It is...

Not a bad week, not a great one either..still some issues with fluids. Not 'holding' them as well as desired. But not digressing either. Liking the Pedialyte. Good nutrients etc..
Hope all is well with you...Press on. We give thanks..

Love,

Bill and Becky

We never know..

Never know..had to go to hospital today..Becky needed fluids. Had a bumpy Saturday and Sunday...not able to hold anything. So off we go for medical attention. She is home now. Feeling much better. We do give great thanks for being able to have City Of Hope within a reasonable driving distance. AND, we never take for granted the hour or so drive. We are always thankful for safe travel. We pray she will regain her appetite..drink plenty of fluids and hold them...thus strength will return.
Again, she is much better now since she's had the fluid intake..thank you for your prayers..

Much love,

Bill & Becky

Testing day..

Becky's big test day had good flowness..appointments were precise... The bone marrow procedure went well. Sore the next day and will be a few days therefter, but otherwise, the marrow cooperated. We will have the results in a few days. As mentioned, we think the marrow factory is producing quite well, since the platelets are remaining at a desirable level. A few other levels were of some concern, and will be addressed in the next week or so, but overall the lab sheet looked good. We, of course, hope the bone marrow sample will reveal a productive and healthy body marrow. Becky is having a few issues this Sunday..but we pray they are just temporary..We've been on a nice playing field or level field for quite sometime, and hope to to continue this level walk.
Driving and 'normal' day to day exertion seem distant for now, but we know the 'steering wheel in her hand' and other normalcies will come...Honestly, we don't think about full-on normal. We just want the day to be medically uneventful coupled with slight signs of improvement. Yes, uneventful in Becky's world can be OK...
We pray you also have uneventful days..but also days of joyous events..Child birth, warm and fuzzy family gatherings, good career moves, no career moves, sports teams winning, car running good, and much more.
God's peace and comfort blanket you all..

Love,

Bill & Becky and Abbey who is doing good in school..had a great first quarter..she STILL likes school! Yahooo Mtn. Dew. :0+=

One year testing..

Still hard to believe one year ago Becky had the stem cell transplant..and now she has to have this mucky-muck test..a procedure to check the bone marrow progress, gotta be knocked out for awhile..then get draw out a little marrow and see if it's being nice..Plus she has to have lung scan, breathing tests and more..A long day but necessary. Life has been somewhat drama-less lately and we are so grateful. She did have to have this huge IV drip last Sunday, an immune booster concoction, but we know this is way it is..When a certain immune system marker drops below a certain level, then this big bad-boy IV has to enter the room and make it's presence. Seems to happen every month or so. But again, it's OK..we know it's just part of the journey..But as mentioned, the last week or so has been calm..
WE hope you have had some calmness as well. May you have perseverance to withstand the blitzkrieg of trials this life can sometimes throw at you. I think of it like the tennis ball machine, those balls just keep coming hard and you gotta hit'em back, or dodge'em with precision, or slow the machine down, or just cut that dang thing off.. ain't that life..hit back, dodge it, slow it down, or just stop what your doin..and perhaps reload..but whatever you do..celebrate it...celebrate life!
Keep us in your prayers..Pray this ONE year exam will be stellar..the bone marrow will be a platelet producing factory..and pray all other levels will be normal or at least in the normal arena..

Being at peace can take some effort, but try and try again...and love thy neighbor along the way...

Much love..God Bless you..

Bill and Becky

ONE year 'old'..Wow! Hard to believe..

We celebrated Becky being one year old today...So hard to grasp that one year ago, the stem cell transplant was done...Of course, we will never forget the transplant day, and the days leading up to it. We are so thankful for a donor somewhere in this world who gave their blood stem cells..She (yes, we do know she is female and 43 yrs old) is indeed an 'earth angel'..We did receive a generic letter from her saying she was praying for us..and then she quoted Joshua 1: 9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

We were absolutely blown away by this...we will never forget receiving this letter..
It was a huge boost on a tough day for Becky..

So, now one year later, we look back at a journey of extremes...extreme canyons of depair and uncertainity to extreme highs of disease cure and other mountaintop moments..We thank God, we Praise God for being in all of these moments...We know there are more highs and lows to come..But we just want to stop at this time and just breathe say 'thank you'..
We thank all of you for your prayers and well wishes..and food and other support.
We feel your love..we really do. Many of you have your own extreme trials and for you to take the time to pray for us, to call, text or email us, actually feed us, or blog comment..we send a BIG boatload of gratitude..as they say today..a BIG shout-out to you!
Tomorrow is another day..but Becky will wake up with a forward motion attitude..but as mentioned, she will look back too..she will look back at just how amazing this has all been...amazingly wonderful and amazingly dark, but knowing the Lord Jesus was with her every step, every procedure, every wearisome day and nite...He was faithful, when we were faithless.

So press on good friends and family..press on..Seize the day. Skip your rocks on the pond of love, kindness, determination, forgiveness and more..watch what these ripples can do.

Much Love to you all...Celebrate and we mean it..celebrate life..

Bill and Becky

PS. AND A BIG SHOUT OUT to Barbara and David K. for bringing a Happy Birthday cake and the quilt made by "Loving Stitches" a JOF church ministry..It was all a surprise to Becky..She loved it! Thanks again B & D!..

Mixed bag, but heavy with the good..

Had the checkup..Becky's levels were good except for the IGG level..which means some immune system tweaking neccesary. We have to go back in a few days and get a big time IV infused. A 5 to 6 hour procedure. Sorta dissappointed we have to do this, but we won't hang our hat on it..because most other lab levels looked really good. Really good. Becky also has to have the 'one year later' bone marrow draw procedure and other tests. We are two days away from the ONE year anniversary of the stem cell transplant! Wow, hard to believe. We think back about where we were one year ago this week and the road we have traveled...and still continue to traverse. What a journey. We give thanks for the many wonderful medical advances..we give thanks for the nurses who administered meds and some TLC along the way..We, of course, are grateful for the physician overseeing this entire process..And ultimately, we thank the Lord for orchestrating the path toward restoration and healing. He is a great conductor. We trust in His conducting every note..
Learning to trust..hard to do sometimes, but it can be done..
We hope and pray all is well with you..keep trusting in Him..

Stay tuned..We will have a 'birthday' party this Saturday..will let you know if the cake was good! Becky will blow out that ONE candle with great exuberance!

Much Love,

Bill, Becky and Abbey..