I'll start with today. Then I will update you a bit on our life since my last post in April in an UPDATE post coming in the next week or so!
Tonight - this very hour - marks the exact time 2 years ago that Mark started his Bone Marrow Transplant. It took about 3 hours and continued into tomorrow. It was a great night full of different emotions. You can read this post A VERY FULL WEEK to remember where we were at, just days before the transplant. When I read these words it seem SO long ago. Our road has been so long and hard it feels much longer than 2 years.
I am still so very grateful for the gift of LIFE we were all given that night. Those cells were the first step in this long road! Without that 1 donor in 19 million - I don't know what we would have done. All evidence says we would not have a daddy, husband, friend, brother, uncle or son with us today. I will forever be grateful for our donor. We hope to meet him soon - if only virtually or on Skype as he may still be living in Great Brittan. Since it was an international donation we had to wait until we reached the 2 year mark to make contact - we hope to get the go-ahead soon. Please pray that the donor is willing to "meet" us as I have been waiting SO long to tell him how thankful I am for him! I have prayed for this man so often and want to know who he is. I want him to SEE what his sacrifice has blessed us with. I'll keep you updated!
As I think back over the last 2 years I have 2 very different emotions. The first: pain/heartache. The treatment, recovery, collateral damage and GVHD were so hard to walk through. They tested (and continue to test) our love, our relationship and our faith. They challenged us like nothing before. They broke us down and also somehow strengthen us. Maybe these 2+ years didn't so much strengthen us but proved to us - just how strong we are when we rely on Christ! The Lord has truly blessed us. That brings me to the second emotion: Gratitude. I am so grateful for an odds-beating, strong, surviving husband. I am grateful for our donor, for our friends/family/support, and for the lessons along the way. We call them "silver linings." They are the perspectives, lessons or opportunities that we would not have had without leukemia, transplant and battling to survive. Sometimes they are hard to explain but they are there all the same.
Looking forward, I am excited for the opportunity to make memories with 4! When we struggle and doubt we can keep going, we remember that we are being given time that MANY do not get. That we can make memories with 4! A mom, 2 boys and a DAD! A gift we don't forget to give thanks for. One that we do not take for granted. As I type this I weep for those we know who did not get more time, for the loved ones making memories with 1 less. I pray for them often and use the sadness to remind me to be thankful for what I have - to rock what we've got and to never give up hope.
There are still things we struggle with emotionally, mentally and physically - but things are getting better all the time. Mark is STRONG. He is doing really well. This July he went back to work part time! This was a huge step for him and our family. God provided the absolutely perfect opportunity for Mark. We couldn't have designed anything better ourselves. Thank you Jesus! He is enjoying it and getting into the rhythm of it all. I am SO proud of him.
After sending his labs and some test to Seattle - they informed us that we do not need to go back for a 2-year evaluation. He is too healthy to warrant the tests and stress. They will continue to monitor him, and he will, of course, still continue seeing his oncologist here in Spokane - but so far so good. We have a taper schedule for his immune suppression drug. It will take about 18 months to complete the taper if all goes well - but when complete he will be able to get off nearly all his meds and we will be able to take a deep breath of relief. It is a really good indicator of "long-term survival" to completely taper off of the immune suppression drugs. We will celebrate that day for sure!
As we continue to walk in faith, we are thankful to be together tonight and excited to be making future plans - believing that we will be together and healthy to complete them. Happy "Birthday" Mark! I love you and am so glad you are here! Feel the "love"tonight as I am SURE I am not the only one that feels this way! Keep fighting, keep working hard to get back all that this "adventure" has stolen from you and us! We can do it baby! Here's to many more years of rocking what we've got and giving God all the glory!
Stay tuned - this Adventure isn't over yet... in fact it seems to finally be getting good again!! :)
