Transplant + 85

I am on the 2 week cycle of visits at the doctor now, so no visit to the clinic yesterday.  I don't think I made that clear on my last post.  It has been a good week home.

On Sunday we were able to witness the baptism of our youngest grandson, Timothy Evan Mulder!!  We had gathered with our children and grandchildren at our home on Saturday evening to celebrate God's covenant goodness found in the promises He has made to us.  May we all respond with repentance and faith and come to love our Saviour.  On Sunday my Dad and my in laws joined us for lunch after the service, while the  Mulder clan gathered with Jeremy and Sarah.

People ask us how it is going.  That is a difficult question to answer, mostly because we don't know.  With my blood numbers not going up to where we expected them to be by now, it is easy to be disappointed. We are not sure what to really expect going forward.  I have been blessed to be without infection or cold or flu or any other malady since I have come home on Day + 24, a total of 61 days now.  I do have certain peculiar traits that I have as side effects - nausea, vomiting, always cold, and tired.  I often spend 12 hours a night in bed and have a couple of naps during the day.  It seems crazy how tired a body can be.  Next week when I go in to the clinic we will make our plans for weaning off of cyclosporin (anti rejection drug), and that comes with new concerns regarding GVHD.  Had my second shot of Eprex, the growth hormone that is supposed to bring up my red cell count. The picture below is of a sign we saw in town and  sums up our feelings about how it's going.

Back in August on a drive to the Cancer Clinic Barb saw an eagle swoop fairly low over our vehicle on the 402 near the Thames River at Delaware.  Since that time she has seen an eagle, and once a pair, a number of times and even with witnesses.  Yesterday we were out and about and saw the pair flying.  We stopped and I took pictures with my cell phone, so not the best quality, but unmistakeably an eagle. We are reminded of two texts from scripture.
Ex. 19:4 "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself"
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

We have just received the news that Jan, the Princess Margaret stem cell transplant patient, passed away last night.  May the comfort of the gospel be the family's strength in these days.

Prayer Requests:
1.  Gospel comfort for Jan's family in this time of death.
2.  Thanks for daily health, with no GVHD
3.  Pray for the numbers to go up steadily.
4.  Remember Gabrielle, Steve, my Mohawk friend, and many in our own communities that suffer through illness and other hard things.  May we be a people of prayer for each other.