Phase 2 - Consolidation

Saturday 7/1 - 8 AM update

Julia started the ‘Consolidation/Intensification’ phase of her cancer treatment on Wednesday. I will not sugar coat it! This is going to be hard on Julia’s body, it requires lots of chemotherapy. We’ve experienced God’s presence in the last 6 weeks of induction. God will continue to be our source of strength & comfort.

Let me recap some of the wins & prayers we’ve seen answered this last 6 weeks:

• Julia’s bone marrow is cancer Free. MRD negative. Doctor said she’s on a divine path 🙏🏼

• Day 1 - phase 2, Julia needed 750 ANC to start treatment, Wednesday labs she was at 940 ANC

• She needed 500ANC just to start her count down of 14 days to remove the IV medication she’s been having 24/7 since we left the hospital on the 7th to treat the blood bacteria. We now have an end date of 7/11

• The blood work count from the tests these past few weeks have been on an improving trend, showing bone marrow is functioning again. These little increments gave us so much hope in the 1st phase

• She’s been having good bowel movements. (Was an issue before cancer)

• She tried new foods & eating well (was an issue before cancer)

• Julia has regained strength to walk around, physical mobility.

• Jeremy & I have become a fantastic duo; administering meds, changing IVs & keeping on schedule, we have not missed a dose and managed a couple of emergencies rationally.

• We have received so much encouragement, support in prayer & kindness from friends from all over the States, from our church family at Refuge, family & believers praying in Honduras over the radio waves, family in Spain, friends in Mexico, a friend sent the request to Argentina, many people we don’t even know praying for Julia! So much gratitude in our hearts.

• We have an amazing medical team

• God continues to provide & stretch our resources

• Our Faith is being built up and we are full of hope. ‘When we are weak, God is strong’ He is our Rock

• I’ve gain a new sisterhood of Christian mom with kids with cancer. I’m not the first to walk this journey & I’m not alone, as many have walked this path. This is a great support for me as a mom.

We can see the Lord has already done great things!

This consolidation phase is 8 weeks long. It’s also called intensification phase for a reason, it will be very taxing on Julia’s body; weekly port needle changes, weekly lumbar punctures, several daily chemotherapies administered at home via IV push, oral chemo for the next 14 days, IV drip 24/7 antibiotic, weekly clinic blood draws, anti fungal medication, potential blood/platelets infusions as we expect her blood count to drop again, In the next 2 weeks Julia will surely had lost most of her hair. She’s also on medications for nausea, stomach ache, etc.

Prayer Request:

• God’s divine hand to strengthen our Julia physically & emotionally.

• Julia’s character as she experiences pain & discomfort to find peace, strength & self-control (she’s screaming/crying a lot in the clinic when changing her needle or waking up from sedation🙏🏼)

• Mild/No physical side effects (nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, loss of appetite). May these be kept at bay.

• To remain fever free - Protection from any new meds reactions, new viruses, bacterias, fungus or infections. Julia is currently neutropenic and everything attaches to her, this is #1 reason we are in isolation.

• God’s strength physically, emotionally & spiritually for us caring for our little sunshine! We are in this roller coaster and need more of Jesus.

• Our older kids that they will feel God’s love and presence. They too still need guidance, direction, & attention from us. We both are focused on baby, may we not loose sight of them. May they too grow closer to Jesus!

Thank you dear friends for taking the time to check updates & pray for our little sunshine. I can’t tell you enough times how it has meant everything to us, to know we are not alone in this battle, you are right there battling in the prayer front line in our behalf. We are seeing the Lord move, God is faithful, He is good. We are humble &  thankful.

In God we Trust!

Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Always offering every prayer of mine with joy [and with specific requests] for all of you, I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬, ‭4‬, ‭6‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Juju gets very frustrated after needle change or waking up from sedation 🙏🏼