Harvest Week

Good days and not so good days.

When you think Murphy’s looking healthier and improving, you get hit with something new. Saturday night we were back into hospital with a fever, (Any infection for Murphy’s body will be too much for his body to fight). Therefore, any temperature reading that’s over 38 degrees gets Murphy a ticket straight into hospital! Murphy had gone to sleep well, after a day of playing, going for walks along the Brisbane River in his pram, and eating crackers and hummus, Murphy struck a high temperature. Within 20 minutes we were in the ED being seen by the doctor. After a whole blood and platelet transfusion, and a round of medication and antibiotics, his energy levels rose on Sunday. We are learning to ride the waves of the not so good days, along with the good days. It’s a pity some days the hard waves feel a LOT bigger and longer than the waves of the good days.

There are a multitude of encouraging passages of scripture which direct us to look to God through trials. Within the 7000 promises that the Bible give you and I, the one that stands out is that we CAN and WILL go through the valleys of life. My favorite word in Psalm 23 is ‘Through’. It doesn’t say ‘remain’, or ‘stay’, or ‘slow down’, it simply says that we walk THROUGH valleys! God, we praise You for guiding us THROUGH valleys (the tough days).

Here’s proof they’re not all bad! A good day last week was on Thursday when Murphy didn’t need sedation to have a dressing change on his central line! Murphy sat on Nat’s lap and let it happen without a huge battle; he’s been known to kick and scream when changing dressings! Moments such as this make Nat excited! Please God, may there be many more victories like this.

Update on Murphy’s procedure this week:

Either today or tomorrow (1/11) will see an extraction of Murphy’s stem cells for a bone marrow transplant, because he will need that bone marrow for when he has even higher doses of chemotherapy in phase two of treatment in 2023. The extraction can only take place when Murphy’s body is ready to handle it, and that requires a precise reading of several factors. Please pray that it is possible to undergo this procedure this week, because after this week, the doctor seems to think it is unlikely his bone marrow will be of any use to harvest following this current round of chemotherapy.

The harvesting procedure will take 4-5 hours, and Murphy is required to stay still for this procedure… yes, you read that correctly, Murphy must stay still! For those of you who know Murphy, know that this will be the hardest part of his treatment! It will be on this day, and during this procedure, where many parental promises are made, to bribe him (oh, and I forgot to mention he cannot be sedated for this procedure, hence my concern for Murphy remaining still!). Who knows what will be on the bribe list: food, Happy Meals, Tech Decks, Lego!

·       Pray that the procedure can happen. For the perfect levels of his blood and other related factors – we’re desperate for this procedure to take place this week – because we get one shot to harvest!

·       Pray for Murphy to be comfortable during the 5 hour procedure

Thank you for your ongoing love, care and support of Murphy and our family.

One tough cookie

Is there any better picture than a little one peacefully sleeping?

 

When I get the chance to witness Murphy sleeping, it brings a collision of peace and heartbreak to me at the same time. Each night, when Murphy falls into a deep sleep, my heart breaks for him, knowing the pain he endures when he wakes each day, but it brings great encouragement as I watch him sleeping, knowing how much courage he has demonstrated thus far in his first month of treatment. It was reported by the doctors this week that Murphy has shown signs of being one of the sickest patients going through chemotherapy that they have seen in a long time. Murphy, on the other hand, defies odds by smiling through it and eating a Happy Meal each day, or some Aussie Vegemite toast!

Murphy eating some Vegemite toast!

 

Praise God for Dr Ashley, her care and love for Murphy has been amazing. Dr Ashley shared with Nat that Murphy is so special to her, that he is one of only a handful of kids in this country with this current condition and treatment plan. This news reminded me of last week’s blog! Gideon needed only 300 for the battle!

 

Memo for future: Murphy, when you look back on this blog in years to come and are healthy and playing sport, know that God delivered you through this cancer when all odds were stacked against you. God had you, and still has you, in the palm of His large and loving hand. And Murphy, the same goes for all your family and friends, therefore keep telling them of His great power.

Murphy being a cheeky boy with mum and dad

 

Ok, now for an update on what is to come this week, as you need to know, so you can besiege heaven in prayer with us!

 

Tuesday marks the beginning of 5 days of pre harvesting preparation for Murphy’s stem cell harvesting next week, in preparation for a Bone Marrow Transplant in the future. This includes many procedures, and a treatment with a high degree of difficulty due to the blood levels needing to be at a precise point for the harvesting to take place next week. There cannot be any infection in his body, and Murphy needs to be healthy in the lead up to the procedure. Murphy will receive a port into the leg this week, which will allow the procedure to take place next week; however, the injections for the pre harvesting through this port are said to be extremely painful (Murphy’s needing that courage that I mentioned earlier). Pray for peace and comfort through these procedures, and for health in his body. The harvesting next week is critical, and the doctors believe there is one opportunity to do this, therefore we need to pray that everything works at the right time.

