New Policy

In my last blog I said that no news meant no change. I have reconsidered that and have decided a change of policy is in order. Even though there is no change I think I will post to you after periodic checkups how things are going. My last appointment at KU was March 21 about which was the subject of my last blog. About a week later I had a checkup and review of the KU data with my Salina oncologist. When viewing the results he said "Wow" three times very emotionally. At first Velda asked if that was a good "Wow" or a bad "Wow". He assured us that it was good. After discussing with us what all the information meant he said "I never thought you would get to this point". God is certainly at work in my life. In the April meeting in Salina he again gave a few enthusiastic "Wow"s and again said "I never thought you would get to this point". I am getting biweekly blood tests in Salina and monthly visits with the doctor. He said if the results stay steady, the tests will become less frequent and less complex. I will visit KU in August for my yearly checkup and then they will just see me every year after that. Much of the maintenance is being turned over to the Salina staff. Thanks for all the prayer support and encouragement. It is because of all that you have done that I decided to give all the news. (good, bad or indifferent)

6th Month Check

Complete remission!  I had a different doctor this time at KU than the two I have had before. This is his report. He said that I had a complete remission again. That is not the same thing the last doctor said about the last report. (see here) Well here is how he broke it down. He pointed out three indicators. The first is a ratio of cells in my blood. He said that my ratio of some specific cells indicate that the activity of myeloma was in the normal range (i.e. the ratio of my cells in the blood is as it should be for a person without cancer). Next, when a person has myeloma, the body expels aberrant cells in the urine and there were no cells present in my urine sample. Lastly a biopsy of my bone marrow was taken and there were no cancer cells in the sample of my marrow. Before Velda and I  left for this checkup my family prayed that the doctor would say that it looked like that I never  had cancer and God answered. The Creer home was fairly jubilant yesterday at the news. I also am happy to say that I am taking 18 fewer pills per week. I received 7 immunizations that a baby would normally get. (I didn't cry). There is still room for prayer though. First, this treatment is a not a cure. There are no cases of this cancer not returning. Please pray that it doesn't return. (I would like to be one of the first cases) Second, a side effect is my myeloma effected my kidneys. My kidneys are not functioning normally but are in the "OK" range. Yesterday the doctor said that the kidneys are on the verge of the "Not OK" range. (my interpretation of what he said, not his exact words) Please pray that my kidneys will go back to functioning normally. Praise God with us for this incredible news. I will be having monthly checks. I don't plan on posting each time unless there is a change in my status, so no news means "no change". Thank you for a being a part of my recovery.

Report of Mexico trip

Hola Family and Friends,
Here is my report from Mexico.
Our team of seven was divided into three classes. Each class was two hours a day Monday – Thursday. The hardest part for me was just learning Spanish. After the second week, my prayer request was simply the diligence to keep studying, even when tired. My motivation to keep learning came every Friday when we would go to the orphanage. The first time we drove to one about two hours away and stayed the weekend. The next two times, we went to one much closer and just stayed the afternoon. It was such a relief to leave the classroom, talk and play with kids, and practice Spanish. The kids didn't speak English so it helped me see very quickly the value of homework. We also attended church activities four nights a week and that soon became a sweet time of fellowship.

My biggest highlight was working the last week in the village. With only 300 people, our team was the most interesting thing for the whole week. Mornings we checked, installed, and picked up payments on water filters, afternoons we taught a children's program for 50 kids, and evenings we showed a kid's and an adult's movie on the basketball court. I enjoyed that time the most because we got to see the same people daily and start relationships. The last night though was really neat because I missed the movie time talking to these 3 guys around my age... in Spanish! They were asking all these questions about the US and we even got to talk about what they believed. It was the most I'd spoken in Spanish the whole trip. It truly was an answer to prayer for God to use my broken Spanish to be able to communicate.

At home God has already given me connections at a Hispanic church, that I've begun attending. My goals for continuing Spanish are: to attend the church at least once a week, keep in touch with friends from Chiapas on facebook, and continue my Spanish lessons with my tutor.
Thanks to you God has already opened another door. About two weeks before my trip, Global Encounters emailed me and said my support level was double what I needed for the trip including flights! So, they said I could go on another mission trip this summer and it would be completely paid for. After praying and talking with their director, I've decided to go to Ecuador with GE July 12 – August 3 this summer!
It is only through the grace of God and your generosity that this happened, so thank you very much. I won't be raising money for this trip since God has already taken care of that. But I will most likely send out prayer updates while I'm there and for sure when I get back. If you have any questions about my past or upcoming trip, please email or call me!

