Hi all,
Thank you all for praying and fasting with us on Sunday. Mary received a great blessing. She was promised that she would be healed because she still had a mission here on this earth. She was also told that there were many from the other side that were present for the blessing and that when the time came for her to return to her Heavenly Father they would be there to greet her and welcome her home. This was a great comfort to me but it just confirmed my feelings that it was not time to say good-bye yet. A few of the people present felt very strongly that Sterling and Daniel were with us as well as many others.
Mary started to “pull her hair out” with more diligence yesterday and today she woke up in a nest of hair. It should take a few days for it all to fall out. Several family members have expressed an interest in joining Mary in this fascinating experience. Make sure you send her photos of all your bald heads so that we can share the fun.
She is hitting her low point in the treatment right about now. She wanted me to make sure you all knew you were welcome to visit if you liked but that she is really drained and may not be very good company so short visits would be best. She is still experiencing abdominal discomfort but we have been able to find some solutions to give her some relief. Yesterday she was able to sleep for about 3 hours while I was with her. This is a longer period of sleep for her than she has had in the past 4 days. She is still not able to keep food down and this has caused her to feel very weak but she is still plugging along and smiling through it. They will be doing an x-ray of her abdomen to see if there is more to it than the usual issues.
We met with several members of the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) team yesterday. They went over the process of the BMT and the risks. This was a bit scary for Mary just because they do not hold anything back and it all sounded painful. I reminded her of the promises that were made both in her blessing on Sunday and her Patriarchal blessing and that this was just an obstacle that she would be able to conquer. Mary continues to meet her challenges with faith and hope – she just does not like pain. We have family prayer each night and read at least one scripture together. She is also trying to complete reading the Book of Mormon while she is in the Hospital.
T sent his initial blood work back on Monday so we should have an idea if he is a potential match by early next week. If he is not, then they will continue the search through the National Bone Marrow Registry. The link again for them is www.marrow.org
The preliminary pathology report is in and Mary has a very rare form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) called Acute Panmyelosis with Myelofibrosis (APMF) which is a different type from the Trisome 8 that Sterling had. I have included a link if you want more information. Unfortunately there is not much available on it since it is so rare but it appears that a BMT is the only way to treat it effectively right now.
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/about-cancer/cancer-questions/what-is-panmyelosis
Many have asked about the expense of the treatment. I spoke with the Financial Counselor today and he gave me great news. After checking with my insurance it looks like the out of pocket expense will be less than $5,000 per year including the chemo treatments, BMT and Rx. Our ceiling on the policy is higher than previously thought so most of it should be covered. This was a great relief to Mary. She has been very worried about the expense, even though I have tried to tell her not to worry about it. This is not unusual for her, however, since she was worried about finances prior to this. LOL
From Sonja’s Blog “One funny thing that happened, Mary said at five o'clock in the morning, when the nurse came in, it was a different nurse than she had earlier and it wasn't a usual time for the nurses to change. The nurse was kind of clumsy and making a lot of noise, with the light on, and was pretty chatty, asking Mary all about what happened to get her there. The nurse mentioned that she had won Mary as a patient in a card game the nurses had been playing. We don't know what the game they were playing, but apparently Mary is such a fabulous patient that she is now a commodity. (Mary, not being a morning person, was not thrilled with the chatty, clumsy nurse, but I am sure she was still nice.) We laughed about that. And her aide said that Mary is the best patient on the floor. It's nice that she is so positive and happy that she is making a good impression on those around her. She is an amazing person!”
We are doing great and have recognized the Lords hand in many ways since this has happened. Once again I want you all to know that I have a testimony of the Atonement and the gift that Jesus Christ gave us when he suffered all for us – that we might have him as our companion through our trials and tests. He has truly been my companion in this as well as the Holy Ghost. They have been very busy comforting me and prompting me in my actions. I have seen many miracles in just a few short weeks and recognize the hand of my Heavenly Father in these acts. I love the Lord and am grateful to know of him and his roll in my progress here on the earth. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Deb
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