It seems like I have been pretty quiet here, because I have been! And I have been busy in real life. I arrived back from Arizona last week, after being gone for about 5 weeks to Tucson, had an eye appointment, and have lots to share. Drum roll please...
Update #1: Babies: Baby Ezra is safely still safe within his mama at 37.5 weeks gestation. We hit 38 weeks this Friday. We are SO grateful to God for his blessing in allowing Ezra the time to develop where he can do it best. We hope to return for his birth in another week or so.
Baby Carys is plugging along safely and uneventfully, due around June 17 to Ben and Elsa. We can't wait to meet these two little people.
Update # 2: Grand daughters: I loved spending the last 5 weeks in Arizona. All this time has made great relationships with my little girls, the Pixies, Emma (age 3.5) and Ada (age 2). I am really grateful for all the time I've had with them this winter. It has been a privilege to be part of their families! I have, however, missed my husband, and am happy he will make the next trip with me.
Update #3: The Folks: As some of you know, we had a scare with my father recently, which has resolved well. A biopsy done to determine whether cancer was present came back negative. For this we are extremely grateful, and praising God for His good gift to us of my dad, Jack. (I have a more current photo than this Christmas shot, but I left my camera at their house last week. :-()
Update #4; The eyes have it: Last Friday I had my first set of tests and visit with my eye specialist since starting on remicade. It was full of promising, good news! My left eye is completely quiet and back to seeing 20/20. My right eye still has a small area of activity that we can see around the cataract. But the doc feels we can get that under control with further treatments. I will have a treatment tomorrow, then see my doc before my next scheduled treatment in 8 weeks. If it has cleared, we will stay on an 8-week schedule. If not, she will check on me in 6 weeks, and move up my treatment to every 6 weeks if the insurance will allow it, or up the dosage a bit to compensate. She is hopeful my right eye will be quiet in the next couple monthe, and then we can talk about cataract surgery before the end of the year. It can't be attempted until I've been in remission several months. And once I hit remission, I will stay on the daily cellcept and every-other-month remicade infusions for about 2 years, and then try to wean off and see if i stay in remission.
But perhaps the best news of all was in my blood work. Not only have my creatinine levels returned to their pre-treatment range, but my sed rate has gone down for the first time in years. Whatever unnamed inflammatory process I had going on seems to be also treated by the remicade. Isn't God good to me to give me such encouragement?
I find myself in a place of deep gratitude to my heavenly Father: for friends who have been prayer warriors on my behalf, for family that is a blessing, for a sweet, dear husband who is the best and closest friend a person could have in this life, and for a home elsewhere, where there is no sickness or death, no tears or separation, only fellowship and rest. To Him be the glory now and forever!
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