Thankful For Change

Brennen went back to Children’s Hospital for blood labs to see if his immune system was gaining strength. We are grateful that his ANC (a picture of how strong your immune system is) came back at 400. It’s a great number compared to the 32 he had on Tuesday but we pray that it will continue to rise.

During this phase of treatment the doctors want to see it between 500-1500 (a typical person’s ANC would be somewhere between 4000-6000). He will continue to hold off on taking his daily chemo until his ANC is over 750. We will be taking more labs sometime next week to ensure he is continuing to strengthen.

Thank you for praying for Brennen. Please pray that we continue to see his ANC rise and that he would stay free of any sicknesses that could easily tear down his immune system when it’s so weak.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”             — James 1:2-4

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32 . . . Please Pray

32. It has been my favorite number for as long as I can remember. Though today, it’s not a number I wanted to hear.

This morning, Brennen went in for his monthly treatment to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Everything looked good. He’s been active, feeling great, and all his vitals were showing to be normal. He received his monthly dose of vincristine through his medi-port as they drew blood labs and we were done.

As usual, Jeanette, the nurse, called with Brennen’s lab results but this time it was different. She said his ANC was 32. The goal is to have his ANC between 500-1500. Anything below 500 means you pretty much don’t have any immune system. We are stopping two of his oral chemotherapies for a few days to see if his body will rebuild the ANC.

As Jenny and I listened to Jeanette read of his lab results it was hard not to be fearful. Brennen’s ANC has not been this low for at least a year and maybe never during his treatment. Jenny and I have already been a bit emotional as we have been talking bout how it was three years ago this Thursday (10/12) that this journey of A.L.L. began when we took Brennen to the E.R. in San Luis Obispo, CA.

As we ask you to pray for Brennen we are confident that our great God is completely in control. God has never promised that life will be easy. In fact, the Bible teaches us that God works everything, and I mean everything, for His glory and our good. While we may not always know what the “good” is we pray that our faith will be strengthened as He stretches us.

Please also pray for Brennen. With his ANC being so low he is not allowed to be out in public and there were plans of a trip to a trampoline park on Friday. While he’s disappointed at the thought of not being able to go he is trusting that his doctor and us will make the best decision for him.

All of us are like Brennen. We may look okay on the outside but we have an issue on the inside. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” While we may not see ourselves as sinful, compared to God’s perfection we have all fallen short. We need God to provide a way to help us be made right with Him and He did exactly that when Jesus came to earth to die. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages (consequence) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” We receive His forgiveness when we confess and turn away from our sin and put our faith in Jesus’ death alone to save us. We pray that God’s truth will cause us all to turn to Him for forgiveness.

Thank you for praying and supporting us on this long journey. We pray that there are just 6 more months of treatment left!