He's My HERO!!!

Apparently the Bone Marrow Biopsy procedure is quite painful. Ben didn't want to hear anything about whether or not it would hurt, etc. He went back for the procedure and the first side was fine. The girl doing the procedure was Javorski Lane's cousin (for all you Ags)! Anyway, they were having a great discussion about Javorski & WOWWWW!! From what I understand she started trying to take the core sample from an area that had not been numbed.--So, imagine someone taking a track spike through your skin and then into your bone. Then, they start to rotate it in order to pull out a sample of your bone! Anyone want to have one done today? No thank you!--So, that moment sent shooting pain down his leg. At that point she tried to give him some more Xylocaine to numb it, but the damage had already been done.

From what we've been told, it will be quite tender for a while and cause his hips to feel tight. He has been told to walk around as much as possible to help relieve the pain and not get too tight. So, he's walking around right now.

Our friend that we are staying with, Sarah, who also works at MD Anderson, said that she has witnessed quite a few of these procedures. She accompanies kids into these procedures to make them feel more comfortable. She told us that as an adult, she would want to be knocked out completely.

All of this to say, Ben is my HERO!! What a stud!! His attitude in all of this has amazed me from the moment I told him he had cancer. However, being able to go through this procedure and still smile at me when it's over...he's my hero!!

Please say a special prayer for Ben that this pain he is experiencing would be momentary and miraculously disappear! Come on Jesus!

For a quick praise report:

*I forgot to tell you yesterday that we were told that Ben's platelet count shouldn't be compromised by the chemo they will give him! Praise the Lord!
*Our next appt. here was scheduled for 10/3 because of the time it takes to get labs back. So, that means that Ben wouldn't be able to start treatment until some time after that. However, they told him today that they should have the results in by tomorrow. So, we now have an appt. scheduled for Friday to see the doc & get the treatment protocol! Praise Jesus! This means Ben will get to start chemo earlier (this is what Ben wants)! There is a chance that all of the results won't be in, but we are praying they move quickly and get the results so that we can leave here with answers!!

Thank you for praying for my hero!!

Humbly,

Meredith