...moving forward

Family and friends,

Here we are almost nine months later and doing very well. We are ready to tackle on a new challenge God has set before us. We are motivated, focused and eager to move forward with a Stem Cell Transplant by the end of this month.

Last update back in Dec of 08, I was getting ready to begin a 3 month chemo regiment at UCLA. During that time the response was very good. My levels came down from a 5.0 to a 0.37 rapidly which was amazing (just one of the many expressions the doctor commented on weekly). Through the entire course Dr. Rosove was astounded and speechless at my progress. At the end of the 3 months our insurance ceased their contract with UCLA and moved us to Loma Linda where I continued treatment for nearly 5 months.

In the beginning of the year, late February the Chief Oncologist/Myeloma Transplant Specialist at Loma Linda took over my case and with "excellent" care treated me for the next several months. I reached a point where the medicines were no longer affective as tests showed that my levels were starting to climb ever so slightly, this is when we learned that the 8 months of chemo didn't take me into full remission only a VGPR (very good partial remission), which meant I needed to continue on with treatment. Dr. Chen gave us a couple of options to think about. Which included another round of treatment (more aggressive than the first) or a Stem Cell Transplant (Autologous). There just wasn't much to think about when you have a family that depends on you, so we opted to do the transplant. We were transferred to USC for a consultation to continue into the next phase. Needless to say, we were so sad to leave LLMC Cancer Center because the care, staff and facilities there were outstanding.

A few months back in July, we met with the Myeloma Specialist at the Kenneth Norris Center at USC. We are very impressed with his background in Multiple Myeloma. In the beginning we were a bit nervous being that he is a young doctor, but his VAST knowledge in Myeloma overshadows his age. He studied in India and served his residency and began his career in Buffalo NY. The impression he leaves us after every visit up until now has left us with such peace. He is very personable and has such warm caring bedside manners. Not the typical demeanor for an oncologist to say the least.

Dr Ailahwadi was on the fence about doing the transplant in the beginning but after consulting with the head Myeloma specialist there at USC she agreed this was the right choice for my case. This past week we did another bone marrow biopsy to use as a baseline for the transplant, the results came back with VERY positive feedback which shows only 10-20% of the Myeloma in the bone marrow. This shows that it is very well under control, and a good indicator that I will do very well with the transplant.

Why the transplant? Many have asked. Well, there is no cure for Multiple Myeloma...but it is very treatable and manageable, like diabetes. If you don't stay on top of it and treat it, it will eventually kill you. The doctors say that if you are going to have cancer this is the one you want to have.

The reason we chose the transplant is because another round of treatment would mean more time away from the kids twice a week (in "LA" for several months) and nausea, extreme fatigue and hair loss. Not what we want while we have 3 small kids at least for now while they are so young and just beginning school.

The transplant on the other hand is much more aggressive with the same side effects but for a much shorter time away from the kids in the long-run. The downside to this is being away from our kids for a long period of time as the procedure takes place and recovery time. In addition to, the only visual communication I will have with them is via internet. I will be in the BMT (bone marrow transplant) center for 3-4 weeks at least, assuming my immune system recovers as it should with no complications. The upside to the transplant is that the remission period could allow more time in between until the Myeloma comes back. It could be years or it could be months. Like any type of chemo there are no guarantees just have to take a leap of faith and see how the body reacts.

For me this was a no brainer decision, God has given Greg and I a complete peace over the whole thing from the time of diagnosis. He has sustained us and walked with us through the shadows and the valleys. Bottom line is we TRUST Him and we know HE IS GOD. We know He is our Deliverer our healer and our Master Physician. He hasn't let us down and we will continue to follow Him regardless the outcome. We TRUST He will protect our family through this time and Believe He will do His plan and not ours. Therefore we entrust to Him all of our cares and concerns and lay them at His feet.

What is an "Autologous Stem Cell Transplant"?

Cancers that were once considered untreatable are now showing increased survival rates because of new options such as Autologous Stem Cell Treatment (ASCT). Research shows that in certain cases cancer can be more effectively treated -- and the risk of cancer recurring can be dramatically reduced -- by treating it with higher doses of chemotherapy.

