Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Waiting Upon the Lord

Psalm 27:14
"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Psalm 33:20
"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield."

We're in waiting mode. KU Medical Center has started the process to find a bone-marrow donor match. It is a long process, with multiple tests needed. (There are 3 million people in the registry, and it would take a while to call all of them.) Seriously, it takes time for the computer to cull through the records to find matches in all the necessary markers.

We met with the hematologist today. He started the process to put Tammy on preventative medicine while we wait to find a transplant donor. The medicine is designed to spur the bone marrow to make new blood cells. It works half the time, but there are no side effects if the medicine doesn't work. Thirty percent of the time, the patient's blood levels return to normal levels. That's our prayer.

We still have peace about the situation. Without Tammy's brothers being a match, the process will be much more drawn out. But it doesn't have to be an ordeal. We're hopeful that she can continue to feel well up until the day the transplant is done. Then, we hope for a smooth 100 days during the transplant and follow-up.

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