strong and courageous: Prayer

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Prayer

Dear Friends,

Isaiah's fever returned. He will be spending the night at Sutter Memorial tonight (for observation). Please pray for protection from infection and healing in his body. Pray for God's peace to overwhelm Isaiah's heart. Tonight Sienna prayed for Isaiah to come home "soon tomorrow." Please join her in praying for his quick return home. We love you all and will update you on his progress.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...: I'll be praying tonight for you to have God's peace and for your fever to go away. You are an awesome young man!; October 16, 2007 at 10:49 PM
gbeidler said...: Praying for peace, rest and health for all 4 of you tonight. We love you.; October 16, 2007 at 10:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks for the updates via the blog, my heart is encouraged by Isaiah's strength, you all are in my prayers.

Simone Nuzman; October 16, 2007 at 11:37 PM
Auntie Angie said...: Dear Isaiah , we prayed for you tonight. I am thinking of you, and I know that you are brave and strong. I hope to see you soon. I have faith that you will be feeling better. Baby Ethan(Master Yoda) says...may the force be with you young jedi! I will send you a copy of the picture that you took with ethan in your costumes. You both look great!
I love you.; October 17, 2007 at 12:10 AM
www.sixhennings.com said...: I am praying for you this morning and will so many times throughout the day. I am so proud of you in so many ways. I love you.
Angela; October 17, 2007 at 7:07 AM
Kafkas said...: a great cloud of witnesses...you all have had to fight and trust and hope so much already. I'm praying for strength and courage and rest and healing. I love you all! J.; October 17, 2007 at 8:22 AM
mollyllilja said...: We are praying for you this morning Isaiah, that your fever goes away and you can go home. We are so sorry that you feel so yucky. We are glad that you are trusting in God, He will be the lifter of your head.
What a beautiful picture of you and your sister!!
Love,
the Liljas; October 17, 2007 at 8:40 AM
Niamh McCreary said...: we're praying hard for high counts and as always peace.

Love

The McCrearys; October 17, 2007 at 7:13 PM
Tami said...: Isaiah and Oates family,

We are thinking of you all and praying for strength and protection. I've had a song going through my head all week. It's an old one, but a good one... "Thou, oh Lord, are a shield about me. You're my glory, you're the lifter of my head". It's amazing to me what a beautiful example you are, Isaiah of letting God be your shield and how you lift your head to Him! We love you all and we hope you are back in the comforts of home VERY SOON!!

Hugs to you all,

Tami; October 18, 2007 at 7:39 AM

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update on isaiah's progress

We're received quite a few questions recently about Isaiah's treatment. Here's a quick update:

Is he in remission?

Yes. He's officially been in remission since the 17th day after diagnosis, early June 2007.

Is he still on chemo?

Yes.

Mercaptopurin (chemo) daily, orally, with a 3 hour fast.

Methotrexate (chemo) weekly, orally.

Bactrim (antibiotic) daily, orally.

Dexamethasone (steroid) every 8 weeks, orally.

Vincristine (chemo) every 2 weeks, intraveinously.

Methotrexate (chemo) every 12 weeks, in the spinal fluid with a "spinal tap".

Currently he is at the clinic at Sutter Memorial every two weeks for a blood check, etc.

When's he done with treatment?

The protocol for boys with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is 36 months beginning after the initial 60 day treatment. We anticipate he'll be done with chemo at the end of July 2010.

Merry Christmas Friends!

Thank you to all of you who have sent us pictures and updates! It's great to see your faces once again. We've not been able to put something together this year (yet!), so here's a quick update for those who visit us here:

Carmen: doing a great job teaching our kids at home this year, running, hiked Half Dome, lovingly and consistently caring for all of us (and lots of others).

Sienna: super-creative and always nurturing, loves studying at home, played soccer, raised chickens and looking forward to horse-riding lessons in '09. See pictures of her 8th birthday here.

Isaiah: 08 highlights include playing t-ball, learning to swim, riding his bike, a trip to Disneyland, trip to Alabama, and lots of playing.

Nathan: ran a 25K trail run at Stinson Beach, loved our family vacation in San Diego, and is so grateful for our staff, church community, and the ongoing adventure of leading/serving Emmaus. Nate blogs very infrequently here; you can access his pod/vodcasts here.

2008!

There are many ways you can continue to pray for Isaiah. He has some exciting goals ahead in 2008!
Here is the list:

1)Get Strong! He does physical therapy at home 3-5 times per week and at the office 2 times per month.
2)Play Ball! He is working hard to get ready for T-Ball season. Pray he will play and that his compression fractures will heal.
3)Learn at Home! He is working on Kindergarten school work at home. Many factors make school work a challenge. Pray for a healthy brain and a desire to learn.

even more thank yous to...

the students of Amber Bobst's 2nd grade class from Eastside Christian School in Belleview, WA for the cards
all those who have contributed to our gas and groceries fund...you're keeping us going!
all the Emmaus families who have brought dinner to us in recent weeks
the Harrington family for the picnic package
Anne for the book and CD
The Hoke family for the birthday bird
Goebel, Linville, Nutti, and Ferrara families for the great gift certificate
Doris for the pint of ice cream
Emmaus for being the Church and supporting us in countless ways...for the gifts for Isaiah and Sienna...we're so thankful to be sharing life and discovering Jesus with you.
Betsy for the care package for the kids
Diane for the one-prize-a-day gift
Glenda for the beautiful superman quilt
Mrs. Liden for the SuperIsaiah cape and blanket
The Keaton Raphael Memorial Fund
everyone who is praying
friends and family for the financial support
Shirli and the Needle Arts Group for the blankets and hats
Susanna for the cleaning supplies
Susan, Laura, Sandie for nutritional help
Bob and Elaine for the motorhome
The Arena for the Batman blanket
Anne for the quilt
The Arena and The Ridge for supporting Carmen
Sunrise Church for the prayer quilt
Ms. Della Roca's 4th graders at St. Mary's for the beautiful cards
Josh and Lisa for the superman blanket