Faith

We have come together and prayed relentlessly as a family for Mike's healing and today we were given some good news. If you all will remember he had a bone marrow biopsy during his first few days at St. Mary's. I apologize for not knowing all of the proper terminology but basically there were 3 separate tests that were performed on that sample. The biggest test was the cytogenetic testing of his cells. This test in particular represents the single most important prognostic factor for predicting remission, relapse, and overall survival. We were told by Dr. Zigler, the oncologist in Evansville, that these results are either deemed good, intermediate, or poor. Dr. Stein told Mike today that this test was "normal" and that was a "good thing". Having 2 different oncologists means having 2 different forms of communication. I wish I could say that Dr. Stein came right out and said, "Mike, you have a good prognosis" but that was not the case. However, what Stein said was some good news for us.

Mike's white blood count is being brought down next to nothing and should reach its lowest point by the beginning to middle of next week. I talked to him today and he said that he feels pretty good...not as good as he has but not horrible either. He has experienced some nausea and some fatigue. His nausea doesn't seem to hinder his appetite too much and his fatigue hasn't stopped him from doing his walking so we are very thankful for that. All in all he's hanging like a trooper, taking all in stride.

Melisa was able to go home today and see Casey. She is planning on staying at home at least through the weekend and I know Casey will be so happy to have his momma home! Mike will have more visitors down there this weekend as Big Hope and Bret are heading down to Nashville for the weekend. Mom is still down there too. I think they are planning on hitting up the Mellow Mushroom once more at Mikey's request. Seriously ya'll...that is some good pizza!

While we more than likely will never know why Mike has been placed on this journey, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord chose him for this mission. We accept His command, trust that His will shall be done, and the countless blessings that are a direct result of this situation will only be credited to Him. I read a good quote today. It said, "Faith is not believing that God will do what you want. Faith is believing that God will do what's right." This rings so true to me. Being obedient under the Lord and trusting that He knows, in a capacity more than we could ever fathom, what is BEST for us is truly stepping out on faith. I'm not saying that it is always easy but with God, it's always feasible. As 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 instructs, "Be joyful always; pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." If that is His will, then that is exactly what we will do!

Jesus Saves!
Rachel