ASCT is making a difference in the lives of cancer patients who may have had no hope in fighting their disease. With ASCT, bone marrow failure is prevented by removing stem cells from the bone marrow and preserving them before the patient receives chemotherapy. The stem cells are then re-infused after chemotherapy where they migrate to the bone marrow and begin producing healthy new blood cells.

Once treatment begins, the patient is admitted to the ASCT unit which consists of private rooms equipped with special air filtration systems to help decrease the risk of bacterial and fungal infections while the patient's immune system is suppressed.

Dates/Schedule:

October 2nd: Injection of chemo through catheter
October 13th: Collection of Stem Cell
October 24th (tbc) : Admission for transplant

Timeline:

- Port inserted; and injection of chemo (overnight stay)

- 1 week of shots at home (to speed up and produce more stem cells)

- Stem cell collection (1-2 days or more; 5-6 hours per day until they collect amount needed for procedure)

- Admission to hospital; first day heavy dose of chemo administered

- 5-7 days later reintroduce stem cells

- 2-3 weeks recovery (wait for counts to recover back to normal)

- Once counts have recovered then discharge from hospital and go home

Pray for:

-The procedure that God will use the team of doctors hands as His instruments

-Debbie for a quick healing & recovery; Focus stays on the Lord; doesn't go crazy not being able to see kids for the duration

-infections are kept to a minimum or none at all

-Greg & boys- emotionally protected

-Greg for patience, strength & time management as he is going to be working and caring for boys. Going to and from the hospital as often as he can

-Boys that they will be kind to each other as this will be very tough on them not understanding why mommy isn't home and when they are asking "when is mommy coming back?"; That the kids do well in school that they aren't too affected.

-Nana (Alice) physical strength, endurance & patience as she will be caring for boys during the week while Greg is at work

-Grandma Susie) & Grandpa (Blair) for physical strength, endurance and patience to watch boys as on an on needed basis.

.....We will keep you posted after we start the procedures and keep current updates on the progress as much as possible.

Thank you to those who have helped make this a much easier transition for us:

-My dearly beloved husband, for your love, support, patience and understanding. Nothing can describe how much I love you. You have been my rock! I love you with everything inside of me. I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful husband. In a million years we would have never known that this is what we would be challenged with someday. Here we are and we have become so much closer and stronger people through it. God is our focus and the center of our marriage and He is what has pulled us through. Thank you for loving me so much to stick by my side and walk this narrow road with me. The Lord has promised us he wouldn't give us anymore than we can handle so hang on and be a little more patient while he walks us through this path. I love you with all of my heart!

-Mom, WOW! you have been there for me for EVERYTHING. Through all of this you have been more than wonderful. Your attitude has been nothing but positive and your strength is enlightening. You have put your life on hold and given up so much of your time to help us. The countless times you have rescued us for babysitting on the drop of a dime, there is no way or no words to describe how thankful we are to have you as NANA...me, Greg and the kids, we all love you so much you have no idea. Dont worry I will make you proud and will make a quick recovery and come home quickly. I love you!

-Suzie & Blair, for being there for us and your willingness to come help on a moments notice day or night. The boys love their grandma and grandpa and we are comforted in knowing that your here to step in in time of need. We love you guys and are so thankful for you. XOXO

-Cindy & Barb, for always being willing to attend appt's, constantly checking up on us, coming when we need you. Stella too... you guys are the BEST big sisters a little sister could ever have. I wouldn't trade you guys for the world!! I thank God for giving me 3 beautiful sisters with beautiful hearts. I don't know what we would do without you guys we love you dearly. Who holds the drama Queen plaque now??? Oh I guess I "still" do : ) Ok girls I have a job to do, we need to get ready for a wedding soon!

-Chris & Melissa for always being available to us. Always offering to help even though you have your hands full. You guys have really been a great help. Thank you for your continual support ((hugs))

-Matthew, for your concerns, it means so much. Thanks a bunch : ) XOXO

-Pam, for being so thoughtful to fly out here to help us on more than one occasion. Such a kind cousin you are to think of us while you have so much going on yourself. Don't get me wrong...we love it, so keep on commin cuz! We love you.

-Ellie, my crazy & faithful friend that you are for running through the garment district in downtown LA in the mid of the summers HOT HEAT WAVE rummaging through fabric for headscarves. You were such a trooper dripping of sweat fanning your self to stay cool. You didn't complain once while I drug you through every single store on every block. Whew! And you are still my friend? And not to mention the following trip to LA to the flower mart, boy what an adventure that was going down skid row, just so that I can make accessories while in the hospital. I can always count on you for anything, thank you for always making me laugh and for your loyalty. Love Love Love you forever girlfriend! Thank you for always blessing our family.

