Hello, everyone! I had a very short day today, because I was asleep more than half the time. They had to take more blood from me last night, plus a chest x-ray, so by the time everyone left, I was wide awake and got very little sleep. The early part of my day consists of sleeping, eating and scratching. I finally had to ask for calamine lotion to relieve the itchiness. Still thankful that my bumps are localized only in some areas. My back is clear - that's a good thing because it would be awful for sleeping. It has spread from my scalp to my butt, but still tolerable with calamine lotion. The doctor said that the antiviral drug will start working a couple of days after they started administering it, so I am patiently waiting - just one or 2 more days...
Also have a bad case of diarrhea now. Immodium to the rescue!
Bright part of the day is to realize that even if I'm in isolation, I still have a view of the mountains (LA haze permitting) and trees. I was able to read emails today - it always cheers me up. The call from my sister to confirm that she's arriving on the 25th was great news! It was also a treat to see my dear old friend Bessie, especially when she brought Beard Papa's with her. I know it's not good for me because of my diarrhea, but I couldn't resist. Yum! My kids and Robert came to visit in the afternoon - that just made my day! I have sores on the back of my hands, so no holding hands with Rob anymore. Boy, this feels like we're back in the early days of courtship! Maybe I should consider joining the Taliban. ha! ha! ha!
It is now a waiting game. Waiting to save my body if anything goes wrong while my immune system is down. And waiting for my bone marrow to produce new stem cells and blood. In a week, I will have another bone marrow biopsy to see if the new stem cells are producing good white blood cells or not. If the new white blood cells are good, I may just have to go through more rounds of chemo to make sure any bad cells that were undetected get wiped out. So the whole cycle will repeat a few more times. If the cells are bad, then it may require a bone marrow transplant. This is a more complicated and riskier procedure, so I would rather not have to go through it.
Please pray for my chicken pox and diarrhea, and that no other illnesses will manifest itself during this time. More importantly, please pray that only good cells will be produced - all bad cells banished from my body!
The human body is amazing. The process of creation and renewal happens without any intervention from us, and we don't even think about it most of the time. We take all of these things for granted. God put the most important things on autopilot lest we mess things up for ourselves - I know I would. I marvel at the greatness of God in these unseen things. He who created the universe is also in control of what goes on in the tiniest part of my body. And with all the things going on in the universe, He still cares for this little child who is counting on His grace and mercy. And he listens to all our prayers amidst the "noise" in the universe. How great is that?! It reminds me of one of my favorite songs "How Great Thou Art".
That's it for today. Thank you once again for all your prayers and God bless you all.
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Psa. 27:14. Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.
ReplyDeleteHi Valerie,
ReplyDeleteIt was great speaking with you over the phone, I did inform all my nephew and 2 girls in Manila about your condition plus send them your blog URL and request all of them to pray for your speedy recovery. Just remember God is always with you, He knows you have all the strenght to handle this situation. Trust and believe in Him.
Your cousin,
Richard
Mitch, thanks for the bible verse. That was encouraging.
ReplyDeleteRichard, nice talking to you, too. Thanks for passing on the info, the prayers, and words of encouragement.