Christmas Post from Melissa

WE ARE HOME! and ONE DOWN, FOUR MORE TO GO! Of course, I'm talking about Myla's chemo treatments for her congenital Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Since this disease is very aggressive, the treatment for it is very aggressive. I don't have space here to describe all the ways that God has been our strength and all the ways He has provided for us over the last four weeks: From praying a friend would call (and five minutes later she did) to God's gracious hand on Myla (you'd never outwardly know she had leukemia or chemo treatments) to someone giving us a car (1997 Volvo and getting it to us from Florida) to wonderful nurses who came at key moments (some who share our faith and others who don't) to my mom staying at the hospital with me to having a private room with a private bathroom to ....I could go on and on. God has been so gracious to our family in so many ways and has filled our hearts with His Peace. Daddy and Little Raul hung out together a lot putting puzzles together, going to museums, traveling to Kokomo lots to check on the cats, and coming to the hospital for visits with Mommy and Myla. (A real blessing has been that they have stayed at the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital.) Myla and Mommy hung out together in her hospital room waiting for the day we could come home. A healthy immune system (Actual Neutrophil Count or ANC) would be 10,000 but Myla's is 222. That means I can't even trim her nails -- if I would accidentally snip her finger, infection could set in that could kill her. Our week at home is going fast but it has been a great break emotionally, mentally, and physically. Myla's ANC should be close to 1,000 by Monday, so, December 17 is scheduled to begin at 9:00 am with taking Myla to the Riley Outpatient Clinic for her next bone marrow aspiration, spinal tap, and chemo treatment in her spine and readmittance to the hospital to start round two of her chemo therapy. I can't put into words how much we appreciate all your prayers, notes of encouragement, notes with stickers and toys for Little Raul, gas cards, restaurant cards, monitary gifts, and offers to help with whatever we need. Yes, we'll be at the hospital over Christmas! Myla's last dose of chemo should end Christmas day. This Christmas will be even more meaningful to us as we celebrate the One we put our Hope in: the Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth so many years ago -- born as a baby, grew up to be a man who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, then prepared a perfect place for all who would believe in Him. It's through our Faith in Jesus Christ that we can have Joy and Peace this holiday season -- not based on the outcomes of Myla's treatments but based on the trust we have in His character. Merry Christmas!