Murphy playing a game of Hedbanz

 

On a lighter note to end, this past weekend was full of smiles and ‘sibling therapy’. Praise God we can share some happy moments between treatments. Thank you for your prayers and support, our family is forever grateful for them.

More Firsts

Another week. And yet another week of firsts! First day out of the hospital for our little man, first night in a new house, first time ‘bathing’ (the term is used loosely!), first time trying some foods that were not Pringles 😊, but also a first time for Nat hearing some challenging news and Murphy experiencing some new side-effects of his treatment.

The highs of the week were that Murphy had a few days in our newly rented Brisbane home – for which we are extremely grateful to those who have donated! This home would not be possible without your generosity! Nat’s mum, and resident super grandma, Glenda, helped to get the house fit for Murphy’s first stay in it. Nat and Glenda set up Murphy’s new room, and the medicine cabinet, which is more like a hospital storeroom than a household medicine cabinet! Again, thank you to those who donated, as we have encountered some out-of-pocket expenses for these pharmaceuticals. To finish last week on a high, the joy Murphy has had in our new house has been amazing to see laughter, playing, relaxing and time with siblings.

Last week brought some challenging times, and it is within those times your support and prayer become poignant. The excitement of staying the first night out of hospital was evident last week but coupled with a truck load of information that Nat and Glenda had to learn in preparation for a safe stay. The countless medical professionals all had to give their handover notes to Nat before leaving the hospital, and therefore by the time Murphy finally went to bed on that first night at the new home, the whole house was exhausted. Furthermore, there were some difficult conversations had with Murphy’s oncologist. With the basis of this conversation the fact that results had come in that confirms the doctors suspicion. There is a ‘marker’ in Murpy’s bodily make-up that means his body tends to get confused in the making of cells. Meaning what we’re trying to eradicate through chemo will need to match, and surpass, what the body is doing when it keeps producing an exceptionally high number of cancer cells. (Rapid and aggressive are now a words I don’t like). The positive is this is that we know that no matter what the diagnosis, or report, or confirmed test shows, our God is greater. Gideon had 22,000 men, then only 10,000, then God gave him victory with a mere 300 men. May Murphy have the same story as Gideon!

This week, Calista, Hugo and Ted have had a special treat with a visit from their uncle Scott and Aunty Danielle, which has been a welcome distraction. And then they are in Gympie with their Nanna and Poppa before we go back on Friday to Brisbane. Our Gympie community, and support from church, has been beyond amazing! Our family has felt love and care from every direction we look! Thank you!

Last night after Murphy went to sleep, Nat’s parents, as well as Nat and I joined in prayer for some time, declaring healing in the name of Jesus. It was evident God’s presence was in the house, and after we finished, we felt a lightness, and our burdens were lifted. That is the power of prayer, it allowed us to see this situation how God sees this situation. Can I ask you to pray this prayer over Murphy this week.

Dear Heavenly Father, the healer, counsellor and great physician, I pray healing in the body of Murphy right now. I declare health in the Name of Jesus. I ask for Your Angel Army to surround and uplift Murphy, and may Murphy feel a sense of peace throughout his body this week. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

The week that was for Murphy!

Welcome to the first official post, journeying Murphy’s miracle! Nat and I are so thankful for the support we have received over the past 2 weeks. It has been an overwhelming situation for our boy, and our family, but the love and care that has surrounded us has been remarkable!

To begin, we must share the things for which we praise God for, the moments where we can see God’s hand. The highlight for my week is hearing the report from the head oncologist for NSW and QLD report that Murphy’s bloodwork numbers do not reflect his current condition. That one comment has something we’ve held onto, because it means Murphy should be lacking energy, flat, tired, depleted on all fronts, but in fact he is giggling, talking with medical staff and family, and being his cheeky self!

This weekend just been, the other kids and I were able to visit Nat and Murphy in hospital, and share two days with him. This was a special time as the family spent much time in the room, and simply sharing time with one another. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Last week, Murphy could have gone home if everything went to plan, but that was quickly derailed with a temperature recorded on Wednesday and Thursday nights. This high temperature meant there could have been an infection, therefore protocol is that he needed to begin antibiotics straight away, and he needed to stay in the hospital for a little longer.

Red Kite, Starlight and allied health groups have assisted Murphy, and the family, have some moments of joy in these first few weeks. Murphy enjoyed his visit from the clowns and from ‘Captain Starlight’.

One final short story to leave you with: Nat decided to purchase a small toaster from Kmart last week for the patients and staff in the hospital. Currently in the family kitchenette there’s a sandwich press, and Nat felt that was a travesty because toasting one flat piece of bread was a joke. However, before she could even plug in her toaster Nat was stopped by hospital staff and informed it was not allowed because in years gone by there were too many fire alarms set off from toasters!

Murphy’s favourite foods at present, plain pringles and cheese toasties. Have one for Murphy this week. 😊

Keep praying for his recovery, and don’t forget to thank God for his high spirits in the midst of great pain in his body.

Dan