News Volume 12.4—December 2009
Selected David Burge Updates
David Burge updates his journey with leukemia - http://davidburge.wordpress.com
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Conference With the Doctor
Yesterday I had a meeting with the consultant in charge of my case.
The good news is I have responded well to the treatment. I am officially in remission. My bloods are normal. No sign of the T(4,11) gene. The doctor is confident they will find a good match for me off the international database. I will then likely have my bone marrow transplant end of February / early March.
The not so good news is that I still have to do a second round of chemo beginning Monday. This means I may be neutropenic over Christmas. Imagine having to watch what you eat and who you meet with over Christmas
More good news … This second round of Chemo will be able to be done as an outpatient. Some of the injections can even be done at home if Tarnya is brave enough to stick a needle into me. She is brave enough and they intend teaching her what to do on Monday.
As an aside, I asked one other gentleman who shared a room with me when I was first in hospital (name withheld to protect the guilty) whether his wife was as good as the nurses at giving the injections. He said with a laugh, “No. But it’s too late to find another wife now!”
Please pray that I will be as well throughout this second round of chemo as I was with the first. That would be a real blessing to me.
Written by admin - December 18, 2009 at 8:20 am
Good News / Bad News
The good news is that my legs are feeling great and I am enjoying being at home with Tarnya and the kids. I was even able to spend a little time with some church folk on Sunday evening.
The not so good news is that my sister and I are not a match for a bone marrow transplant. They will have to look further afield for a donor. There are however, I’m told, eleven million donors to choose from and the chances of finding a close match for me are not too bad, though this does reduce my “odds”.
I try to stay focused on God, not the odds. Some people do make it from here. I know God is good and I know tens of thousands of people are praying for me. For now that is enough.
We will know more on Thursday after our meeting with the doctor.
Written by admin - December 15, 2009 at 8:01 am
I’ve Been Thinking…
One of the things I have learned to manage, having cerebral palsy, is that if I do “too much”, my legs begin to hurt. The trouble with having C.P. and Cancer is that having a bath, cleaning my teeth and getting to the toilet and back (an inordinate number of times per day, due to the amount of fluids I am supposed to be drinking) is “too much“. My legs have been aching so much over the last week that I decided to seek medical help. My normal response of resting my legs was not available to me. I am already doing the minimum necessary to maintain life and limb. My “emergency” response of taking an anti inflammatory was likewise not available to me. The doctors didn‘t want me taking an anti inflammatory with the various problems I have with my blood. I needed some advice as to what I could take, so I rang the hospital and arranged to see a doctor. This is all background to the story I want to tell.
I went into the ward Saturday morning (after getting almost no sleep Friday night). I arrived around 10:00 am and waited about two hours to see the doctor. Fair enough. Meanwhile my “bloods” came back showing I am no longer neutropenic. The doctor prescribed what turned out to be just the thing. I slept like a baby Saturday night. On Sunday I felt better than I have felt for a week or more. If that had been the end of the story well and good but the doctor felt it necessary to send me for an ultra sound in case the pain in my legs was indicative of a clot. I waited all day until 5:00 pm Saturday before they sent me home without the scan and asked me to come back Sunday. They could give me no idea as to when on Sunday my scan might be and suggested I come in about the same time as Saturday, around 10:00 am. We did ring early Sunday morning and ask if it was possible to do the scan on Monday. Given that I was so well I was hoping to attend church Sunday morning and/or a baptismal service Sunday afternoon. I was urged to come in and told that the scan would definitely be done that morning. By the time I arrived on the ward, I was told that the scan would be done 1:00 pm at the latest and earlier if they could fit me in. By 2:00 pm I was told that an emergency had meant that my scan had been put back by an unknown number of hours but that it would definitely be done “today” (Sunday). In the end it was after 4:00 pm before the scan was completed and I was ready to go home.
Written by admin - December 14, 2009 at 11:09 am
Moving
Our new phone number from Wednesday onwards will be 09 296 1939.
Our postal address stays the same:
PO Box 202162, Southgate, Takanini 2246, New Zealand (that’s in Auckland).
Written by admin - December 7, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Top Ten Things to be Thankful For With Cancer
Just a brief medical update. Yesterday’s chemo went off without a hitch. I am due back at the clinic for another bone marrow biopsy next Thursday. The Thursday after that I see the Doctor to discuss the results. Perhaps we will know whether my sister is a “match” for me by then.
Here is my “top ten” list of things to be thankful for with cancer.
10. I am saving money on haircuts;
9. I am saving money on shampoo and conditioner;
8. It takes no time at all to shave in the mornings;
7. I can enjoy my food and don’t have to worry about my colestoral;
6. Life really does seem better (“Whites whiter and colours brighter”). I get up in the morning with an overwhelming sense of thankfulness for all the good things I see around me;
5. Tim gets to hear Dad read him more stories (Tim’s contribution);
4. I have had the joy of hearing from friends and family I have not heard from in a while and the privilege of speaking of the impact we have had on each others lives for good.
3. I have “first hand experience” of how tenuous our grip on this life can be. It makes you think about what really is important. What do I want to pass on to my children. What do I want my legacy to be? What can I do that will last for eternity? These are the things that really matter – but they usually don’t get the time and attention they deserve. Cancer is great for focusing your attention on the things that matter.
2. I have “first hand experience” of how the Christian hope of a resurrection to eternal life in the kingdom of God when Jesus comes again (excuse the jamming together of all that theological jargon) really does make a difference. We are all going to die of something, someday. The Christian hope brings ultimate meaning to what otherwise could be a pointless exercise in futility. Everything I am going through in this life is part of God’s plan to prepare me to reign with Christ in the next.
1. I feel closer to God, more contemplative, prayerful etc, than ever I have before and this is not just a result of having nothing else to do. I am confident that should God grant me strength to return to work in the future the “busy-ness of business as usual” will not take from me all that I have learned through this experience.
Today Tarnya and I celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. I am more thankful to God for her than I could ever put into words. She has been an unwavering support. She has encouraged me in my strengths, challenged me to grow in areas of weakness (by her life, not by “nagging”!), and I can’t imagine how I life could be any sweeter.
As they say when writing books, after thanking all those who contributed so much, any errors and omissions are entirely the fault of the author. I would not be all that I am without Tarnya but any “errors and omissions’ in my life are entirely my fault not hers.
Written by admin - December 5, 2009 at 11:09 am
Original Post—November 10, 2009
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
This last weekend David experienced sudden blurred vision. On Monday he was referred to the emergency eye clinic, then on to Middlemore Hospital, then Auckland Hospital and after many tests, the doctors have found the cause: Dave has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He has started Chemotherapy.
So we find ourselves facing a very strong head wind of trouble. But we take heart - God is with us.
Thank you to all those are praying and giving us practical help. Please pray for healing. Please pray for peace and courage for Tarnya (me) and our 8 children, for Dave’s parents; Glenise and Jim and David’s sister Vicki and her family.
Please pray for our church family especially for the leadership.
I will use a blog, impersonal though it is to write updates and to share our journey. [Click Here for the Burge's Blog]
Tarnya Burge.
Click here for Printable Version (PDF format)
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