Hope Does Not Disappoint: Somebody's Been Praying

Welcome to "Hope Does Not Disappoint"

There are two key reasons I have finally decided to join the world of blogging:

First, my cancer has become active and there is a loving congregation and many family & friends who want to keep track of what is taking place. This provides a way for me to update them as often and with as much detail as they desire.

Second, the Lord often links Scripture with circumstances in life for a much more potent 1 - 2 punch. I have already found that to be true and I hope to share some of those lessons for those who are interested.

So almost every entry in this blog will have two parts to it: Body (what's happening physically with the treatments) and Spirit (what God is sharing as I open His Word).

Thanks for visiting. I hope some of the "Points Along The Road" in my journey are helpful and encouraging to you.

Dave

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Somebody's Been Praying

Body: There are key numbers that the medical team look for as they assess stem cell collection. The most important being the actual number of stem cells that are collected on a given day.

Monday, that key number was 18 and the number of stem cells collected was 1.6 million (I know, it was revised upward...I don't know how this works, I just report the facts).

Tuesday, the key number was 14 which was not very encouraging! I don't think the medical team was too excited either because they increased the amount of meds I receive by injection to stimulate the stem cell release into my blood stream. I actually was called a tortoise in stem cell production!! Can you believe it? They also were quick to say that the tortoise won the race! :)

Last night was a long night for a number of reasons and as we got started with the apheresis this morning, I just wanted to rest as much as I could. First, they told me that while my key number yesterday was down, the collection was still good...another 1.6 million stem cells. (That's a total of 3.2 million.) When the labs came back this morning there were a lot of "high fives" given. My key number was 66...I had suddenly become a hare! Based on their calculations, they were optomistic that today might be the last day required for collection.

Well, I just got the call from Yale and another 3.6 million stem cells are "in the bag" and "in liquid nitrogen." That is a total of 6.8 million stem cells. My doctor is satisfied with the amount collected and I'm finished with this portion of the journey.

Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. I head back to have the catheter removed.

On Monday I have a PET scan and meeting with the doctor which will be significant as this journey unfolds.

Spirit: Thanks for your faithful prayer support. The Lord continues to be most gracious and I am exceedingly blessed. One of those great blessings is a loving and prayerful church family. Hope does not disappoint...Praise His name!