Clarity in the Confusion
You, follow me. ~ Jesus
I’ve recently returned from Mayo in Rochester, MN. Three and a half days of test after test: blood work, bone biopsy, lung function, heart function, kidney function, bone scans, dental check, etc. Interspersed throughout were educational meetings about what to expect in a stem cell transplant: what to eat, what to avoid, when you’ll feel ill, what to do if you have diabetes (I don’t), and on. There was a moment that I actually laughed during all of this - sitting there surrounded by gray hair and wheelchairs, I realized two things.
One: I was the youngest person by 20 years in any of these meetings.
Two: I have more joy in my heart right now than I can remember.
There is a certain freedom that comes when the path ahead becomes clear … when my obedience is made explicit and laid before me. For my Christian friends reading this, you’ll recognize it as hearing the call of Jesus afresh: Follow me. (If you don’t know jesus, those same words are out there for you too). And then finding your own heart unhesitant: I’m with you. Let’s go.
At the end of these three and a half days, I sat down with my doctor to go over all the results from all these tests. Well, Dave, you are 15% healthier than what you should be for your age … except you have cancer in your blood.
Mix in a bit of open-handed wonder. What is this thing you are up to, Father? How’s this all going to turn out? But I’m with you. Let’s go.
In all of this, I can’t say enough about how excellent my experience at Mayo has been. Unbelievable. We are very glad that we are getting treatment there, even as the distance makes for its own challenges.
That was trip number one to Mayo. Two more to go. The next steps unfold like this (probably):
Trip #2: Mobilization and Collection
- Feb 18th I leave around 5 am for the 3.5 hour drive back to Mayo
- 18th-21st - I get shots in my gut to cause my body to produce stem cells (mobilize them) at an increased rate and release them into my blood stream.
- 21st - I get a catheter put in my neck for easy access for the rest of my procedures.
- 22nd-24th/25th/26th - I sit in a chair for 5 hours a day while they spin my blood through machines to collect three transplants worth of stem cells. It will take 3-5 days
- Come home ASAP to see the family.
Trip #3:
- Feb 28 I drive back to Mayo early for the last of all my preparatory meetings.
- 1st - chemo day. I’ll sit in a chair for an hour that kills my blood.
- 2nd - rest day
- 3rd - 5 hours in the chair as they cycle my stem cells back into me.
- 5th - I’ll begin to feel it. It’s like a branch that’s cut off the tree. Looks good for a few days, but day 5 from chemo, that branch will start feeling like a dead branch.
- 15th - stem cells take root and start making blood again - including white blood cells to heal me. Start bouncing back.
- 21st - come home. I hope. I’ll be in quarantine for more or less 100 days from March 1st. That’s June 8th. Celebrate our five year anniversary on June 9th. We are going out.
I’m so proud of my family during this time. We don’t know what we need. We don’t know what we will need. But the nearness of God for all of us is a good place to start. I had hoped to be a strong and present father for many years before my boys see the weakness of their dad. Even so, He makes all things beautiful in his time. So, maybe join me in praying that the unassailable strengthen of our Heavenly Father would become clear to my little guys. And to Amy and I. The family didn’t come on trip one and won’t be coming on trips two and three. I have some dear friends who are taking time off work to come make me food, clean up my messes, and encourage me.
One more update before all this stuff goes down, and then quiet walking. This will be a Lent to remember, and an Easter of expectation.
Dave