Hello Folks!
I pray everyone is well. I know a few friends who aren’t. I’m continuing to pray for them. There is tremendous strength in prayer and acknowledging the authority and power of God in our lives. Knowing God is forever by our side brings peace even when things are difficult. David says it well in Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:7–12
7–12 Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
The Message
You can’t go far enough to get away from God. 😊
That’s a good thing.
Know You Are Loved
Our lives put us in some precarious situations at times. Sometimes it’s our actions that put us there. Sometimes it’s the actions of other people that cause hardship and sometimes in life, stuff just happens. It’s important to know wherever you are, whatever is going on, God is there with you. He loves you.
BTW, don’t be foolish enough to blame what’s going on in your life on God. God doesn’t cause all the grief you have in your life. He’s not punishing you or testing you. He will use whatever happens in your life to help you, but He did not create the mess. In his book, “10 Hours to Live”, Brian Wills gives you the perfect litmus test for whatever is going on. He says:
1. God is good.
2. The devil is bad.
3. They never change roles.
Brian Wills in “10 Hours to Live: A True Story of Healing and Supernatural Living”
Whatever is going on, evaluate it by these rules. You won’t go wrong.
Growing up, my daughters were not perfect. (For the record, neither were their parents, but let’s not talk about that.) However, perfect, or not, I would have NEVER done anything to Tiffany and Abby to harm them, to “teach them a lesson”. That would be crazy and abusive. I did and will do anything within my power to protect them. Guess what? God loves my daughters even more than I do. He isn’t going to do anything to harm them, or you, or me. He loves us too much.
God loves you and wants the best for you. Don’t let anyone tell you different. If in doubt, refer to rule #2 above.
Questions
The last time we spoke, I told you the next step in my treatment is bone marrow transplant (BMT) at Wake Forest Baptist (AHWFB). That’s still the plan and we’re moving quickly in that direction. If things go according to plan, I’ll start the process mid-May.
A few people have had questions since my last post, and I think this is a good time to discuss them.
- You seemed healthy, what caused you to get AML?
- Were there any warning signs this was coming?
- If you’re in remission, why do you need a BMT?
NOTE: this is NOT medical advice.
If you have health questions or concerns, talk to your doctor.
When I met with Dr Howard at AHWFB, she helped me understand my situation better. Let’s see if I can shed some light on those questions with what I’ve learned.
AML is a cancer of stem cells. Stem cells are the “seeds” that grow blood cells.
Everyone has cancer cells. At its simplest form cancer cells are cells that don’t play by the rules, and which will grow uncontrolled unless the body properly disposes of them. The body is constantly getting rid of cancer cells. In most cases, the body handles that chore and we’re none the wiser that it happened.
Leukemia is essentially caused by ill-formed blood cells, which can’t function correctly because they are incomplete. It’s likely my body had been producing ill-formed blood cells for a long time. It wasn’t a problem because the body’s natural defenses always rushed to remove and evict those cells, so they caused no harm.
Over time, as the body continued to produce the ill-formed cells, commonly called “blasts”, the blasts began to overwhelm the body’s defenses. As I got older, the body just couldn’t dispose of them quickly enough. I still felt fine but was approaching a critical point with low white and red blood cell counts, as well as low hemoglobin.
That’s why AML is considered a disease of aging. That isn’t 100% true, but most patients are 60+ years old from what I’ve read.
Was There Any Warning?
Not really. I had gotten a couple of what appeared to be tick bites that caused swelling in my lymph nodes. The swelling went down with antibiotics. Fortunately, I had already scheduled my annual wellness exam. The values from my labs were all crazy. I think the only value within normal range was platelets. That made my doctor start looking for answers.
Until that moment, I generally felt good and was “full speed ahead” as normal for me.
From that point, my course changed. Diagnosis and treatment were quickly scheduled and here I am.
Why Do I Need a BMT?
That’s a legitimate question. I am in full remission. As Dr Hines expressed it, “you can’t be in any more remission than you are right now”.
That was wonderful news, but they kept talking about a BMT. Remission is great, but what about the future? Will I stay in remission?
These are the statistics I heard that made me recognize the value of the BMT.
- Of patients who only get chemo, where I am right now, only 10-20% are still in remission in 2-3 years.
- Of patients who get chemo and BMT, 50-55% are still in remission in 2-3 years. They’re cured.
Those odds made the decision to pursue a BMT an easy decision.
I’ll trust God to find favor and be around for many years to come.
I’ll do everything I know to do and trust God for the outcome.
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
NIV84
I know His plans for me are good. I have no fear.
In His Love,
Wayne
