100 Day Update on Matt
They say hindsight is 20/20. If that’s true, what do I see today that I didn’t 100 days ago?
See, today is a milestone in the world of transplant. It is day 100 - a day that we’ve been working toward since this process all started in April when we learned Matt’s leukemia had relapsed. Why is today so important?
Medically speaking, it’s when the “most critical” post-transplant period comes to an end. Some medications can be stopped and lab draws and clinic visits can now become less frequent. It’s also when transplant patients get to “go home” after having to live within 30 minutes of the hospital.
What does this mean for Matt? Well, his case still remains a mystery. Yes, his transplant is still considered a failure because the donor cells did not engraft. But his own immune system continues to recover - something physicians across the country have never seen and cannot explain.
Because of this, we were able to return home to Columbia from Kansas City nearly two months ago and since then have been focused on recovering. With the exception of a two-week battle with C-diff infection, Matt has continued to physically feel better and stronger. His blood counts remain strong, while his immune system still has a long way to go to “recover.”
Matt’s hair is growing back and so is the realization that the emotional recovery from cancer treatment can be as difficult as the physical one. We’ve been down this road before; we know there is no magic day that makes this all ok. There is no milestone that makes us wake up and not consider where we’ve been and the trauma that we’ve endured because of it.
But days like this one do make us stop and reflect. And when we do, we can’t help but see God’s faithfulness in each and every day. We see it in how Matt was re-diagnosed through an unrelated lab draw, allowing us to jump on his treatment before he became symptomatic. We see how God held us all during those 15 days of hospitalization during COVID when no one could visit him, how he surrounded Matt with an amazing medical team, provided for all our material needs, and how he ultimately answered our prayers for Matt’s restored health through the transplant process.
This morning as we reflected on the journey, Matt said, “Well we got here. It just looked different than anyone could have imagined.”
Looking ahead, I am certain God will continue to reveal himself in countless ways we can never imagine. My prayer is that his steadfast care during these past six months will give me confidence for tomorrow, and then the next day and then the next. I pray that his faithful presence will help me trust in him more naturally and give Matt’s life to him more completely. I ask him to continue to draw us near and remind us that HE is always our greatest need.
And I thank him, on my knees, with tear filled eyes. My son is alive and living proof that our God is able to do more than we can fathom or ask for. He is good, even in the midst of this difficult road that he’s called Matt and our family to walk. He is faithful, even when the words cancer and survival are the center of our world.
Today I thanked God again for each of you and for every single prayer said on our behalf. Every single prayer. I have no idea how many prayers that is, but I do know that your prayers were heard. You found words when I didn’t have any. You pleaded when I couldn’t. You allowed me to rest and ultimately, in God’s goodness, helped get us to today!
God has been faithful and so have you. We stand amazed and humbled.
Thank you and bless you all.