Normal

Ethan had his blood counts checked again today at the Clinic at Children’s Hospital and they are all completely normal!  In light of all the good counts, Ethan’s bone marrow aspiration/biopsy will be repeated in the next week or so to confirm the original diagnosis (MDS/Monosomy 7).

We also received news from Vanderbilt today that several additional matches have been found for Ethan.  Three of these are 10/10 matches.  The youngest donor, a 22 year old male, will most likely be the doctor’s choice.  A few dates are being discussed, but it looks like September 15th could be our start date.

We’re trusting the Lord knows what lies ahead for our family and are thankful to have you all journeying with us!

Very thankful to have enjoyed some "normal" over the past couple of weeks...

This girl loves her jewelry

We welcomed baby cousin Jackson

And E & A love him, well we all do really:)!

"Educational" games on the iPad:)

Pool days are worth the bad hair



A little boating



Best buds

And giggle boxes

Journeying On,

Boy with the Balloon

I was walking out of a store last week when something caught my eye.  I'm not usually a knick-knack collector, but this time was different.  The minute I touched it, the tears came.  It was a gift from the Father, a tangible reminder of His sovereignty and love for me, His child. 

Although this figure is faceless, he seems to have an expression of joy to me.  Just like my little boy is so joyful in his innocence.  With arms lifted in worship, he is holding on to hope.  And so as I hold on to hope, I am challenged to hold on with joy and worship in my heart and on my face.  After all, I have much to be joyful about, much to worship the Father for, and an eternity to hope for!

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. -Romans 8:24-26

PS-We're still waiting on some medical records, a swallow study and any "better" matches to come up.  Once these things are taken care of we'll repeat his bone marrow biopsy and get a date for transplant.  Last week ALL of his levels were "unexplainably" normal (although, we can explain it through the power of our Almighty)! 

Journeying On,

10 out of 10

This weekend we received word from Vanderbilt that the National Bone Marrow Registry has found Ethan's first match!!  The possible donor is a 28 year old girl and is considered a 10 out of 10 match on the scale they use.  She has not been contacted yet, but we have been praying for her availability and willingness to donate.  They will continue to look for additional matches so they can pick the best one for our little guy.  In the meantime, they will monitor his blood levels and we'll keep waiting.  Just wanted to let you know about our exciting weekend:) 

Journeying On,

P.S.-LOVING all the cards and signs we've been receiving!  Thank you so very much!  I'm excited to get them up!

Life Sustainer

We've been visiting our hematologist/oncologist on a regular basis to keep an eye on Ethan's levels.  At every check up we've been praying that his levels would be high enough not to need a transfusion and so far they've been barely acceptable....until yesterday.

Tuesday, Ethan's lab work was fantastic! Almost all of his numbers were in the normal range and it looks like his bone marrow is actually producing normal, healthy cells.  I asked our doctor if he knew what would cause his body to suddenly start functioning normaly and as he scratched his head he said, "I guess all of those prayers must be working." 

Yes!  The Lord hears and is moved with compassion when he hears the cries of His children.  There are no doctors to praise or medicine to credit; just the healing, life sustaining power of our Heavenly Father. 

**Thanks so much for the prayers! Just to clarify (I've had a few questions)... Ethan's diagnosis and need for a transplant has not changed, but we are celebrating surprisingly good health and stability in the meantime. Thanks again for rejoicing and praying with us!**

Journeying On,