A while back I posted about the fact that I had Multiple Myeloma, a form of cancer, and asked for your prayers.  I know many of you have been praying for me, and I  can’t thank you enough.  After two stem cell transplants this summer  I met with my oncologist at the University of Iowa and want to share with you my current status.

The great news is the I am officially in remission!  Praise the Lord!  For Myeloma patients, what that means is that the number of cells carrying the Myeloma cancer has dropped below 100 million, making any cancer undetectable.  So next week Monday I start on a maintenance program that will last the next two years.

The first year, I will have chemo by infusion on Monday and Tuesday every other week, and also an oral chemo medication.  This is necessary is because once the remaining Myeloma cells realize that all the ones in my system are dead, they will wake up, and as they do they must be killed over a period of time.  The second year I will just do the oral chemo.  By the end of the second yea, they have found that all the sleeping cells have woken up and been killed off, and I can then be declared cancer free.

I also still have other issues I am dealing with that have come up during my treatments.  The first and most difficult is neuropathy in both of my feet and hands.  Both of my feet have developed drop foot as a result of this.  So not only do my feet hurt and are numb all over, I also have to wear a brace all the time in order to get around.  Moving about is not something I look forward to atoud all.  In my hands, it’s my pinkie finger, both of which are numb, and the finger next to it, which is about half numb.

The second issue is my right shoulder, which is not functioning at all.  The fortunate thing about it is that I have no pain in the shoulder.  I am working with a neurologist on both of these issues and can only hope there is some solution.

Of course, I know my healer is Jesus, and I trust that H will heal me in His time, and that he will give me the strength to endure until the healing comes.  He has been very merciful to me, and I love Him with all my life!

I thank you again for your prayers and support.  One of the big pluses for me through this whole thing is that I have become involved in this community of bloggers, and it has brought me a lot of joy.  You are wonderful people, and I am blessed to have the time now to stay involved.   God bless you all!