate. This type of thinking is what Jesus is telling me not to do in this passage. So what am I to do? In the same passage Jesus tells us what to do. Instead focusing on things that will cause us to worry He redirects our focus to our heavenly Father. Let's go back to elementary school again. When this guy threatens me I should allow my mind to take in all the facts. I should remember that my father is picking me up after school. When I am waiting after school for my dad, I will take note of the bully and possibly his friends but not to the point that I can't see my 6 foot 3 inch 240 pound father getting out of the car at the same time. I am in a situation where the temptation is to focus on the wrong information. The key to avoid worry is to take in all the information and to factor in God and His promises.