Michelle (Winebarger)- Wow girl I have sooooo much to be thankful for the list can go on and on. Bottom line...we are eternally grateful for you. You have been a HUGE help to us. We couldn't have made it with out you this past year. Regardless what the day is, or the weather, the time or how you feel you are always so accommodating to our needs. You do so much. No to mention, always ready for an ear load good or bad, or an escape from the kids to the store or just a quick coffee break. No matter what you are always there....you are so dear to my heart. And I will do my darnedest to come back quickly so I can relieve you from the crazy driving school run schedule you are about to endure. I will forever owe you BIG TIME! XOXOXO ((hugs))

J-lo, my dearest friend. Even though we don't see much of each other you will drop everything to help a sista'. I'm so blessed you are the one that has the computer savvy brain. I could never set up the laptop with all the hook-ups so I can communicate with my family and friends, and of course i-tune downloads so I can listen to studies, music and watch movies. Also for ordering the studies from CCLH for me so I can keep my focus. And mucho thanks for creating my blog and setting up the the care calendar for the meals. Mostly for your beautiful heart and all of your prayers.... love you! (aka Wendy, Christina...Mukai, JLo... whatever)

-Natalie (yala!), for being such a great friend and a committed prayer warrior!!! For being thoughtful enough in helping with the daily meals on the care calendar (www.carecalendar.org) for my family while I'm gone. So happy my husband, boys and mom will be taken care of while eating nice dinners and not "Hungry Man" frozen dinners every night. You truly have no idea what this means to us. Your friendship is priceless! Love you and Jeff so much.

-Diana (Lady Di)...ahhh I'm dreaming of the fabulous leg and foot massages and pedicure. Now that is a true friend people. Cleaning God knows what is on your friends feet...that is just plain gross! But you did it with the biggest smile on your face the whole time. You are always filled with encouragement, I love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for being one of my many closest friends!

-Daph and Stan, for the case of Monavie, can't wait to start drinking it after the transplant. You are so thoughtful to think of my health and to want to help. Mostly for your prayers and your humor you Always make me chuckle. Love you both!

-Georgette, for probably doing the most important part of this whole thing for me....cutting my hair off. I've always looked up to you as a mentor. Your filled with encouragement and I just know you will help me through the cutting process (as your hacking off the lovely locks you know I've always been so picky with). So aren't you glad to be the one to do the job? Ha ha...it will be fine, we can just laugh it off as yo uare cutting it off. Well we can always throw on one of my fancy head scarves if it gets too bad.

-Pilar, Maria & Than at Oneill for making all my gorgeous headscarves and head bands...can't wait to go bald and show them off!! They look great and coordinate perfectly with all of my sleepwear and loungewear. Miss you guys! Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you for the time and effort you put into them!! I know they were made with lots of love.

-Wendy, Noelle, Helen, Linda and whoever else at Esportia who donated the sleepwear, cami's and underwear they are a huge necessity. Thank you bunches you are all so thoughtful!! XOXOX Miss you all!

-Earl for all you have done for Greg and I. You leave us speechless...without you none of this would be possible.

-Andy, for the music thanks sooooo much they will be playing in my room 24/7. Much needed for daily encouragement.

- Genevieve, thank you so much for the New Testament on Audio. You will never know how much God has used you to bless me through your act of kindness.

- To those of you who have blessed us through donations, we greatly appreciate the tremendous gift this has been to us. We are speechless and are extremely grateful!

-All of our many of other friends and family unmentioned who hold the most important roles which is prayer and more prayer. We very much appreciate from the bottom of our hearts your daily thoughts, prayers and support, please we encourage you to keep praying when you think about it. We believe God has been hearing your prayers. He has been doing a work. We love you all and look forward to a successful procedure and a speedy recovery.

God Bless,

The Andrews Family

What is Multiple Myeloma

Multiple Myeloma

by Rick Alan

Definition

Multiple myeloma is a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow. It results from the abnormal growth of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Plasma cells normally produce antibodies. As these abnormal or malignant plasma cells multiply, they produce enormous quantities of abnormal antibodies. These abnormal antibodies accumulate in the blood and urine. As the plasma cell tumor grows, it also destroys the surrounding bone. These events lead to bone pain, kidney damage, and a compromised immune system.

