We are asking ourselves that same question. After all, the treatment looks really good. His body is responding well. We hit the magic 5% mark and then some. WHY ARE WE STILL IN THE HOSPITAL?
The answer is the cell counts. Chemotherapy does a great job at killing leukemia cells; unfortunately it also does a good job of killing white blood cells and other cells necessary for Joshua's immune system to fight off infection. While his body is responding, his cell counts are still low. If we went home now, it would be dangerous for us because Joshua could not fight off even the slightest infection. So we wait.
And we will likely be spending alot of time in the hospital particularly over the next year. One of the things that has had to change in our understanding is that "remission" does not mean the same thing as "cured." Even though Joshua is technically in remission, that makes very little difference in his treatment. He will still have to have chemotherapy every Friday or Wednesday. He will still have all the side effects of that chemo. We will still battle this for at least 3 years. And this is the first of many extended stays in the hospital. Every time Joshua gets sick we will pretty much be back here because of his body's decreased ability to fight disease. The bone marrow that initially produced the leukemia cells still has to be fixed, and that will take some time of chemotherapy.
Thanks for hanging in there with us. Thank you for celebrating with us and for also trying to understand with us how we can have such good news but still have such a long journey. Thank you for being on the journey with us. More soon... hopefully from home.
8 comments:
Psalm 9:1-2
We love you guys with the Love of the Lord. T,L,S & S Byrd
Praying for strength for each of you. You all are huge encouragement to us. May He refresh you as only He can. The Tims
Michael and family--
This is the first time I've logged on and read your blog--deeply moving. Although I know your journey will be long, I know that God has provided you guys with real hope. Just know that there are many who continue to pray for you.
Your expression of faith in Christ is an inspiration.
Monte
I pray for peace and patience. I pray that you would bless Joshua and that you would begin to reveal Your purposes for the Kelly's in their new mission field.
Still praying...
One thing I know about your family is that you will use these divine intersections in life with people that you would normally not connect with to the fullest opportunity. I was just talking this am about moments in life where the Lord has me in my not-normal-zone for divine moments. Praying that those will be comforting and time consuming as you wait.
Know that many wait with you.
Love you guys,
Roger, Becca and family
Hello Kelley's!
Hope things are better today. I was reading your blog to check up on Joshua and saw your heading and chuckled because Kyle and I asked that question so many times. It is frustrating because everything is the same and your child is doing well, but because of his counts, you can't go home. Rest assured, when you enter the maintenance phase of his treatment (after the first 10 months of intense treatment) you will be able to stay home when his counts are low. When they enter the maintenance phase of treatment, their counts tend to stay a little more consistent. We noticed that Aaron's counts would bottom out after 4 to 6 months because like you said, the chemo kills the good and the bad cells. Hang in there! I continue to pray for you daily and hope things are heading back to more "normal." Please email with any questions or if you just need to vent about the hospital stay.
Jennifer Hawley
jhawley@extendicare.com
Thank you for giving us details so that we can understand where he is in his treatment and where he is headed. We will pray for his counts to come up and his side effects to be minimal and also for you to have some peace of mind during these hard days of being in the hospital with a 2 year old who does not understand why he has to be there. Know that you are loved and prayed for!
The Mahers
this morning i thought about jana while washing my face in the shower. i tried it your way...and you know what? doggoneit, you are RIGHT! it IS better the other way!
i love you!
erin moon
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