nathanael is 34!

viva tubbery the bear

n turned 34 on december 5th! sorry for the delay on updates.

he had stem cell #7 in november and many have been asking how he's doing.
in brief, it's hard to say.

he got suuuuuuuuuper sick going off his lyme antibiotics and did not have the visible boost he experienced with the first 5 stemmies when his weight soared from 85 pounds to over 100 lbs. the winter has been very difficult for n as it is for anyone with autoimmune disease. there is constant pain and discomfort to work through as a result of co-infections and deterioration from the osteoperosis. however, n's red and white cell counts remain in the normal range. totally a miracle. his weight is standing strong competing with mine. he is also walking around the house... and sometimes he wears pants! phew.

all i know is that i don't believe n would be here today without this miraculous treatment.

in other news...

as you recall, in august 2010 n was totally bedridden with a fractured sacrum among other dangerous issues caused by aplastic anemia and lyme. now that he is stable, we were able to FINALLY get an MRI two weeks ago to find out about the continuing back pain. the results were alarming.

the MRI noted that there are compression deformities from fractures on ALL of the vertebrae.--some worse than others. this is a classic result of osteoporosis. treatments are bed rest, pain control and all the stuff we're doing sans a surgery he is not eligible for. symptoms include things i've been concerned about such as height loss which i now know is the cause of his protruding stomach...which crowds the organs. that explains the bulgy belly i kept asking him to suck in. i feel really bad about this whole diagnosis. it's a devastating condition for anyone, and the treatment options are limited and the prognosis is grim. we could be freaked out, but i told n we have to be thankful for the choices we have. we have home devices that are good for bone growth, we have a chance to do more stem cell treatments, and above all, we have hope for a totally pain free life in heaven made possible by the gift of Jesus.

we also have our wonderful parents, grandparents, family, friends, and darling dogs who cheer us on.

we pray you are blessed for standing with us.