Day 188

John with his giant platelet!

John was re-admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston yesterday with a 103.5 fever and a suspected bacterial infection. 

Last night and today he has had no fevers.
He is on 2 antibiotics that he will come home on very soon, providing no other fevers arise.

The good news is the counts are still good! To celebrate I got John a plush stuffed platelet! (Platelets are what clots your blood to stop you bleeding when you cut yourself). John spent many months not having too many of them! He nearly have the normal amount now! Hurrah!
Doctor's drew blood for another Chimerism test today and that will be the confirmation of whether the boost is definitely working! All signs point to very good news in that area!

As heart breaking as it was take John back to hospital we know it was a good decision, he obviously needed antibiotics.

He could be home as early as tomorrow! O how I hope!

Day 186

Photo taken by John's Mum- July 2011

I am amazed by John's ability to sleep.

This week I have barely seen him awake! He has been fighting an on and off fever for over a week now. It seemed to subside for the early part of the week but since Thursday it keeps popping it's head back. Today was not bad, highest temp was 100.6 which is low but is indicative that he fighting some kind of infection. All tests done last week at clinic were negative.

So since Thursday I have been staying home. Making sure he eats, drinks, takes medications etc. I really love taking care of him and although I miss my team that are doing outreach for 2 weeks I don't regret for a second choosing to stay with John.

My hope is that I can return to work tomorrow or Monday, probably Monday as would like to see John have one whole day without any fevers before I leave him.

I miss him so much when I am at work, it may sound dramatic (which I am prone too) but I feel like half of me is missing when he is not with me, I know God called us into ministry together and being there without him just feels wrong. 

God knew about this year.
He knew the challenges we would face.
Hope we have more good news soon....

Day 184

Everything is still looking good, doctors smiling and the science is starting to show God's promise to us.

John's fevers cleared up last week but unfortunately resurfaced today. Trying to keep him home and rested and well hydrated; our only option.

Next week the doctors will draw another Chimerism test which should reveal more conclusively how much the boost has worked. And in the next 2 months John will begin to be slowly tapered off his medications which prevent transplant rejection; scary times but it's all looking very positive.

Hope is what has got us this far, hope in what God has spoken to us. Hope is scary though. The counts going up fills us with so much joy but at the same time there is apprehension, "Is he really going to healed?" That question means so much it paralyzes us, "could we dare to hope?"
I know often God's promises don't look the way we would wish them too sometimes but at the same time I know I cannot deny all He has said.

Our decision in the end was to simply declare that today was a good day and let's see what happens tomorrow. For right now John is home and all looks well, fever aside.

Day 177

We are still reeling from yesterdays news!
We still shake our heads and ask "Did that really happen?"


John, although beginning to build a new immune system, is still very weak, very susceptible to infection. Since Sunday he has been having on and off fevers, not super high but ranging from 100 to 102. Today was the 102 fever. We called his nurse to talk, all the while I am praying "Please don't send us to the ER"

They asked him to come the clinic, get a chest x ray and blood work and we would go from there.
We were both pretty calm, I mean the transplant is the most important thing to us and that's going great and we must expect more bumps in our journey, infections will come until his body can fight them.

The good news, and O how it feels good to say the phrase twice in  2 days, is that his chest x ray is totally clear! All blood work so far is negative, although many viral, bacterial and fungal tests have been sent. So the nurse said it is safer for him to go home and rest and if any tests come back positive she will let us know.

O and in 24 hours all his counts are steadily still going up!

So here I sit and type and out of the corner of my eye I see my sleeping John, all tired out from a long day.
But he is home and it is so very good :)

Day 176- The Day we have waited for!

It's been 176 days coming....

Finally, O finally!
The clinic at the Dana was so busy today, all our appointments ran late. We waited and waited to see Bonnie, our lovely nurse.
"I wonder if the counts went up?" "What if they went down?" "What if the boost did not work?" What if it did work?" - Our minds we racing.

Then a beaming Bonnie walks in.
"Did anyone tell you?" she asked
"Your counts are amazing! I can't believe I get to give you the good news!"

So I am sure you have gathered it looks like the boost is working and John's graft is getting stronger by the day! Platelets are up, Red cells up and white cells up! In fact it is working quicker than anyone expected!
It's the day we have been waiting for.
Suddenly every tear seems worth it.
We have hope again, this could really heal John. Really heal him.

Praise God, it's Him all the way. His promise is coming to pass. He deserves all glory!

We are so glad to share this amazing news with you! :)

Let's see how it all began...

On January 5th our bone marrow journey began! I cannot believe I never shared this video of Ian's stem cells being given to John. This was such an exciting day for us, the "the first day of the rest of our lives" we said.
We still believe it, after everything that's happened.

We live in faith
So what does that mean?

That was my challenge yesterday. John and I both woke up feeling a little under the weather so I got up cleaned everything and proceeded to sit there in a mask; John got up feeling yukky! Took his temp 100.8. Now technically I am meant to call his doctor but I stepped back and asked myself "Do I truly believe that taking my husband to the ER is a good idea?" Of course the answer is no.

So I sat back and I did something the old me, 6 months ago me, would never have done. I turned to John and I said "Ok I am going to take your temp every fifteen minutes, I am going to give you Dayquil and you are going to drink lots of fluid and rest...I believe God is building a normal immune system in your body so today I am going to treat you like a normal human being with a sniffle"
I did
No more temps after that. He woke this morning feeling much better.

Now some of you may say that was foolish but I believe it was the right thing to do and as a consequence he is feeling better and he did not have to go into hospital where he has picked up nearly all of his nasty infections that past few months!

Anyway thanks for your prayers, we see the doctor on Wednesday- praying and hoping for more good news!

Thank you!

Please enjoy a video of the Caton's being their normal fairly awkward selves! It's not scripted, I am sure you cannot tell lol :)