THANKSGIVING

Wednesday I flew to Houston early in the morning and returned late that afternoon from my doctor’s appointment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Son Evan made the plane reservations through his employer Delta Airlines. People were amazed I could make both flights on stand-by on the day of heavy holiday travel.


Son Seth and wife Haley, who had been near Nacogdoches at her parent’s ranch, picked me up at the Houston airport, accompanied me to the doctor’s appointment, and returned me to the airport.

Yesterday we celebrated a joyful Thanksgiving Day. My sister Lydia traveled from SC to be our “guest chef” for the day. She prepared an absolutely awesome meal for the 13 members of our family present.




Wow! A wonderful plan came together by God’s grace and the goodness of His children. Psalm 100 is so true!
“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”

My appointment with Dr. Romaguera in Houston produced a plan in coordination with Dr. Hermann, my local oncologist. It is based on the fact that I still have much lymphoma in my bone marrow after five rounds of chemotherapy. Since “Plan A” has not been successful, we will proceed with “Plan B.” For the next four weeks I will receive a weekly infusion of one drug (Rituxin).

Meanwhile, I will start the process of a stem cell transplant. My two siblings and I will have blood tests to see if one or both of them are a suitable stem cell donor. There is a 25% chance that either of them could be a match. If one of them is not the donor, then a search will be made on a national donor registry.

My hope is that a transplant could occur in January. I will need to decide whether to go to M.D. Anderson in Houston or Emory in Atlanta for the transplant. I do not relish spending a month in the hospital, much of it in isolation. Nor do I look forward to three months of follow-up with regular trips to the hospital. BUT if it necessary for life, so be it.

I realize as a consequence of having mantle cell lymphoma, I am 100 times more likely than other people to develop some other type of cancer. I have been much encouraged this week to hear the stories of others who have been through stem cell transplant and now live cancer-free.

"Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME." For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:1-5)