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LEAH and new nephew, Jacob Mosley Bell, born October 25, 2006
Welcome to Leah and Friends.
Leah was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) on Nov. 25, 2001. She relapsed on May 30, 2003 and had an unrelated bone marrow transplant on Nov. 3, 2003 at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC.
Psalm 50:15 - "Trust Me in your times of trouble, I will rescue you and you will give Me glory."
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*Please take a moment to sign the guestbook*
WHAT CANCER CANNOT DO
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot eat away peace,
It cannot destroy confidence,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot shut out memories,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot reduce eternal life,
It cannot quench the Spirit,
It cannot lessen the Power of the Resurrection!
THE BIG "C"
by Kathy Cawthon, Survivor
"The big "C" I heard someone call it,
Another just whispered the word,
That we don't even dare to say "cancer" out loud
Gives it power it doesn't deserve.
So I'm giving that letter new meaning
And refusing to give in to fear
By reclaiming the power for you and for me
And by saying these words loud and clear:
Let the "C" be for "Cure" and "Compassion"
Let it stand for the "Candles" we light,
And a "Chorus" of voices shouting, "You Can!"
To all who will take up this fight.
Let the "C" be for "Cash Contribution"
("Credit" or "Check" will work, too)>
Let it stand for "Committment" and
Checkups" and "Cheer",
And for the "Children" "Counting" on you.
Let it mean that we know our "Creator" is beside us each step of the way,
And remind us to "Call" on His strength and His love,
And to "Celebrate" every new day.
To everyone facing this "Challenge",
I say it's a fight we can win.
Tell all who will listen that, starting today,
The "C" is for "Courage", my friend.
WALK BY FAITH (words by Jeremy Camp)
Well, I believe you when you say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words you say
Every moment of everyday.
I will walk by faith even when I cannot see Because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me.
Help me to rid my endless fears
You've been so Faithful for all my years With one breath You made me new Your grace covers all I do.
I will walk by faith even when I cannot see Because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me.
Well, I'm broken but I still see Your face Well You've spoken
Pouring Your words of grace.
I will walk by faith even when I cannot see Because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me.
Journal
Saturday, November 4, 2006 8:47 AM CST FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3 - LEAH'S 3RD RE-BIRTHDAY!!!
HAPPY, HAPPY RE-BIRTHDAY LEAH!
THANK YOU TO OUR INCREDIBLE LORD, LEAH'S HEALER, AND INCREDIBLY FAITHFUL GOD!
AND THANK YOU TO ANTHONY, LEAH'S BONE MARROW DONOR WHO THE LORD PROVIDED TO GIVE LEAH ANOTHER CHANCE AT LIFE! HOW WE PRAISE GOD FOR YOU!
I have much to share about the last 3 months since I last updated, but will try to be brief. I'm going to go backwards in this update.
Ken has spent the last 5 weeks in Brunswick, Ga working on an audit. He came home last night and had been home 2 weekends in those 5 weeks.
Yesterday Leah and I celebrated her 3rd re-birthday together. She really wanted some new earrings so we went to Target and she picked out some very nice sterling silver and 14k gold earrings and was so excited to show them to Ken when he got home last night. I asked her where she would like to eat lunch and she chose Pizza Hut at Target. She loves their personal pan pizzas. We did some other shopping at Kohls and the mall and then came home to watch The Apple Dumpling Gang.
Today we are hoping to celebrate together with Ken by going to see a moveie.
Ken is on "vacation" next week to paint the living room.
OUR NEW GRANDSON JACOB MOSLEY BELL ARRIVED AT 6:08 PM ON
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25TH! HE WEIGHED 6 LB. 9 OZ. AND WAS 20 IN. LONG. He is absolutely beautiful and has totally captured this Gramma's heart! I've posted a picture in the photos.
In October we participated in 2 Light the Night Walks for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The 1st in Reston we had our Leah and Friends team. We raised $10,000 as a team this year. Thanks to all who gave and walked this year.
The 2nd walk was in DC where Ken had a KPMG team (work). His team raised about $13,000.
A big accomplishment for Leah: she walked the whole Reston Walk this year (Ken was in Ga) and most of DC ( on Ken's shoulders for part of it).
We spent Aug. 30- Sept. 5 once again in Gulf Trace, Florida at The Lighthouse Family Beach Retreat. We had wonderful family partners, thanks Kristen and Eric, you guys were awesome! It was a wonderful time of ministry to meet other families and share the goodness of the Lord in sharing Leah's story as an encouragement of God's sustaining grace and faithfulness in our lives these nearly 5 years. Yes, it will be 5 years on Nov. 24. The day we were told that Leah had leukemia! Rejoice with us this Thanksgiving and give THANKS with us for all that the Lord has done! To Him be all the glory!
We also enjoyed really enjoyed visitng the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola before flying home.
We started our homeschool co-op, Classical Conversations, in August, 2 weeks before our trip to Florida. I am teaching a class of 5th/6th grade boys this year and am really enjoying them. Leah is loving learning and is doing so great in school. We made some changes in our curriculum this year which have turned out to be wonderful.
On the medical front we have some news. The good news is that her Graft vs. Host Disease is much better and she is off the meds for it. On the other side I have been suspicious for some time that her thyroid was slow and not working properly. This was after much reading online about many late effects from the chemo and radiation that can take time to manifest themselves. Hypothyroidism (slow thyroid) is one of them. She had many symptoms that indicated that this was her problem. I took Leah to an endocrinologist in late September . I received a call a couple of weeks ago that her thyroid was low and that she needed to go on thyroid medicine. My 1st reaction was "I knew it" and then disappointment and sadness that she was faced with this lifelong problem. But then I remembered the faithfulness and Sovreignty of God. He is in control and loves Leah so much more than I do. How could I doubt His plan for her? She's doing fine on the medicine and adjusting to having to wait an hour before eating in the morning. She's my trooper and always a fighter!
In conjunction with Leah's 3 year post-transplant anniversary it's time for her annual testing on those areas that the chemo and radiation can affect long-term. Next Thursday she has her opthomology appt. (cataracts are a late effect of radiation) and then her monthly appt with Dr. Loechelt (transplant Doc). On Nov. 17th she has an appt. with cardiology to have an Echo and EKG and then an appt. with Pulmonary for a PFT (pulmonary function test to test lung capacity). Both the heart and lungs can be damaged by the chemo and radiation so they will be checked yearly. Pease pray with us that these tests all turn out with clear results and no long term effects to these areas.
Bethany left for her 2nd semester at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Marietta, Ca in August and returns in just over 2 wqeeks, Nov. 21. We are all looking forward to her return home and she can't wait to get her hands on her new nephew. She sprained her ankle pretty bad 2 weeks ago, but is walking on it again with some pain still. Please pray for her ankle to heal completely.
Bethany will be home on break until Feb. 2nd when she will leave for her 3rd semester. She will be spending this next semester in Vatja, Hungary. The Bible College has an extension campus there. She is very excited about this opportunity and so are we. It's a wonderful opportunity to exoperience another culture long-term and she will have several opportunities for missions trips while there. She's also tired of the heat in California. She will experience winter in Hungary and is looking forward to that.
I will update on Leah's tests when we get results.
Thank you for your continued prayers on Leah's behalf.
Psalm 59:16,17
"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."
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