Sincerely,

Michaela

Michaela is in Chiapas

Michaela and Velda left for Wichita at 4:30AM to catch a 7AM flight with connections to Mexico on Saturday morning. It had snowed 3 inches in the night and the roads had not been cleared yet. They made it in time even though could only drive 40-60mph most of the way. After boarding the plan it sat being de-iced and checked until departing at 9:30AM. This delay caused her to miss her connecting flight from Atlanta to Mexico City. She was booked on the next available flight leaving 2 hours later. This caused her to miss her connecting flight from Mexico City to Chiapas. She was booked on the next available flight leaving 4 hours later. Michaela, while waiting in Atlanta for her flight to Mexico City, noticed that she was the only non-hispanic that she could see in the waiting area. Even more surprising was while navigating the Mexico City airport she found just one employee who could manage some english and that person only said 2 words to her in english. Possibly a foreshadowing of her 5 weeks to come. Anyway she made it. She is in San Cristobal de la Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Population about 186,000. Elevation abut 7,000 feet above sea level. The city is surrounded by densely forested (jungle?) mountains. The weather will  have highs in the 70's-80's with the lows in the 40's. She is the only person on the team who has not been in a spanish speaking country in the past. She feels like she is in last place as far as how much spanish she can speak prior to coming but she knows how to work hard and we are confident that God will accomplish His purposes in her and her contribution to the team while there. She has more internet access than she originally thought so she said she is going to post pictures of where she is on facebook. Global Encounters has already posted a prayer page which you can see here.

Wow!

Many of you know that my oldest Michaela is going on a mission trip to Chiapas Mexico. She contacted many of you for support. We are happy to announce that she has received all that she needs. In fact Global Encounters informed her today that she has enough for her expenses as well as her flight and possibly some discretionary money. Michaela has so much that we are wanting those of you who are still considering supporting her financially to know that she has all that she needs. Any extra now that she raises will go to support the general expenses of the trip. This would benefit her indirectly in that it would benefit all who are going on the mission trip. Please consider this as you seek God's leading. Having said this I will also state that none of you are "off the hook". We are expecting all of you to pray for her as prepares and goes to disciple the nations. I attached a prayer card you  can print off and put in a prominent place to remind you to pray. Thank you.

More Normalness

We got about 3-4 inches of snow according to the Creer gauge last Saturday night. Sunday morning I went out and shoveled snow for an hour before leaving for Church. I experienced a slight back spasm mid way through but as I continued shoveling it went away. I finished strong and we drove away to church with a clear driveway. Some of you may be wondering "Why didn't you use your snowblower?" Well I am glad you asked that question. Our snowblower (Joshua) was still asleep and I wanted to see if my energy was really close to normal. Well the verdict is that it all went about the same way as before my bone marrow transplant (BMT) including the back spasm. I don't even feel sore today after the little workout. I still would appreciate your prayers as I am now in the post BMT/remission stage. I am taking ant-viral pills through March. I am taking a weekly IV treatment for the next 2 years that helps in preventing the cancer from returning. I am taking calcium to replenish what the cancer removed from my bones. I also am supposed to take a daily pill for the rest of my life that is a mild dose of chemotherapy which is also for the purpose of preventing the cancer from recurring. I have learned through this adventure that with all the advances in the medical field it is still not an exact science. I hear a lot of "usually", "most of the time" and even "hopefully". Through all of this uncertainty I am anchored by the knowledge that God is in control, nothing caught Him by surprise and He has provided me with His promises on which to rely. I still need your  prayers as we rejoice in passing into the maintenance phase. Thank you.

