Take Courage. Do not be afraid.

If you have followed our blog from the beginning, you may remember an entry from December 2009, where I mentioned Avery had received a Max Lucado "Fearless" flip calendar as a Christmas gift. The calendar has daily biblical verses and inspirational thoughts to help one be strong during times of uncertainty. Well, since Avery didn't pay too much attention to the calendar, it has lovingly found a home on my desk at work. Yesterday's reading was simply this from Matthew 14:27: Take courage. Do not be afraid.

Wow...what a "hit me in the gut" moment as it was the perfect match for what I was feeling. I read that verse as I was preparing for my usual Monday morning staff meeting and mentally preparing to go to Brad's oncology appointment to discuss his upcoming treatment plan that will take place due to his relapse.

During the past 10 days, Brad and I had truly spent some quality time discussing the options we thought would be presented to us. More chemo, maybe radiation, maybe both, maybe a bone marrow transplant...you know, the typical husband/wife coffee talk.

What we found out yesterday is that Brad's cancer is much more aggressive than we originally thought. He has some pretty significant "activity" below his waist (get your mind out of the gutter) as well as in his neck on the right side. When Brad was diagnosed 2 years ago, a large lymph node was removed from his neck, but on the left side. Because we are fortunate enough to have been down to Duke 2 years ago for a discussion of a bone marrow transplant and found out that Brad's brother Chad is nearly a 100% match, Brad's Oncologist has suggested that we move forward on the transplant process.

This is a very scary time for us. We now wait to hear when Brad's appointment at Duke will take place, likely by the end of February. Due to ensuring that Brad's body is ready to accept Chad's bone marrow, a series of preparation procedures will be done, including pre-transplant chemo to put his cancer back into remission. He will have his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and many other tests performed as well as again going through a psychological evaluation to see if Brad has the support system in place to manage the transplant.

Because the transplant process is one which will require some significant time for Brad to recover, as well as the need for him to have easy access to the transplant center at Duke, Brad will need to "move" to Durham while he recovers. For most patients, this is typically about 100 days, although full recovery time for a transplant patient is about a year.

We know that a long, emotional road lies ahead for us. I ask that you pray specifically for Brad, Avery, Brad's parents and brothers and me to have the strength and courage to travel the road in a way that will ultimately be the healthiest for Brad. Several of you have already asked "what can I do to help?". To be honest, we don't know at this point in time. What we DO know, is that we have the most amazing support system in place, including our family, friends, a loving church and Sunday School class, as well as a loving God who knows what lies ahead and will lead and guide us. Yes, we are doing our best to take courage and not be afraid.