Results…12.5%

12.5%. Not the number we were hoping for. Over the last six months, my MRD (minimal residual disease) percentage has grown from 2-3% to 6% and now to 12.5%. The goal was to keep it under 10%. I guess “goal” is not quite the right word for something we cannot control.

I got the information a little differently this time. Instead of my typical call from my doctor or PA, I saw that my results had posted to my MD Anderson webpage, so I checked them myself. After this amount of time, I can read my own flow cytometry results. I was alone. Well, not completely. God was with me.

I emailed Mary, my PA, and told her that I had seen my results ☹ and asked if she or Dr. Shah could call me when they had a minute. She emailed me back within seconds so sad that I had seen them online before they had gotten to call me. Dr. Shah is out of town this week, and Mary had sent her my results and was waiting for a response from her on how to proceed. These ladies are like family to me! They are so caring, so loving…so much more than just my doctors. So I am waiting to hear whether we will continue to monitor, or get with Dr. Weirda, my leukemia doctor, and start on a program.

When I met with him back in May, he told me that when the time came there were several new advances in CLL treatments that hadn’t been available back when I was diagnosed. Of course, most of those wouldn’t have applied in my situation because of the multiple negative markers, but they can apply now. He was very reassuring.

I have talked to my sweetheart, my kids, and a couple of close friends. I was going to wait until Dr. Shah called with a plan before posting, but I decided that prayer could go ahead and get started! So, my dear friends, I am asking you to join me in prayer once again. My heart is a little heavy right now, but give me a day or two and I will again be strengthened in spirit by the prayers of the saints. The Lord has been so good to me and has given me such peace throughout this entire journey. But there are hard days. This is one of them.


“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
Psalm 94:19

‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Psalm 56:3