Cancer occurs when cells in the body (in this case plasma cells) divide without control or order. Normally, cells divide in a regulated manner. If cells keep dividing uncontrollably when new cells are not needed. A mass of tissue forms, called a growth or tumor. The term cancer refers to malignant tumors, which can invade nearby tissue and can spread to other parts of the body. A benign tumor does not invade or spread.

© 2009 Nucleus Medical Art, Inc.

Causes

The cause of multiple myeloma is unknown.

Risk Factors

A risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting a disease or condition.

Risk factors for multiple myeloma include:

• Age: 50 or older

• Race: black

Symptoms

Symptoms of early stage multiple myeloma include:

• Persistent bone pain, often severe. It is most commonly in the back but also in the limbs or ribs.

• Fatigue

When the disease progresses, symptoms may include:

• Fatigue

• Weakness

• Broken bones

• Repeated infections

• Nausea and vomiting

• Constipation

• Difficulty urinating

• Abnormal bleeding

• Headache

• Visual problems

• Confusion

Treatment

Once cancer is found, staging tests are performed to find out if the cancer has spread and, if so, to what extent. While treatment is sometimes capable of slowing the progression of the multiple myeloma, complete remission is rare. Treatment is also important for the control of symptoms. Treatment depends on your symptoms and the stage of your cancer.

Treatments include:

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be given in many forms including: pill, injection, and via a catheter. The drugs enter the bloodstream and travel through the body killing mostly cancer cells, but also some healthy cells.

The most common initial chemotherapeutic agents are melphalan , prednisone , or a three drug combination called VAD. When young patients develop myeloma, some oncologists feel they should first receive the VAD chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant, if they have had a good response to the initial VAD.

Bone Marrow Transplant

The two types of bone marrow transplant used include an autologous and allogeneictransplant.

Autologous transplant—is one where the patient’s bone marrow is stunned with very high doses of chemotherapy, and it recovers with infused stem cells.

Allogeneic transplant—is a more involved process requiring the donation of bone marrow cells from a donor (usually a first-degree relative). The bone marrow of the patient is stunned with very high doses of chemotherapy (and sometimes with low doses of radiation therapy) followed by the infusion of the donor’s cells into the blood of the patient. The stem cells then seek out the bone marrow and re-populate it.

Both techniques are potentially deadly and have significant side effects associated with them. However, these procedures (particularly the allogeneic transplant) are the only ones that have shown to result in a prolonged survival, or even a cure.

Immunomodulatory Treatments

Immunomodulatory treatments help alter the way the myeloma cells live, and ultimately makes it difficult for them to survive, reproduce, and produce the proteins that cause secondary symptoms. Drugs used for this treatment include thalidomide , lenalidomide ,arsenic trioxide , neovastat, and velcade .

Other Medications

• Strong oral analgesics to relieve bone pain
• If anemia is present, erythropoietin to increase the amount of red blood cells
• Prednisone and biphosphonate drugs to treat high calcium levels
• Antibiotics to treat infections
• Biphosphonates to protect bones from fractures and myeloma spreading

Radiation Therapy (Radiotherapy)

Radiation therapy is the use of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation is most often given to relieve bone pain, and by itself is not considered curative.

Surgery

Surgery is done to remove a multiple myeloma tumor that causes pain or other debilitating symptoms, when radiation therapy is not considered feasible. Surgery is not curative.

Red Blood Cell Transfusion

Red blood cell transfusion is for patients with severe anemia.

Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant

Peripheral stem cell transplant involves giving patients immature, healthy blood cells to replace bone marrow cells that are destroyed during total body radiation and high-dose chemotherapy.

Lifestyle Measures

Lifestyle measures help reduce symptoms and maintain overall health:

• Stay as active as possible.
• Drink plenty of fluids to help avoid dehydration and kidney damage.
• Eat a balanced diet.
• Do not take high doses of vitamins.

Prevention

There are no guidelines for preventing multiple myeloma because the cause is unknown.

