March 23, 2006

Janni Called two days ago and said that Kole's chemotherapy will begin on Friday, March 24th. For some reason they moved the starting date back a day. He will be admitted into the hospital on Thursday and will be there until Thursday, March 30th. His last chemotherpy day will be on March 29th. He will be in an extra day to check his white blood cell count and to return some of his harvested stem cells. They all will go to their apartment in the Target House if there are no complications. God has answered so many of our prayers and we need to continue to give our thanks to God for the answered prayers and to remember Kole in your prayers as he under goes his chemotherapy.

Janni reported that they harvested the stem cells on Monday, March 20th. They put him to sleep to do the harvesting. It all started around 8 o'clock and they were back to the Grizzley House by 11 o'clock. Again we thank the 'Good Lord' for helping him through this. It has been said that this could be quite painful. However, Kole managed it very, very well and did not complain about being sore. Matter of fact, when his Dad returned from Ohio that evening he wanted to wrestle with him which his mother quickly put a stop to that just in case it could make matters worse.

When they arrived in Memphis on March 14th there were no apartments available in the Target House. Therefore they placed them in the Grizzley House which is a short term residence setting. They believe an opening will be available on March 24th in the long-term
setting at the Target House. The Target House has two bedroom apartments which will give them a lot more space than they had at either the McDonald House or the Grizzley House.

One of my favorite Bible passages is found in Isaiah 4o: 29-31. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord and will renew their stength. They will sour on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint".

My thoughts go back to Kole's operation on Dec. 2nd and the effects that it had on his right hand, arm, and leg. His right limbs had lost their strength, reflexes, and cordination. The surgery effected Kole like it does to some stroke patients. Kole, during that time, was very weary and frustrated. If he wasn't helped he would stumble and fall. However, the Lord renewed his strength. He started to walk and not fall; he is running and is not afraid to go off on his own. It has taken a lot of patience, but as we wait and trust the Lord we see that He heals and gives us strength. Thank God for His love, healing, inspiration, and care.
Phil Sprunger (Grandpa and Dad)