Hello Friends and Family!

Been awhile since an update.  That's because there's really been nothing to report until now!

We are at Day 35 Post Transplant and all has continued to be uneventful with no signs of GVHD or rejection of stem cells.  Praise be to God and thanks to all of you for your diligent prayers!

Mark had a bone marrow aspirate last week and we've been waiting on the results of that so we'd have some news.  We received those results yesterday.  The team would have been content with 80% engraftment, hoped for at least 90%.  Mark continues to be an over-achiever with 100% engraftment!  That means he now has RaeAnne's healthy 27-year-old immune system (minus all her childhood immunizations - he will get to start that cycle all over again in a year or so!).  The tests on his bone marrow also showed no evidence of cancer lurking in the recesses.  We continue to be blessed beyond measure!

We have enjoyed visits with friends passing through and virtual visits with family back home. Very much missing home and family and friends, while continuing to enjoy Seattle... we are a little warmer than you folks in Alaska, but the chill and the PNW rain is beginning... I finally broke out the wool coat and put on socks!

How can you pray in this home stretch?

Continued prayers for avoidance of any GVHD is greatly appreciated, of course.  On another note, now that we are beyond any visible big rocks, it would be easy to become "end-watchers" and give in to boredom.  Right now boredom is good!

I, personally, would appreciate prayer for patience and mental sharpness for handling medical billing issues... whose been paid what, what I've submitted to CHM for reimbursement, what I still need to submit, etc.  I'm getting pretty proficient at it all, but I confess that some days it gives me a headache!

Also, it would be easy to start pining for all the things we miss about home:

Kids, grandkids, friends, WBC fellowship, our own bed, our recliners in front of the wood stove, the lake view from our windows, my kitchen, my dog... the list is long!

Still, we love this part of the world and desire to make the most of the time God has allotted to us to be here.  Longing for home doesn't mean we can't enjoy and be productive in a foreign land... a little like waiting for Heaven.  We appreciate your prayers to that end!

LaRae