"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Brad had a good appointment today with his oncologist. We continue to be very grateful for the care Brad is receiving at Mayo Clinic. We felt heard and understood and had many of our questions and concerns answered.

We first discussed his most recent labs, which showed a slight increase in his WBC from 2.3 last month to 2.7 and a slight decrease in his neutrophils from 1.15 to 1.06. His monocytes and lymphocytes (2 other subsets of the WBC) continue to be low as well. But the rest of his labs were normal. Then Dr. Parikh walked through the additional tests that were done on Brad's bone marrow in December. (It was A LOT of tests.) Even though we already knew those extra tests came back normal, it was good to get more specifics on what they were looking for.  And after hearing about all the chromosomal abnormalities,  pathogenic mutations, and other types of leukemia they tested for, we were that much more thankful that they were all normal! We also looked in detail at his blood panels since he was first hospitalized March 1, 2018 up until now. Unfortunately, because Brad never had a complete blood panel before he was diagnosed with hairy cell AND we didn't do a repeat bone marrow biopsy after his chemotherapy in 2018, we don't have a complete picture. 

So the plan going forward is for Brad to have labs every other month. If his numbers continue to decline, we may need to begin some sort of treatment. The average time between hairy cell relapses is about 8 years, and next month will be 6 years since his diagnosis. 

We did ask about how restrictive Brad needs to continue to be with regards to masking and spending time with large groups of people. Since his numbers are relatively stable, and he has had ZERO signs of infection....really since his diagnosis...we can back off on some of them. We are so thankful for a bit of relief! So Brad will continue to eat well and exercise, and I will watch him like a hawk for any concerning symptoms.  

While we had hoped his numbers would have been higher, we are resting in the fact that God knows when doctors don't and that our hope is in God and not in modern medicine. Though I am tempted to live my days in fear and worry...watching and waiting for Brad to get sick, I hope, instead, to live my days like Elisabeth Elliot:

“Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts.”

May we all lift our hearts to God when worry and uncertainty fill our minds.