Update on Chris 12-18-06
Merry Christmas every one! We hope and pray that you are having a blessed holiday season together with your families and making lots of memories to cherish! We have some news to share about Chris…

The first is a Christmas blessing… Chris’ AFP level has continued to go down and is now 1769! As you know, this is the marker the doctors’ have watched to help determine the success of the chemo. Over the last 9 months, it’s gone up and down. This is, by far, the lowest it’s ever been! This is wonderful news!

A few other things… Chris has had some swelling in his legs and feet. He was sent for an Ultrasound of his legs today, after chemo, to make sure there wasn’t a blood clot in his legs. The results were clear, so Chris was prescribed some medication to help reduce swelling. He is scheduled to go back Friday for an abdomen CT, to make sure there is not a clot in this area.

His platelets and red count are low, but the doctor is managing them. He also continues to have numbness in his feet(neuropathy), which can be painful when he walks. This is a big concern, since it can be permanent. Please pray for Chris concerning this issue.

Today was the last scheduled chemo. The doctor has received a verbal agreement from the insurance company to cover the transplant, but they are waiting for the written approval. As soon as they receive written approval, they will begin stem cell collection. This will be a 3 week outpatient process, many trips back and forth, to collect stem cells. When this is complete, they will proceed with the transplant. So, we are looking at probably the end of January.

Other news… Chris and I had a very nice surprise gift over the weekend, from some very special people. We had a very luxurious night away, which proved to be very relaxing and refreshing for us. Thank you to every one who made this happen for us. We’ll never forget it! The rest of the family is doing well. Justin is turning 6 years old tomorrow! We have a big birthday party planned. This time of year, we can’t help but be humbly grateful for all that God has provided and for the miracles we’ve seen. Please continue to pray for Chris this week, as the week following chemo is always hard. We are praying that he will be feeling good in time for Christmas activities.

Thank you all for being our friends, family, support, prayers and encouragement this year. We will never forget how real God has been to us, all because of you walking through this with us.

Wishing you many Christmas blessings,
Mandy Joyce