Today, Sunday the 18th of December Kole and his mom and dad are flying out of Cleveland and into Memphis, Tennessee in order to visit St. Jude Children's Hospital (dedicated to treating children with cancer). Kole will be spending three days undergoing testing. This testing will tell them more about the treatment ahead for Kole. He will have another MRI, test Kole's Bone Marrow, and perform another spinal tap. A journey around Christmas brings me back to the Christmas story. The timing may seem inconvenient but we know from the Christmas story it was necessary to travel far from the comforts of home in order to fulfill God's promise of a savior being born in Bethlehem. We believe God is directing and protecting them as they follow the good Lord as he leads them.
After the three days they will make a final decision as to whether to continue treatment at St.Jude. If they stay in Memphis, Kole and family will not be scheduled to return home until after the middle of February (at the conclusion of his radiation). They will be home for around three weeks and will return to Memphis's St. Jude for Chemo scheduled to end around the middle of June. Pray for Kole's healing and the protection of every healthy cell in his body. Pray that God continues to uphold, comfort, and grant peace to Kole, Steve, Janni, and family. Janni has stated over and over that she feels surrounded by love, concern, and support not only from incredibly kind friends and family but also from caring folks they have never had the privilege of meeting. There is so much to be thankful for and we just thank you for being God's arms of compassion and provision.