Dear Friends –

I was scheduled to start round 6 of chemotherapy last Thursday, but when they ran my blood test in the lab they discovered that my platelet count was low. Several of my numbers are skating along the line between the “normal range” and “too low,” and this time it was the platelets that have dropped below that line. Platelets are the factor in the blood that promote clotting, so the doctor didn’t want it to be driven dangerously lower by the next round of chemo. So I’ll have a blood test this coming Thursday, October 5, to see if that number has come up, and proceed with round 6 if it is. That pushes the schedule back by a week, so round 12 should be complete in January, if there are no further delays.

We have a full-length mirror at the end of the hallway leading to the front door, and I keep getting taken off guard when I catch a glimpse of some bald guy wearing one of my favorite sweaters. How did he get in my house? I’m still not used to my appearance, but I can say that I’m spending less money on shampoo and conditioner, and saving lots of time by no longer blow drying my hair. (Okay, I didn’t use a blow dryer before, so it’s not actually saving any time. Still, gotta find the humor in this process wherever I can.)

Uh oh, this just in: Micaela went up to Alaska to spend a week with our daughter there, and she called Monday afternoon to let me know that she has tested positive for Covid. She’s checking out what she should do for treatment, and she’ll stay in Alaska for an additional five days to give herself time to recover, and not bring it home to me. We could have done without this particular wrinkle, but like so many things in this year’s medical adventures, “It is what it is.” Please pray for Micaela, for mild symptoms and for quick healing.

In the midst of all this, I find my heart encouraged today by this classic text: “By God’s great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you … even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials … ” (I Peter 1:3-6). Pray for me, if you would, that I may keep my heart focused on the inheritance, without being too distracted by the various trials.

Hold us close, Jesus, now and always –