I'm All Woman Now!!!!!!

We just got great news and had to share it! I have 100% female cells, I have Joanna's DNA.
This means there can't be any leukemia cells left. We know you share with us in this great victory!
On a different note, I have developed a staph infection. This has begun to show up in my blood cultures. They have started some big antibiotics. It looks like this is MRSA, which is antibiotic resistant. We will know more on this in a couple days. An infectious disease doctor is coming on board.
We have been in the hospital 5 weeks today and are REALLY ready to go! We know this infection will keep us here longer but please pray for a speedy recovery.
Thank you for all your support. We love you lots!
Jared and Christina

Trending upward

Talking to a friend today about Jared's progress, I was telling him it is two steps forward and one back but upward. He observed it is like the stock market. Good analogy. Jared's white count today was 5.5. Yesterday it was 6.6 and the day before it was 4.1. That has reflected the movement the last 7-10 days. Going the right direction. Now we need to see the red cells and platelets get in line. The neurological issues have gone away for which we thank the Lord. We will have some good laughs about that little episode at a later date.However his right eye has become swollen again. They had taken him off steroid drops a couple of days ago but will start using them again. The doctor indicated if Jared keeps moving in the right direction by next week being able to go home. That would be awesome. So here is the list for intercession to keep going in that direction.
1. Immune system, blood work to continue to improve.
2. No more fevers. He has been running one for past several days, as high as 103 but yesterday it dropped off and today has been fever free. Nothing has been found in blood cultures but we need to stay vigilant against those kind of attacks.
3.Complete healing of his right eye. We have been chasing this thing since last Oct. in one way or another and nothing has ever come clear to the cause. We have asked that just as He healed the blind that He would heal Jared's eye.
4.Increase in his physical strength. Right now he is real weak. So we pray for power for the weak and increase of strength. Isaiah 40:28-31
Thank you again for intercession and being the cheering section for Jared. I know we continue to stand because of His faithfulness and your support.
The Waters

Standing Up Against More Battles...

Let's start this post off with a praise - Jared's white cells were up to 3,500 today with 90% of them being the fighter cells he needs. We thank the Lord for the movement of the healthy cells in the right direction and we ask that the engrafting of Jo's marrow continues in this favorable direction.

Now to the issues at hand. Jared is at a big crossroads right now, since last week there has been a drastic shift in Jared's mental health which is causing huge problems for his recovery and possibly for the anti-rejection drugs he is currently taking, which he needs to take. There are multiple things that his oncologist is looking at right now as to what is the root cause of all these mental issues. There are some major decisions to be made tomorrow as to how to go about testing Jared without compromising his body and mental state anymore. We need great clarity and wisdom for this situation.

We are asking for specific prayer for these things:

• Protection over Jared's mental health and continued positive movement with the transplant. Also for a rash that Jared has developed which falls under graft vs. host.
  
• For diving wisdom for Dr. Agura (Jared's oncologist), nurses, and any other health professional who comes in contact with Jared's situation.
  
• Supernatural peace and rest for Jared, Christina, Terry and Dianne.
  
• Last but not certainly not least - A breakthrough in healing of magnificent and miraculous proportion for Jared.

Please keep praying and please focus your prayers right now on the issues mentioned above. We are on the watchtower looking and believing for breakthrough in Jared's healing.

Thank you for your support.

The Waters Family

Critical mass/sound barrier

Well, I am writing this entry again because my foot kicked the power cord disconnecting the cpu.
Definition: Critical mass: what is needed to effect a change. Sound barrier: sudden increase in air resistance before breakling through it. Jared's white cells(Jo's white cells!!!) have been Wed.100, Thurs.200, today 100. He is experiencing a lot of pain with headaches, pain behind eye, severe stomach cramps, nausea, a blood clot behind his knee that they can't treat because of low platelets and other similar maladies. Yet he keeps getting up and walking the halls,which the doctors say he needs to do. His doctor says Jared is a model patient. Anyway we need Jared's white cells and immune system to reach critical mass to push him through these barriers of resistance in his body. He reminds me of the old test planes they used when trying to break through the sound barrier initially. They would appear to be coming apart at the seams right before they broke through to the other side. So please pray for:
1. Blood clot behind knee. Serious problem.
2. Healing for his eyes whatever that is.(They are doing an mri today)
3.Clearing up of stomach cramps.
4. For his immune system to fully emerge and run to all the battles going on in his body. The doctors say when this happens they expect all these issues to be resolved.
5. Strength and courage for Jared and Christina to keep fighting. (See 2Cor.4:16-18.)
Thanks again for continued support and for encouraging words on blog. (Prov.12:25)
The Waters
P.S. Christina asked me to update everyone on pathology of whatever it was they took out of his eyes during the operation. There were no leukemia cells found(thank you Lord), "it's not a toomah!!!", it is not infection or bacteria though they continue to run cultures on it. So things have been ruled out but we pray for healing and restoration to normal function of his eye.

