Running Over

$70,184.68! Jesus said in Luke 6:38 says ". . . pressed down, and shaken together, and running over . . ." with respect about how God can bless. We are experiencing it! It is time for a confession. I have been a hypocrite with regards to this fundraiser. I have put on a bold face but had a very dim hope of reaching the goal in my heart. The amount of the Benefit Dinner blew me away. Still I figured that I would not get much more (Oh me of little faith). In the 10 days since the benefit dinner there has been an average of around $2,000 a day being given to my need! If you go to the HelpHOPELive  (HHL) site the thermometer will show less than 100% because some money was given directly to and for us. At first I chafed a little thinking "Don't these people know the procedure", but you and God knew better. HHL will take 1-2 weeks to get the money to us after I apply and Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM) takes 60-90 days. So having some money that can be accessed very quickly seems quite wise now. HHL has received $63,904.68. We have received $6,280. Please don't accuse me of a bait and switch con game but I am going to raise the goal. KU Med advised us to raise more than than the amount they quoted to us. Because of my level of faith at the time I set a goal that covers only the procedure. There will be other costs. The amount raised covers a routine procedure without a hitch. If for some reason a specialist is called in, it will raise the amount needed (specialists are not cheap). This also doesn't cover transportation, follow appointments in Salina and Kansas City, the work being done in Salina now with my weekly labs, some prescriptions, monthly doctor visits nor any unforeseen costs. For instance I am supplementing my treatment with an alternative protocol called CeMe. KU Med encouraged us to supplement what they were doing. This product was recommended to us by a trusted friend. It is being clinically tested in Atlanta and getting very good results. There is no information online because nothing will be made public until there is a significant body of data so as not to give anyone false hopes this early in the trials. If you call them they are quite willing to tell you what is happening thus far with a strict caveat that at this point they don't know what all it can do and there are no guarantees that it will work for you. It takes about 90 days to take full effect and its main function is to boost the immune system and supply energy. Those are my two main needs after the bone marrow transplant (BMT). We have decided to try a double dose for the first 90 days at their recommendation ($2,000/90 days) and then possibly change to a maintenance level after that ($1,000/90days). One person who had myeloma in the trials was declared "cured" after using this protocol. This is significant because right now the medical community considers myeloma as treatable but not curable. Anyway, now that the BMT is covered, I have no idea the amount to which I should reset as a goal. This is my first time on this (hopefully my last) so I am shooting in the dark. For now I will reset the thermometer to $75,000. If we pass that amount, I will reset it again. In Matthew 17:14-21 Jesus says ". . . If ye have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place: and it shall be remove . . ." It is comforting to know that the size of my faith is not the issue but the size of my God. Small faith in a great God brings great results. We are seeing mountains move!

Praise God for His work through all who have prayed and given.

Pray for (in order of importance):
Wisdom as we are continually faced with decisions that are pretty foreign to anything that we have faced in our live thus far

Complete healing

God to pick a perfect date for the BMT to be done (if needed)

Our patience as the perfect date is determined

God to make a perfect match with our resources raised and the future (unknown) needs

Thank you

The Benefits Continue

Over $60,000! I wonder if I will cease to be amazed. There has been over $9,000 received at the HopeHelpLive website in addition to more that has been given directly to us this week! (How many exclamation marks can I use!) Add that to over $50,000 received at the Benefit Dinner and it starting to become mind boggling! I had a lab this week but it was only one test. My hemoglobin is slowly drifting down which is not good but it is still in a range that allows me to function pretty close to normal. Thank you for praying and contributing.

Thank You

$50,000! Wow! We are so very thankful to everyone who supported us today. That is an amazing amount and it humbles me to think of what that means. I shared with a few people today that when I was in my teens I would wonder what people would say about me when I died. I feel like I'm hearing those type of things way ahead of schedule. As far as the medical side, I have 2 more rounds of chemotherapy scheduled. The doctors are simply waiting for the numbers to get into to the correct range before performing a bone marrow transplant. When I was in Kansas City in late March the chemotherapy was stopped which caused my numbers to plateau. I expect them to go down again now that I have started again. Again many thanks to the support that was showed to me and an special thanks to the organizers and workers of the event. We are getting to see God in action through His people.

Hurry Up and Wait

I am not going to Kansas City this week and you can throw out the schedule from the last blog as well. Talk about an emotional roller coaster again. I was informed after school today that the numbers were  not good enough to do a bone marrow transplant (BMT) at this time. There were things to which that I was not looking forward (5 hours in a relatively motionless in a recliner  level 10 chemotherapy) but I had mentally prepared myself to do. It was a disappointment to not go. While walking to the Salina cancer clinic Velda let me know that there were quite a few benefits for having it postponed. Thank God for Velda. My oncologist explained that at the beginning of my chemotherapy the original drugs were not working and we switched mid-stream. He said he is not surprised because it was like starting a month later than my actual time of beginning chemotherapy. It has been decided that I will receive at least one more round of chemotherapy which will keep me here through early May. At that time another evaluation will be made of my progress and the BMT will be rescheduled. I should fulfill most if not all of my school responsibilities not to mention being able to see my daughter Grace's vocal concert. My emotions are still swirling around a bit as I write this blog but it is starting to settle into a fairly positive attitude. My oncologist also said that  there is a lot to be positive about my numbers and he's especially glad to see the numbers pertaining to my kidneys. He didn't get to specific but spoke in general terms. I will be updating you as I go back to the routine of weekly labs and chemotherapy (and prune juice for that matter). I am especially thankful for everyday that I open my eyes in the  morning and get out of bed. Thank you for praying.