My sister Julie went into the hospital today to start chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She needs a bone marrow transplant and I am the donor. The doctors found more leukemia cells and it is almost to the point of turning into leukemia.

Today was a very bad day, she had to say goodbye to her baby who came home from the hospital on Friday for the first time.

She will be at the City of Hope Hospital for six to eight weeks of treatments and then she has to stay close by for 100 days to make sure everything is going OK. They are taking my stem cells, five million of them, on the 26th.

Thank you for all your prayers and support of my family through this difficult time, we appreciate it very much.

If you would like to get updates on a more regular basis then PM me with your email and I will add you to our list.

Thank you and God bless you.

Jeff

Jeff; A close friend's daughter just completed almost a year of treatment for leukemia. She was given an excellent prognosis and the entire medical team was very positive about her long-term recovery.

She had nearly this entire small town praying for her, so keep up the hope and prayers. God bless you, Julie and the entire family.

I wish all the best for your sister Jeff. My prayers are with her.

Another short update.

They took my stem cells on the 26th and Julie got the implant on the 27th. It isn't surgery, it is like getting a blood transfusion. She is in a lot of pain and it is hard to swallow and talk and she is sleeping a lot.

Today (January 29th) is T+2, that means two days after the transplant, she needs to get to T+100 before she can start eating a regular food. She is getting nutrition through her IV and will be on a very restricted diet after that.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Julie said that when she thinks of all the people she doesn't know who are praying for her it is overwhelming, I agree.

Her son Brett is doing great.

Thank You,
Jeff

UPDATE: Feb 12, 2004

Another Short Update:

Today is T+16, 16 days since transplant. Julies' white counts have been going up the last several days. Today the count is 2000 and that is good. She is in a lot of pain and cannot walk because of blisters on her feet and legs. Her throat still hurts and her skin is bright red and painful. If she could walk she would be allowed to walk in the halls.

Brett is doing great and weighs about 9 1/2 pounds. He sleeps about 4 hours between feedings and is a great baby.

I have been giving platelets when I am down there to visit. I don't know if she will still need mine or if she is producing enough of her own. I will continue to give even if she doesn’t need them because someone else will.

Thanks for your continued prayers and God bless you.

Jeff

Jeff,
Add me to the prayer list.

Samuel

Another Update:

Today is T+27, Julies' white count went up to 6.1 today and that is in the normal range.

Her liver count went up today and that is a sign of Host Vs Graft disease (hvgd) and is very serious.

HVGD is when the host cells (her old cells) fight the graft cells (transplanted cells). The graft cells could be attacking her organs and causing her liver counts to go up. She is very scared because there where people in the hospital with her who have died from this.

We need to pray for:

God to take away this HVGD quickly before her organs are damaged and her liver counts go down.

For her white counts to stay up and her platelets and red blood count to go up.

That the sores in her throat clear up.

That God gives her and us the peace and strength to get through this.

Scripture and prayer is our lifeline right now.
Thank you all for praying for us. May God bless each of you and your families.

Thank You,

Jeff

Doug,

We have people all over the world praying for Julie. We started out just emailing our friends and relatives and they put the request on prayer chains and it just spreads from there. A friend of the family’s brother is a retired preacher and he says he has passed it on to almost 5,000 people.
We have gotten a lot of emails that start " You don't know me but...," it is amazing the love and support we have been getting from emails.

Thanks for your prayers.

Jeff

You and your sister have been added to my family’s prayers, may God help you both overcome!

Another Update Day T+40:

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the hospital to visit Julie and she was having a very good day. Her in-laws where bringing her new baby, Brett to see her, the first time she has seen him in 8 weeks. He is doing great and weighs almost 12 pounds and is still sweet as can be. She can be unhooked from the IV's for 2 hours a day and is able to go outside. Just getting out of the room is good for her. She can spend time in my parent’s room or the motor home that her husband is staying in.

Her White counts are up to 8.3, 6 to 11 is normal. Her platelets have not come up yet and her red counts are steady. Her Host vs Graft Disease is getting better and her liver counts are almost normal. She is eating real food and keeping it down.
She might be able to go home soon or at least stay in an apartment on the hospital grounds.

Thanks for all your prayers.
Jeff

Sincerest wishes for a complete recovery. God's light shine upon you.

Another Update: 3-16-04

Today we got some bad news, Julies' white counts which where up to 8.1, above 6.0 is normal, have been going down and today dropped to 1.3. The doctors don't know what is causing the problems and we don't know what, if anything, the doctors can do next.

Julie is getting very discouraged and normally she is very happy and upbeat. She has been through so much pain and she is starting to give up.

PLEASE PRAY that God will heal her and give her and us the strength we need.

Her baby Brett is doing great, he's getting bigger and fatter every day. He was there for a visit today and Julie is to weak to hold him.

Thanks for all your prayers. We really need them.

Jeff

Best wishes to Julie, you, and the rest of your family. God is watching over you.

Best,
Blake