Run to the battle

Jared has had a rough week. Problems with his eyes, nausea, mouth sores, and just overall funk from everything being at the bottom. His white count is at zero. The doctors say things need to start turning around now. Sometimes when you are right in the face of the enemy you want to run and grasp at hope. Dianne read in the Word this morning that when David met Goliath he ran towards him. That is what we choose to do. Run to the battle. That is what Jared and Christina are doing. They are planning on walking out of the hospital on Friday, the three week mark that was set as a target date. Jared is still pushing himself to walk the halls. Amazing. I would have folded long ago. So here is the list:
1.Bone marrow transplant begins to take with little rejection issues.(Our understanding is a little rejection is good for recovery from All)
2.Remedy and healing for his eyes.(Once again something these doctors had not seen before. Way to go Jared!)
3. Protection from infection. This is very important.
4. Spiritual and mental stamina for Jared and Christina.(and us too)
5. Wisdom and insight for each healthcare worker caring for Jared.
Thanks to you all who keep up with this blog and intercede in prayer. We do not take it for granted. We will keep you posted.
The Waters

Friday Update !!

...Jared went to surgery yesterday afternoon for his eyes...yes, you read that right !!! The eye doctor here did not think this condition would go away on it's own so they went in and removed some of the irritated tissue in each eye and we are waiting for the pathology report. He is having a lot of discomfort from the surgery and they are doing what they can until the report comes back. We would really appreciate your prayers that everything comes back good and that he would have a speedy recovery from this. He got 2 bags of blood today, got out and walked and is eating some. Joanna saw her doctor today and she is doing well, her iron level needs to get up in time for delivery...along with her energy level !!!! We appreciate your prayers and support !!!!

The Waters !!!

Happy 4th of July !!

....How did we get to July so fast??? It is VERY WET in Texas so I don't know if we will see fireworks or not ! A couple of updates...Joanna's headaches just kept coming so the doctor had her come in to the ER last night and they they did a procedure where they took some of her blood and injected it back into her spine where they thought there was a leak from the first spinal the other day and she got some fluids while she was there. Her headaches are better but she is a little sore"again"....needless to say we think she is an amazing woman. The Hildebrand's have been staying with us and we are loving our time with Elijah !!! Now on to Jared...he is feeling some what "beat up" as he says...still getting some walking in and eating. His bad eye has flared up and that is an understatement...they have called an eye doctor in and he has had a cat scan and MRI and we are really asking for prayer for this because any new problem at this point would not be good. His doctor yesterday said that they didn't have any news for us yet good/bad..probably in a week they will know more how the transplant is going. Except for the eye issue he is experiencing pretty much the normal...as yucky as that is. Hope to know more on the eye later today or tomorrow....thank you for the support !!

The Waters

...Just wanted to give a little update...the weekend was a little ruff for Jared, just a lot of things going on but nothing that was not expected. This week we should see those new cells kicking in ! He is tired and they are adjusting drugs and he did get platelets yesterday. He is trying to keep up on his exercising and is eating pretty good. We are just in a "wait and see" time. Joanna and Aubrey are coming along, Aubrey has been very active !! Jo is having some headaches and just general tiredness(she is 8 months along) she will see her doctor later this week. We are asking for your continued prayer support 1) that Jo will get stronger 2) for Jared to stay clear of infections and anything else that would hinder his getting through this. To say that we are tired would be an understatement so we will add strength and energy to that list !!!
Thanks again for standing with us !!

The Waters