RESOURCES:

• American Cancer Societyhttp://www.cancer.org
• Multiple Myeloma Research Foundationhttp://www.multiplemyeloma.org

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

• Canadian Cancer Societyhttp://www.cancer.ca
• Myeloma Canadawww.myelomacanada.ca

REFERENCES:

• Mayo Clinic and Foundation for Medical Education and Research website. Available at:http://www.mayo.edu/ .
• The Merck Manual of Medical Information . Merck & Co., Inc. Simon and Schuster, Inc.; 2000.
• National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH) website. Available at:http://www.cancer.gov/ .
• Rajkumar, SV, Hayman, SR, Lacy, MQ, et al. Combination therapy with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (Rev/Dex) for newly diagnosed myeloma. Blood . 2005;106:4050 .

Infusions, Steroids & CT Angio

December 16, 2008

Hello all,

Here is an update as I promised on the latest of my treatments. Last Friday I began my infusions at UCLA. All went well and my body did beautifully with the medications. Along with the second set of steroids for this month. And great news is the medication we had been waiting for was delivered to me this morning!!! Thank you Lord!

There was a huge hang up with our insurance not wanting to approve this medication for some reason, but we think we finally figured out what the problem was. For the past 4 weeks they claimed they didn't have enough clinical information and kept saying they needed more in order to approve it. Well, Saturday night we received a call from the Specialist at UCLA saying that some of my blood work came back abnormal for and thought I might have had blood clotting, so he told Greg to take me to ER immediately for a CT Angio test to rule out a possible Pulmonary Embolism. Which you can imagine was was scary he was thinking there might be blood clotting which could be fatal if it traveled to the heart or brain. But thank God the Scan didn't show any clotting. But the scan did show pitting of the bones after all in my upper back where all the pain is. That would explain everything now. And this is the reason for the insurance approving this 3rd medicine on the spot. This has been the missing link that the insurance company needed to release the Chemo drug.

We believe this call Saturday night was a God send because if my Doctor had not called for us to go in for the Angiogram they probably wouldn't have detected the bone pitting for quite sometime since I've already done most of my scans recently. Another good thing is that while I was at UCLA for my treatment on Friday The Dr decided to start a bone treatment even though he didn't see anything wrong with my bones at the time he thought it would be a good idea to ease up the pain and at the same time it would strengthen and restore any damage to the bone if necessary. We think he must have had a gut feeling or inclination that the pitting was soon to come.

Overall, I have been feeling significantly better since Friday so far so we are very excited to see what the next 11 treatments has in store for me. Please keep the prayers going as you can see God is moving and answering your prayers quickly and most of all giving me the peace and the strength to get through this and to be strong for my family as well.

Just thought to give you a heads up on the latest, so I start my third Chemo drug tonight, hopefully my body will take well to this one as well.

Thank you again for your faithfulness,

Debbie

The Diagnosis...

December 11, 2008

Dear friends,

As some of you know this has been a tough time for our family but God has truly been so good to us and has sustained us and has kept us under his wing. We have been blessed blessed blessed! We have been overwhelmed with the outpour of blessings which have surrounded us through family and friends and from people we don't know. We keep hearing of different prayer chains going on all over the place in different countries, from the East Coast to the West Coast and in between. Different churches, prayer groups, etc... it is amazing, we feel God smothering us with His Love and Comfort all over the place. We would like to thank those of you who have been praying for us.

The support up here in the high desert has been amazing, just when we were throwing in the towel and actively looking down the hill to move, God stopped us dead in our tracks with all of this and said you are not alone in this I have put people in your path who will help you guys get through this. Sure enough so many friends and family lovingly and consistently have been reaching out to us daily for prayer, meals on wheels, enouragement, babysitting, school carpool anything we need on a daily basis. It is so hard because our hearts are at home down the hill, but now God is showing us the love there is for us up here. We feel torn, but right now we believe God is faithfully providing for our family LOVE and SUPPORT from the family we never realized existed up here. We dont know what are future holds and where we are to go, but we are taking it day by day and letting God lead the way. We are standing on His Promises knowing there is a time and season for everything and right now this is Gods time for us to sit at His feet and patiently wait on HIM .... : ) TO BE STILL AND TO KNOW HE IS GOD!

