Hallelujah!

Yesterday Cody's white blood cell count was at 500. Today it's up to 1,300!! This means people can now come visit without having to wear those funny face masks.

Cody's feeling a lot better today. His throat is still pretty raw and his voice scratchy, but he is feeling better every day! His stomach was also affected by the radiation and Cody was experiencing horrible stomach pains... but today his stomach is totally better!

He's still not able to eat on his own, so he was given a central line in his chest and will start receiving nutrients through the IV. Cody's not very happy about all the new plastic tubes protruding out of his chest, but it really is a good thing! The goal is to eventually give him 2,000 calories per day thru IV. He will be in the hospital until he's able to eat on his own again. He has already compiled a list of foods he can't wait to eat as soon as he's out of here. Spaghetti, macaroni 'n cheese, chinese food, and his mom's enchiladas just to name a few :)

Pastor Moses (pictured on the left), Pastor Dave, Abel, and Guy Strohmeier (pictured on the right) came from New Life Fellowship this morning to pray for Cody and me. I don't say this lightly, but it is always a breath of fresh air when a fellow brother or sister comes to pray for us! We love it! It energizes, strengthens, and encourages us. Thank you guys!

There is so much happening and so much to say. God is incredibly faithful! Cody and I were just talking this morning about what a priviledge it has been to walk through this together. Even Jesus learned obedience through suffering. Yes, it's been incredibly hard and challenging but we have known God's presence every single day.

Last week I wrote about Cody's latest CT scan. If you read that post, you probably remember that the scan showed that the tumors had only shrunk a little bit. I admit I was pretty discouraged by that. But last night, Cody's oncologist came to visit and we asked him about the report. Cody's tumor markers are so low that we didn't understand how the CT could seem so contradictory. Dr. Turrill explained that what we were seeing on the scan is most likely just a bunch of dead cells / scar tissue! We know from the turmor markers that the cancer cells are becoming less and less active.... PRAISE JEHOVAH-RAPHA who is healing Cody! Dr. Turrill also told us that Cody might only have to have 1 more cycle of chemo. YES!!!

Here's a little excerpt from our devotional this morning:

In a race it is not the start that hurts, not even the pace of the long stretch. It is when the goal is in sight that heart and nerves and courage and muscles are strained almost beyond human endurance, almost to breaking point.

So with you now the goal is in sight, you need your final cry to Me. Can you not see by the nerve and heart rack of the past few days (in the hospital!) that your race is nearly run. Courage, courage. Heed My voice of encouragement. Remember that I am by your side, spurring you on to victory.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!