Journal entry by Chris Skates —
February 13, 2020. It was a Thursday. I remember because Chris was scheduled to fly from DC to Lexington that night. We were going to load the moving truck Friday, have a yard sale Saturday, and start the drive from Lawrenceburg, KY to our new apartment in Arlington, VA Sunday morning, with our cat Sassy onboard. It was going to be a fun adventure. We had it all planned. But, God...
We had no idea what was in store for us. Instead of Chris flying home that night, I was on a plane at 6:00 am from Lexington to DC to meet Chris and go with him to an appointment with a Hematologist/Oncologist. I wrote several months ago about that experience, and how God spoke to me while flying through the clouds. He didn't reveal much to me, just that the doctor was going to give us bad news, and that He was going to be with us, every step of the way. And man, was He!
Exactly one year ago, we received the devastating news that Chris had Early T-cell ALL, a very aggressive type of leukemia that is diagnosed less than 100 times a year worldwide. We were in for a long and difficult journey. After almost 6 months of chemo, we were sent to John's Hopkins in Baltimore for a life saving bone marrow transplant. And that leads us to today. This week, Chris had his six month post-transplant appointment. We were both holding our breath a little, but we got great news. As the oncologist put it, Chris is "deeply in remission." It's nothing short of a miracle!
Unfortunately, the doctor cautioned us that his immune system is still developing and we need to continue to be careful, avoid crowds and mass transportation. He has been on anti rejection meds since the transplant, but now he can stop taking them. He has to be off those meds for six months before they can start giving him his "baby vaccines" as he calls them. He has no immunity to the diseases those childhood vaccines protect against. And of course, COVID. He will not be able to get the vaccine for at least six months. Apparently, our doctor has had several patients who contracted Covid recently, and it was very hard on them. So we will continue to "quarantine" for six more months.
It seems like it has been much more than a year on this journey. It's been a hard one. There have been many setbacks and frustrations, medically, financially, emotionally, physically... it's just been really hard. And being away from our family has made it that much harder. But we have seen God work through so many obstacles, sometimes discovering much later how He worked. And we are grateful for everyone He used to minister to us over the past year. Now we are praying that God will see fit to provide a way for us to get back to Western KY for good. This experience has made us want more than anything to be with our kids and our precious granddaughter!
God bless you all, and thank you for following along on this adventure with us.
Love you all,
Tracy and Chris
We had no idea what was in store for us. Instead of Chris flying home that night, I was on a plane at 6:00 am from Lexington to DC to meet Chris and go with him to an appointment with a Hematologist/Oncologist. I wrote several months ago about that experience, and how God spoke to me while flying through the clouds. He didn't reveal much to me, just that the doctor was going to give us bad news, and that He was going to be with us, every step of the way. And man, was He!
Exactly one year ago, we received the devastating news that Chris had Early T-cell ALL, a very aggressive type of leukemia that is diagnosed less than 100 times a year worldwide. We were in for a long and difficult journey. After almost 6 months of chemo, we were sent to John's Hopkins in Baltimore for a life saving bone marrow transplant. And that leads us to today. This week, Chris had his six month post-transplant appointment. We were both holding our breath a little, but we got great news. As the oncologist put it, Chris is "deeply in remission." It's nothing short of a miracle!
Unfortunately, the doctor cautioned us that his immune system is still developing and we need to continue to be careful, avoid crowds and mass transportation. He has been on anti rejection meds since the transplant, but now he can stop taking them. He has to be off those meds for six months before they can start giving him his "baby vaccines" as he calls them. He has no immunity to the diseases those childhood vaccines protect against. And of course, COVID. He will not be able to get the vaccine for at least six months. Apparently, our doctor has had several patients who contracted Covid recently, and it was very hard on them. So we will continue to "quarantine" for six more months.
It seems like it has been much more than a year on this journey. It's been a hard one. There have been many setbacks and frustrations, medically, financially, emotionally, physically... it's just been really hard. And being away from our family has made it that much harder. But we have seen God work through so many obstacles, sometimes discovering much later how He worked. And we are grateful for everyone He used to minister to us over the past year. Now we are praying that God will see fit to provide a way for us to get back to Western KY for good. This experience has made us want more than anything to be with our kids and our precious granddaughter!
God bless you all, and thank you for following along on this adventure with us.
Love you all,
Tracy and Chris
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