Day Plus 13-Staying Ahead of the Curve

The results from my labs continue to show that I'm ahead of the curve, which is what the doctors have been telling me. Typical total hospital stay is 1 month, which would put me at 08/11/17 for discharge. White blood cell counts have increased from a low of 0.1 during Days+7 to +10 to 0.8 today. Platelets have increased from a low of 9000 on Day+9 to 58,000 today. The doctors have also mentioned possibly discharging me either over the weekend or sooner if the labs results continue their upward trend and my mouth sores heal. That would put me ahead of schedule by about a week. We will see. Ultimately my schedule is in God's hands. Hopefully we will be able to get into the Home Apartments right across the street from the hospital.

SPOILER ALERT. This just came in earlier this evening. Now even though these test results will be used tomorrow for Day+14, I just received wonderful news that I just had to share. My WBC's have now jumped from 0.8 to 1.8. Platelets have now jumped from 58,000 to 143,000. And get this. My hemoglobin has jumped from 7.8 to 8.9, my hemoglobin, which for the past year I've been having checked every week to determine if I need to have a blood transfusion, my hemoglobin which has never gone up on its own without a blood transfusion. FYI, hemoglobin is a protein that is found inside the red blood cells and is responsible for carrying the oxygen coming from the lungs to the different parts of the body. And the red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow, which mine has not been producing over the past year. But here's the bad news. Because of all the improvements in my results, I had to give up my solo room to a more deserving patient and move back to a shared room. Let's call my new roomie Dirty Harry because he sounds like Clint Eastwood and is always cursing. He moves out tomorrow, so hopefully I stay solo in my shared room until discharge.

In light of tonight's great news, I cannot help but think of 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, which says:
⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. During my trial with my blood for this past year, I have realized how fragile our lives are, much like jars of clay. Hear I am as 40 year old dealing with a blood cancer. Yet despite my affliction and perplexity in all this, never have I felt crushed nor have I been driven to despair as I continue to trust God and Jesus Christ in all this. Because I know that all power belongs to God and not to me or any man. God who created us and knows the very number of hairs on our head. God, who Himself was the one who granted wisdom and knowledge to the doctors and nurses who treated me. I have much to be thankful for today.