9/29/09

Our God is an awesome God!

Ed has been at home for the last two weeks, and has not received any chemotherapy due to a blood infection. He has been receiving a continuous drip of antibiotics through a pump (which he wore in a fanny pack). He went to the hospital daily to have the pump refilled, and to get tests done. He was unable to take any additional chemo until the infection was over.

Ed went back into the hospital this morning to start another round of chemo. He will be an inpatient for four days, and receive several chemo drugs by IV and mouth over that time. After chemo, he can come home for almost a week (with daily visits to the hospital) then back into the hospital again for four more days of chemo. He will continue this cycle until he goes into remission. That means they can see no cancer cells in Ed's blood, bone marrow or spinal fluid.

But today, he and Cora received wonderful and miraculous news!!!

There are two types of transplants that Ed could receive. One is from the stem cells found in the blood of donated umbilical cords. The other is bone marrow harvested from the hip bone of a donor. In a letter received today, they learned, "We have identified several suitable cord blood units that are of suitable size and match for Ed. Efforts to try to identify a suitable unrelated donor are ongoing."

God is always right on time.

Please pray that Ed goes into remission quickly. As soon as that happens, he can get the transplant. He will then need to stay at UW Hospital for up to 3 months to ward off infection, rejection, etc, but should be good to go after that!

To help the Jacksons cover the costs associated with his medical care, Carmen Shupe is helping to organize some fundraisers. I have attached a letter from her asking for your email contacts and your help. Please let her know when she contacts you, if you are OK with being added to her list.

Thank you for your prayers. Please keep them coming. Thank you to all who have sent financial blessings and food to the family. Most of the time, they come exactly when needed. Please keep them coming. We are privileged to see faith in action, and the wonderful results of prayer. God bless you all, Barb