We are not sure how much those of you who do know, or if you don't know at all but I (Debbie) was recently diagnosed with "Multiple Myeloma", a cancer of the plasma cells (which has excessive numbers of abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow, it is incurable but a treatable disease. The average age for someone with this disease us usually found in the age of 60 and above. I am considered a VERY rare case because of my age which I fall into a category of 4% of those diagnosed under the age of 45. Crazy, I know...and God Chose me to run this race! The specialist at UCLA sounds very optimistic that I should respond to the Chemotherapy with no problem, seeing that I am very young, my general health is in very good health, and the good medicines they have to treat this and not to mention that my all over bone scan, CAT scan and MRI have all come out clean and show no cancer in the bones as of yet. Mostly I have the Lord at my side who will see me through. We are hoping this will be the treatment that takes it into remission, if not they I believe the next step will be a bone marrow transplant (yikes!!).

To catch you up on the latest, the past few days have been really hard on us. Our WHOLE family caught the stomach flu. We have been down but now we are up. It has been especially hard on me juggling my cancer ailments, the kids and this flu. Today is a much better day and looking forward to moving right along with this new venture.

As for the chemo, we still havn't started. For the past week weve been battling back and forth with our insurance company, medical group, the UCLA specialist, the pharmacy who is handling one of the chemo drugs and the oncologist up here. There are so many people involved who play significant roles in each part in order to get all the necessary approvals to get it all going, which has been anything but efficient up to this point. For lack of better words we are dealing with very "incompitent people" who cannot seem to pull it together which is making this very frustrating on us. The only ones who seem to have the ball rolling and keeping us going is the oncologist up here is who has been kind enough to order every test we have been asked for without the help of the specialist at Ucla. The Dr up here and his staff have been great, quick and on top of it, but sad to say he is the one who doesn't feel confident in handling this rare case. Unfortunately trying to get anything answered from our treating physician at Ucla has been nothing but headaches for 3 weeks now. We have been through many hurdles and hoops trying to get approvals. Yesterday we were challenged by our insurance company who called us yesterday morning to say that they were denying the request for the Revlamid, then they called in the afternoon to tell us that they were not going to allow us to treat at UCLA after all and that we had to treat up here (which you can imagine had us in a panic), but with God on our side and Gregs strong persistance he was able to get what we needed and it was all taken care of and our insurance agreed to let us treat at UCLA after all.

To somewhat sum up the treatment details. I will be treating with a 3 part chemo series for the next 3 months.

-The first part is "Dexamethazone" a high dose steriod which I had started taking on Thanksgiving Day which was 40 steroids in 4 days. With a 2 week break then will resume again in less than one week from now. The first course I have already taken my body reacted very bad to it, so we are praying the second time around will be different and not so harsh on my system since the quantity will be significantly less.

-The second is "Revlamid" a Chemo pill which is a HIGHLY regulated drug has been harder than the dickens to get approved. Apparently, this drug is only carried in 5 of the U.S states and very expensive ($8,000.00 per month). Our insurance company has to go through many channels before they can approve it. Each step has to be under a 24 hour evaluation by an insurance director. Once it has been approved it will be shipped to me within several hours out of L.A. and will have to be resubmitted for approval each month and thereafter for re-approval again and again. As of today, it is under final evaluation (so they say) and we hope to have it sent to us with in the next couple of days.

-The third form is "Valcaid" the infusion drug which will be introvenoiusly administered through IV at UCLA once a week. As of today we got the approval and the drug is on its away to L.A as we speak and we are still waiting for confirmation from the UCLA office that the approval has been faxed and that the medicine has arrived in order for me to set up the first appt, so this too is supposedly in its last stage of finalizing. We are praying to start this by Friday or early next week.

Ultimately we are being tried and stretched no doubt, but we know that God will faithfully carry us through, though the physical ailments may be hindering, our faith will not. God is at work and we are encouraged daily through His Grace and Mercy. This trial couldn't come at a better time of the year, this is a living testimony of how much we have to be thankful for and we are honored to be given the opportunity to excercise our faith in the Lord through the Holidays. We do thank you all for your prayers, help and encouragement. Please keep praying for Greg for strength and the boys that God guards thier little hearts, and that all goes well for the 3 month treatment and that my body will respond well to the chemo and bring healing. God is on the throne and is being given all the glory!

Thats all for now we will keep you updated and let you know when we start!

Love you all,

Greg & Debbie