4/24/2012
Tomorrow is, I
hope, the beginning of the end. I’m
scheduled to enter the Uniklinik Freiburg for the last step in the autologous
stem cell transplant process. I guess I
am as ready as I can be. I’ve read up on
the procedure from both the scientific and experiential points of view. There’s only so much you really want to read
heading into something like this. The
clinical stuff is OK except when your attention is drawn to the failures that
can happen in the process and reading the experiences of fellow bloggers that
have gone through this has the potential to get you imagining all the tough
parts they experienced happening to you.
So, I’ve read enough. Up to this
point in the various phases of treatment the experiences have never been nearly
as dire as one would imagine from reading such material so I hope this holds
true for this chapter.
I’ve downloaded
loads of reading into the Kindle. If I
run out on chemo brain it will either be a miracle of awareness or I won’t
really have read well at all – either way I’ve got stuff to read – always
important.
Most importantly,
I’m still confident and aware of the sheer mass of people that are praying for
me and for us. It means everything. I know that God has heard and that whatever
lies ahead is fully bathed in the prayers of the saints and is ordained in the
will of God – so, what’s to fear?
I’ll tell you
what’s to fear – 21 days of hospital food!
Strangely, it’s the one fear that I do not have peace over yet – how
stupid is that?
For those of you
that wish to dig further into the technical aspect of the treatment I’m about
to undergo (BEAM chemo, transplant, and recovery of blood cells) here’s a
fairly comprehensive website: <http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Treatmenttypes/Chemotherapy/Combinationregimen/BEAM.aspx>
I’ll be
hospitalized throughout the chemo and the recovery of blood levels –
approximately 21 days.
For my last
supper I’ll be grilling steak (a rare treat here in Germany due to high prices
for good beef) and we’ll finish the second half of last night’s strawberry-rhubarb
pie. There will be the odd vegetable as
well.
So, thank you for
your prayers on my behalf. Please
continue to hold up the family in prayer.
Diane has been so wonderful through all this but has a very busy few
work weeks ahead and will have to balance out home and hospital with this. Pray for her strength and physical well being
throughout. Pray for the kids as well,
both near and far, pray that they would know God’s peace through all this.
1 comment:
I'll add prayers for good hospital food to the list. :)
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