Thanks so much for all the love and prayers that have been directed Heaven-ward and our way as well! God's grace in timing and provision just continue to astonish us at every turn. God is good--all the time! Last Monday our lab tests turned out great, and as a result, one of our medications (an immunosuppresant) was dropped. By last Thursday, however, some very important liver numbers were obviously on the rise. We hadn't been home from that morning of labs and physical therapy for more than an hour, when our transplant coordinator called and asked us to return to the hospital immediately. We hustled everyone back into the van and hit the road for a return trip to Charlotte. The children and I got real creative with activities to while away the five or so hours that it took for the team to perform an ultrasound/liver biopsy procedure on Joe. We all returned home later that night thankful for God's safe-keeping through one very topsy-turvy day. (No one had to sing a one of us to sleep that night!) Our coordinator called back on Friday to let us know that the biopsy had revealed some mild rejection going on. Our main anti-rejection medication was increased, and we had went on to have a very quiet, relaxing Easter. We were back to CMC on Monday morning for another round of labs, transplant clinic and physical therapy. We made it as far north from Charlotte as Concord when our transplant coordinator called on the cell phone. Yeah, you guessed it. We had to turn around and head back to the hospital! Our numbers had jumped from 30 to 69 and 37 to 85 last week, and had risen to 155 and 279 by Monday. We checked in at the outpatient infusion clinic in CMC's cancer clinic for a round of heavy-duty IV steroids. Hopefully, that treatment will stop the rejection process. Some amount of rejection is a very common thing. Sort of goes with the territory, I suppose. But it doesn't make it any less unnerving when you go head-to-head with it! The treatment does have Joe's body a little "out of whack", and we have spent the rest of Monday and today giving our Accucheck , syringes, and insulin a pretty good workout. Please pray with us that this won't be a permanent thing. We would rather not add diabetes to our long list on this very interesting journey, but God knows what is best, and will do what is best for us--every step of the way. We go back to Charlotte for labs on Thursday morning. Thanks ever so much for your continued prayers. Your love, prayers, and encouragement mean the world to us!
Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell;
For I know what-e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
"All the way my Savior leads me, cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial, feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter, and my soul a-thirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me, lo, a spring of joy I see.
"All the way my Savior leads me- Oh the fulness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised in my Father's house above:
When my spirit, clothed, immortal, wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages: Jesus led me all the way."
Much love from the Shore family