Numbering Our Days
“Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
In transplant days, today is Day -18.
We are learning that transplant teams are exceptional at numbering days. Every day between now and Day +100 has a goal, a desired outcome, a movement toward eradicating this leukemia from Matt’s body forever.
This week was full of pre-transplant testing and evaluations, as well as meetings with financial advisors, social workers, and nurse educators. Matt still has to do many of these tests on his own because the no-visitor COVID policy remains in place.
He’s learning to navigate a hospital that I’ve never even seen the inside of. He’s meeting doctors and nurses every day whose faces I may never get to see. It’s a weird phenomenon, but one we are learning to navigate, with Matt leading the way. As I drop him off at every appointment, I simply have to rest knowing that the Great Physician is with him wherever he goes.
Next week will be much of the same, as we count down toward Day -7, which is the day Matt will return to KUMC as an in-patient. From Day -7 to Day 0, he will receive high doses of chemotherapy and radiation to completely wipe out his body’s immune system and kill any remaining cancer that could be hiding. At the same time, our transplant team is working with the donor’s transplant team to make sure our schedules coordinate perfectly. (More on our donor in another post!)
On Day 0, Matt receives his transplant, which is actually kind of anti-climactic. The stem cells are hung and Matt receives them intravenously just like they were any other infusion. Then we wait; we pray for his body to accept the new immune system and for the transplant to be successful. We pray for complications to be minimized, side-effects to be contained and for Matt to get stronger every single day.
On Day 100, if all is going well, we will get to return to Columbia.
In between, I have no idea what will happen. I know what we hope will happen and what we hope won’t. With all the unknowns, here is what I know with 100 percent confidence: God is going before us and will never leave us. His promises are tried and true and from the very beginning of Creation. He has always preserved and protected His people. He dwells with us, His people. He remains our hope and our redeeming God - every single day.
So we will be spending these next days with Matt laughing, walking, eating, praying and enjoying one another. #TeamMatt, God has numbered all of our days. May we all seek Him and experience Him anew in every one of them - there is where we find everlasting and abundant joy.
We love you. Thank you for your prayers. God hears you and we feel your strength and love.