"Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;  bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns!'  Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it!  Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord,  for he comes to judge the earth.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;  for his steadfast love endures forever!  Say also: 'Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.'  Then all the people said, 'Amen!' and praised the LORD."  1 Chronicles 16: 28-36

This week we went into Whitaker's appointment prepared for them to access his port-a-cath; but the nurse explained that they don't access his port for blood labs since it would be an increased risk for infection.  Whitaker said, "That's Great!  Mom, can you call Fi so she can fill up the wading pool?  I can swim!"   

He bravely gave the nurse his arm for "freezy spray" and chattered away about his pet crawdad, Crawler, the fish, and the dogs while his nurse told him about her son's pet red-eared slider turtles, her dogs, and her cat.  

His doctor came in to tell us his blood counts are trending up, (That's exactly what they want them to do)!!

She celebrated with us that God has allowed amazing healing in his fingers and toes in the past month!  Praise God  she shared that Whitaker's liver numbers are also greatly improved this month!  She cleared Whitaker to be able to have his port removed, (we're scheduled for surgery on Monday, June 28th)!  It's a huge step because it will be our last scheduled fasting and sedation!  It also greatly decreases his risk of infection and means no more trips to the ER for low grade fevers!

His face, toes, ears, and fingers are still covered in a rash they call chemo rash.  His doctor says that is very normal and it just takes time.  Whitaker strongly dislikes it because it's quite itchy and people tend to comment on it.  We're just praising God we don't have to take more medicine and we continue to wait for the medicines to cycle out of his body.  His doctor said that normally takes about 6 months.  They'll continue to monitor his liver enzymes until they are normal.  They allowed us to cancel his upcoming endocrinology appointment since they said he no longer needed it!!!  

Thank you for faithfully praying with us.  Please join us in prayer that Whit will continue to rely on God and trust in his provision for his day to day needs.  Pray for perseverance as he continues to be more active and do things he physically hasn't been able to.  Pray for his emotions as we prepare to move to a new house in DC and as we get ready for an in-person school year.  Pray for wisdom as we adjust to a new normal.