MyFox Gulf Coast | Mother Hosts Bone Marrow Screening

MyFox Gulf Coast Mother Hosts Bone Marrow Screening

"Lord, we do not understand, but we love you."

In all of the suffering we have faced personally and shared in the lives of others, I have not been able to improve upon Paul's prayer, "Lord, we do not understand, but we love you." It doesn't say more than I know or less than I believe. It is probably as far as I can go in this life in explaining tragedies.

I have lived long enough and seen enough to know that time is on our side in recovering. Living by faith in times of such deep hurt seems to me like holding onto a rope in the midst of an impenetrable fog. Even though holding on is all you can do, in time, some of the mists move away to reveal familiar landmarks that have kept us safe before. Fortunately, God has a good safety net that tolerates an awful lot of spiritual thrashing around....and the rope is gently placed in our hands again. .... I thank God that he is so patient with our limited understanding and seems to send just the friend or word I need in a timely fashion. I can't tell you how many times I have repeated St. Peter's words, uttered when Jesus' teaching was so hard to swallow and so many were leaving him, "Lord, to whom else can we go; you have the words of eternal life." Darned if I can figure out why he permits a world where sin and its consequences can hurt so many good people, but I can't find any other Saviour who will give me so much of Himself in facing that reality. I, too, can find no more to say than, "Lord, we do not understand, but we love you."
{Written by Paul Schoonmaker to a friend.}
Given to me by a friend who has recently seen her share of pain and suffering, I felt I needed to share it with ya'll, if it weren't for our friends and family and our faith this would be unbearable at times. God Bless Ya'll.

July News & Updates

Hey Friends & Family,

I guess no news is good news when you’re battling cancer, Josh’s weekly labs have been uneventful with his counts all staying level or creeping up and into the safe zone, which we are so thankful for. The latest plans are for them to travel back to Houston on July 27th for his six week check up and to start the stem cell evaluation. They will return with a packet for Peyton (Josh’s brother) to be tested for a marrow match. Since the chances are not 100% for Peyton to be a match, we are trying to organize a Bone Marrow Drive in Central Baldwin to try and bring awareness to the public as well as adding to the National Bone Marrow Registry for other cancer patients. If anyone has any insider connections with a coordinator or a contact that could help make this happen, please contact me and give me any info you might have. We are also planning a Blood Drive on the same day as the marrow drive, so if you can’t do one maybe you can help us with the other. I will keep everyone posted as soon as the times and dates are confirmed. Meanwhile, keep in touch and continue the prayers for Josh and the family.

Have a safe & happy 4th of July.
God bless ya’ll, Michelle

Arrival in Houston, TX

We are all in Texas now. Josh & Sarah flew out yesterday with Pilots for Christ. Angel Lyn McNorton got them to Houston in about 2 hours. Judy, myself and the baby drove all day to meet them here. After a full day of labs and tests we checked into our Hotel for a good night sleep. Back to the hospital this morning to actually meet Dr Borthakur, he spoke with us about the disease and the treatment available.

According to his lab, Josh is somewhere between the Chronic & Accelerated phase. This means the Gleevec drug that we thought he would be taking is probably not strong enough to do the job. He mentioned 2 other stronger treatments that he wants to consider giving him. He will need to be put on the transplant list, and ultimately that will be the treatment of choice, but only after a few months of testing and waiting. He told us his research lab would be testing his blood over the weekend and would possibly be able to tell us more at his appointment Monday afternoon.

His white count is down to 3,000 now and he doesn’t want it to go any lower at this point, (4,000 to 12,000 is normal). The Dr. took him off the chemo drug he was taking until he can determine which treatment to go with. His red count is not coming up with the med’s they have given him, and he will probably need a transfusion at the next visit. The nausea has subsided for now and he has been able to eat today, and we’re planning on a good meal for him tonight.

Please continue to pray for us and that the Dr’s will have the knowledge to treat and heal his leukemia. Pray that our trip will be safe and we will be able to bring him home soon.

God Bless our Friends & Family for their support.

Michelle

Donation Account at Regions Bank

Peggy Nelson has kindly helped us set up a donation account in Josh's name at Regions Bank. If you'd like to contribute to the ongoing medical and travel expenses, simply go to any Regions Bank and donate money to the "Joshua C. Bodle Benefit Account."

I'm hoping to also add a PayPal option to this webpage soon that will go directly into that account.

-- Uncle Brad

We're goin' to Texas!

We have had an incredible number of phone calls & emails trying to help us with the flight to TX, and it looks like "Pilots for Christ" will be arranging the first flight for Josh & Sarah on Wednesday, 5/30/2007. His first appointment & labs at MD Anderson are first thing Thursday morning and will possibly take 3-5 business days before returning to Alabama.

I just wanted to let everyone know Josh is on his way home from Baptist Hospital for the night and will need lots of prayers thru next week as he starts the next leg of this journey in TX. Of course I will keep you posted and will let you know his progress weekly.

God Bless you all.......Michelle

Josh's News 5/29

Thanks to my brother Brad for making this Blog happen, I will try to keep it updated with any news and results from the Dr's.

This morning Dr Fitzgerald came in and announced Josh's white count is down to 25,000, we are very excited!!! Now he just needs to get the infection from the Port they used to do the blood treatment in check. They are changing his antibiotics now, so we'll know more later today. Dr F has set an appointment in Houston for Thursday morning, we are in the process of working with "Pilots for Christ" to get Josh and Sarah a flight out tomorrow. I will drive Sarah's mom Judy & the baby out so we will have a vehicle while in Houston. The Dr is saying 3-5 business days of tests for this first trip, then the Dr's in Houston will decide the next step.

I want to thank everyone for their continued Prayers and support, we can't do this without you. Keep lifting Josh up in prayer and know that your prayers are being answered everyday! God Bless our Family & Friends!
Michelle

Testing the new blog

This blog will be set up to keep friends and family updated on Josh's progress with CML. Check back often.