strong and courageous: alabama

Sunday, August 10, 2008

alabama

We've just wrapped-up a wonderful weekend in Birmingham with dear friends and mentors, Lyle and Mary. Their church, Christ the King, has embraced Isaiah over the many months and miles and invited us to spend the weekend with them. Their generosity and support were overwhelming. After worshipping with them, they threw a combined birthday party for Isaiah and Sienna.

We enjoyed many hours in L and M's pool, lots of time to catch up and share stories, GREAT food, and even a ride in Lyle's WWII jeep (much to Isaiah's delight).

Many thanks, Lyle, Mary, and Christ the King Church!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: That jeep sure is cool. Looks like it was lots of fun. I am a big Star Wars fan too. I have a Lego Star Wars game that I really like.

Ryan Kizer
9 Years old
Arden Church

P.S. My family and I will join you in fasting this Thursday.; August 10, 2008 at 9:51 PM
Anonymous said...: It looks like a wonderful weekend! I am so glad. Love you guys.
Angela; August 11, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm glad you all had fun in Alabama, people there is very nice. I love jeeps and that one is awesome!! I'm happy you guys could ride in it. I'll be fasting too but this would be my first time!! I’ll let you know how it goes.

Reading and Praying

Marisol; August 12, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Tami said...: Hey Isaiah...

Thanks for sharing your dad with us tonight. We really enjoyed our visit with him. We miss seeing you and we want you to know that there is NEVER a day that we don't pray for you, buddy. We heard that you and Sienna will be starting school at home soon... Are you excited about that? You will have so much fun (Carmen, I'm praying specific prayers for you as you start this new journey). We would love to hang out sometime, so just say the word... we'll work out the where and when. Keep being strong, Isaiah. We love you!

Jason, Tami, Lucas, Colby and Caleb; August 12, 2008 at 10:03 PM

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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