Back in the Saddle

I have just completed my first 2 weeks of teaching and am now on Christmas break. I was quite nervous the first day because of many factors. I was a brand new face to the freshman and new students. I also didn't know whether to give my first day talk or to jump in and continue preparations for the impending performances. My principal, Linn Exline, wisely advised me to lay the groundwork so I mostly talked to my classes on the first day. Another interesting twist is that the students knew the songs better than I. There were a variety of interesting cues and tentative singing until we got acquainted with each other and I became acquainted with the music. I had 7 school days before the Winter Concert not to mention New Dawn performances and the start of musical rehearsals (musical = on average an extra 18-20 hours of work/week outside the classroom). I really hit the ground at a dead sprint compared to relative inactivity in the months preceding my return. The concert went exceptionally well thanks to the preparation done by my long term sub John Luce. John was an incredible blessing in that he taught many years of music before changing vocations and entering the ministry. During my treatment and recovery I was free from having to do lesson plans or worry how the classes were functioning because I knew that John was there and was skilled in vocal music instruction. John even cleared his schedule for the month of December just in case I started teaching and ran out of gas so that he could come and relieve me if needed. And as if he hadn't done enough, he came and assisted me in the final rehearsal and took attendance at the concert. Thank you John! The classes went very well. I realize that I am in that "honeymoon" season similar to the beginning of the year when students don't show their true selves but all in all I am enjoying a great start. On another note, we have had a wonderful winter storm and feel confident that we will have a white Christmas.

In our back yard is a bird bath that serves also as a snow gauge because it is level and and flat. The Creer's unofficial count was 11 inches. We are looking forward to sledding and tobogganing (we own a 6 footer) on Monday.

I feel nearly 100%. I plan on shoveling, sledding, working at school, visiting, eating etc. in the days to come. Thanks for praying. God is good.

VGPR

Very Good Partial Remission (VGPR). My cancer is in remission! VGPR is the type of remission. I am constantly learning things. To give you perspective, the doctor pointed to just one number this time and he called it the "mother-lode" of indicators. This indicator started out at around 33,000 when I was first diagnosed (check here). It should normally be no higher than 2. Today it registered at 3.04! The doctor said that I am a "hair away" from complete remission. Now I am  into a maintenance routine. The doctors told me from the beginning that a bone marrow transplant (BMT) is not a cure for myeloma but a treatment. I knew that maintenance was coming if the BMT was successful (which it was in a big way). My cancer is now classified as a chronic disease similar to diabetes. It will not do any damage as long as I am faithful to the routine that is prescribed and as long as it doesn't awake from remission. We are praising God for the results and also for the clearance to resume a somewhat normal schedule. I am returning to work and I have no dietary restrictions. I still have to protect myself from diseases and infections so I won't hug you if you are sick. Thank you for praying.

P.S. I will be getting bi-weekly test for awhile to keep an eye on things so there will still be occasional updates ahead as well as the 180 day check up (mid March) which will be as comprehensive as today's.

Day 100

Some of you have mentioned that you haven't checked my blog in a while and I confessed that I haven't blogged for a while. Today being a milestone of sorts I decided to update today. Ordinarily I would be getting a check up today but the clinic isn't open on Sundays. The closest they could schedule me was this Friday so my 100 day check will be on day 105. I have had a few labs along the way and I am progressing quite nicely. My energy feels near normal and my appetite continue to improve. The 100 day check is the most comprehensive of the latest ones. Up until now the tests where making sure that I was recovering from the trauma in good fashion. This time the tests will determine if the cancer is in remission or not. I am pretty hopeful because of the way I feel. I am also hopeful that my immune system is in good enough shape so that I can return to teaching. The Winter Concert, which is next, is my favorite concert of the year. I have also experienced the return of a hairline. (Click here to see a contrast from earlier "hairless" days)

This  past week we travelled to Dallas to spend Thanksgiving with Velda's family. The nearly eight hour drive Wednesday left a little to be desired as far as excitement.

When we arrived in Dallas we went straight to the American Airlines arena to watch the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Golden State Warriors 103-99. For you non-sports fans, it was a professional basketball game (i.e. NBA). We had purchased nosebleed seats but Velda's sister, Sherri, arranged for us to have "party suite" seats through a friend who worked at the arena.

After a fabulous meal hosted by Sherri with additions from Mrs. Crawford, Velda's mom, we visited the holocaust museum of Dallas on Friday. Sherri is pictured in blue below next to Michaela. Joshua is facing away in a green shirts that says "Grrrrrroundhog!" Salina South Musical Theatre alumni will understand the significance of the shirt.

You should hear from me in about a week. Thank you for praying. We plan on praising God no matter what the doctor says and are quite hopeful that the news will be outstanding.

Random thoughts

Recently our family was blessed with a new car ( a 98 Dodge Intrepid in good condition
with 200,000 miles on it) by the Charvat family, which I was allowed to drive. I also was blessed by the news that I received my IFSAC seals, which will hopefully allow me to use my firefighting certifications in other states. Please pray as I prepare to take two more tests one written and one physical.