You take the good, you take the bad...

Thank you so much for your prayers. The doctor came in this morning and said his bone marrow was clear. This is what they were hoping to find. The treatments he has had so far are doing their job. This hasn't all been for nothing, and Steven said he felt like this was the first news we'd received that didn't start out with "unfortunately".

We needed this.

Steven told me yesterday that he believes that it is the prayers being said on his behalf that is keeping him from going crazy from being constrained. (Everyone who knows Steven knows this goes against everything that he is. He's a self-described "free spirit".) However, today, being constrained isn't much of an issue.  He probably has the least amount of energy that he's had so far.  The Benadryl they gave him doesn't help that issue, but hopefully the blood they are giving him will.  He still looks great, sounds great, and has the same sense of humor, but the pep is out of his step and he feels physically weak.

Even so, the prayers are working and we can feel the peace we are receiving as a result of them. Please keep praying...

*****

Not surprisingly, our children have been some of Steven's biggest cheerleaders. Last night Blake brought a picture that he had drawn at school. (We have many similar pictures in the window of Steven's room.) This particular picture had a (Ford) pulling truck that has "I ain't no chicken" on the bed, and "Lukemea Buster" on the front. The sled is decorated with "x cancer" and "cure it" and "kemo" is written on the track.

Lakyn gave Steven a surgical glove that she had blown up like a balloon. She used a sharpie to write "A Helpful Hand with Lucima" and "It's ok to be sad". On the other side it has written directions to squeeze when sad and the statement, "I will always be their." The five fingers say "sadness, love, kindness, helpful and brave."

Although generally a stickler for correct spelling, I pray this current road is so brief in the journey of their childhood that they go into adulthood not knowing how to properly spell Leukemia. However, the correct usage of "their" will be another matter entirely.