Day Minus-2 and Going Strong

Jeremiah 29:11
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

We are two days from the transplant day. Tammy has one more day of the rabbit protein, the treatment that has caused her the most difficulty so far. Even though it's normal, it's still tough to handle. She's extremely tired, plus sometimes nauseous. After tomorrow, she'll be on the up-swing.

She'll get her transplant Wednesday evening and start the recovery process. Our prayer is that the new bone-marrow cells will adapt to her body seamlessly and starting growing new blood cells quickly. We are so thankful our donor has been so generous to provide life to Tammy. Without him, Tammy would have gotten continuously worse. We ask God, the ultimate giver of life, to bless him richly.

We don't know anything about the donor, other than the fact that he is 37 years old. We don't know where he lives, whether he's married or has kids, what he does for a living, or anything else about him. The cool thing, is God knows who he is and how to bless him. He knew before the beginning of time that Tammy would need this transplant and that he would be a perfect match. He placed it on this person's heart to be a bone-marrow donor.

God's plan is perfect. He knows everything about us, everything that will happen to us, and the way we'll react to it. We have tried to react to every difficulty with grace and peace. It has been difficult for both of us. It's certainly been difficult for Tammy to endure the sickness. It's also been difficult for me to see the woman of my dreams suffer. But we both know that God loves her more than I do, and that He has a plan for her.

Remember that Tammy's prayer for years has been "to be used in a mighty way"? Recently, one of the nurses I had just met told me "Your faith will get you guys through this." That proves to me that Tammy has been a great witness through all of this. Even when she's barely able to hold her head up, she's ministering to the staff. That's mighty.

We ask that you join us in praying for the donor, for the new bone-marrow cells, for a smooth transition, and for a quick and complete recovery. God bless you.