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Dear all,
 
Thank you for willing to donate blood and platelet for Brian.  He needs a lot of platelet.   1 or 2 daily.
 
I got to clear now that Doctor said any type( A+,B+,AB+, and O+ ) of platelet are Ok.
Only blood needs to be O+.
 
Here is the more info you should know before you come.
Call to make an appointment ASAP.   They can arrange quick for us if you ask.
 
Drink more water and eat before you come.   Avoid those as below for details.
 
 
Appreciate!
 
God bless us all,
 
 
 Subject: Donor Qualification
 

Hello Anita,

Attached is the Eligibility Criteria and Directed Donation Information. Below are the donation reminders. 

 

Jennifer Zuniga

Directed Donation Coordinator

Phone 626-256-4673 Ext. 69038

Cell 626-277-7823  Fax 626-256-8641

jzuniga@coh.org

City of Hope

 

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March 29, 2013
I feel like today was a big milestone for me in my spiritual life. It was the first time since I became a Christian that I prayed out loud, with boldness in my voice.
I have never prayed this way in front of an audience before, but it felt great. There were three times that I prayed today: the first time being this afternoon for the new chemotherapy, mylotarg, that it would wipe out the cancer cells only and not harm the healthy cells at all, thus bringing me closer to recover of a normal body. My mom said there were five people beside me who kept amening my prayers. My mom felt they all cared about me very much and were touched by my prayer and my strong faith.
The second bold prayer was for a friend I made here at the hospital. She's Buddhist, but since she works here in the hospital, she's open to all religions. I suggested that she attend an Easter service this Sunday and let me know what she thinks of it. People think I'm a pretty good guy, but I have all these bad things happening to me like leukemia and low immune systems. According to karma, this makes no sense, I pointed out to her. It's good things happen to good people, not bad things happen to good people, right? But if this were true, I would not have cancer, and I would be completely healthy. Anyways, I just pointed out the flaws in her philosophy and told her to let me know her thoughts on the Easter story on Monday.
I also prayed for her, that she would be able to know the living God instead of dead philosophies. I prayed for her to know the still-alive, living God, who listens to and answer our prayers.
My third bold prayer was at the end of the chemo (with my two nurses beside me), that it would only kill the cancer cells and not harm the normal, healthy cells at all, puttimg me on the path toward transplant and, ultimately, complete health. I also prayed for the nurses and their families to be blessed just as they have blessed me. I prayed all of this in Jesus' all-powerful, mighty name, amen. Hallelujah

 

                                  Brian

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Dear Prayer Warriors,
 
Thank you for your prayer.
That fever was gone at chemo day 4 (Monday morning).   That day they also checked his echocardiogram and CT scan.   The most impressive is the Neurologist came to diagnose the shivering on his right hand and right foot.   He prescribed B12 shot for him and it magically release the sympton and Brian can stand well and PT came started to walk with him around the floor again.    Thanks God for giving the doctors wisdom to cure all the symptoms.   
 
COH team is very efficient and has  very good team work.   All the check up were done right after the doctor order in 1 day.  Anyway, they said the fever was caused by the bacteria in his picc line.    MRI, CT scan, and echocardiogram are ok without other infection.    Thanks God!
 
This 5 days Chemo has done.   Today he has a lumbar puncher at 1pm.   NPO ( fast no food after midnight) since last night.  Please pray for the smooth procedure and clear result.   
Pray for the chemo effectively defeat the leukemia cells and aiming the next step--- transplant.
Pray for Dr. Rosenthal and all the medical team and staff have the wisdom, love and patience from Our almighty God. 
 
God bless us all,

Mark & Anita
 Thanks for your prayer.

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January 12, 2013

The other day I was doing my devotions and I read this story.

"I once kept a bottle-shaped cocoon of an emperor moth for nearly one year. The cocoon was very strange in its construction. The neck of the 'bottle' had a narrow opening through which the mature insect forces its way. Therefore the abandoned cocoon is as perfect as one still inhabited, with no tearing of the interwoven fibers having taken place. The great disparity between the size of the opening and the size of the imprisoned insect makes a person wonder how the moth ever exits at all. Of course, it is never accomplished without great labor and difficulty. It is believed the pressure to which the moth's body is subjected when passing through such a narrow opening is nature's way of forcing fluids into the wings, since they are less developed at the time of emerging from the cocoon than in other insects.
⋯⋯ I happened to witness the first efforts of my imprisoned moth to escape from its long confinement. All morning I watched it patiently striving and struggling to be free. It never seemed able to get beyond a certain point, and at last my patience was exhausted. The confining fibers were probably drier and less elastic than if the cocoon had been left all winter in its native habitat, as nature meant it to be. In any case, I thought I was wiser and more compassionate than its Maker, so I resolved to give it a helping hand. With the point of my scissors, I snipped the confining threads to make the exit just a little easier. Immediately and with perfect ease, my moth crawled out, dragging a huge swollen body and little shriveled wings! I watched in vain to see the marvelous process of expansion in which these wings would silently and swiftly develop before my very eyes. As I examined the delicate markings if various colors that were all there in miniature, I longed to see them assume their ultimate size. I looked for my moth, one of the loveliest of its kind, to appear in all its perfect beauty. But I looked in vain. My misplaced tenderness had proved to be its ruin. The moth had suffered an aborted life, crawling painfully through its brief existence instead of flying through the air on rainbow wings."

When I finished reading this, I wondered if I am like that moth, and God knows that if he took away all my pain and suffering, I'll never be able to attain the state in which I can "fly". Perhaps right now I am in my "cocoon state", and soon I will be at the "moth state", flying freely through the air on my rainbow wings. Hm.
 
 
     Brian

 

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  Dear Prayer Warriors,
 
We met Dr. Gaynon after Christmas.   When he saw Brian's looking good and feeling good.   He said," Great, I've accomplished a task to make you have Christmas at home.   Let's wait after New Year.  We can treat it when you are ready."
So, we will stay home for a while.   Just need to get platelet, like tomorrow.
 
Thanks many of you came to celebrate Christmas with us.   There were more than hundred of people came to sing and praise for Jesus' birthday.   Brian shared his " Faith picture"( as attachment).   Everybody prayed for Brian.   And of course, the yammy refreshment.
 
We got a lot of responds for not being able to come due to travelling or some contagious symptoms of themselves or family members.
We received your blessings too.  Thank you.
 
The bottom portion are something in my mind during this week.   I was touched by what I just wrote, you should read it.
But sorry I expressed it by Chinese.   You may google to translate it from traditional Chinese to English.   I'll try to write in English later if I have time.   Some pictures we took that day will be posted later on facebook " pray for Brian" group.   Join it if you are not in that group yet.
 
Well,  you will see God is always there to protect us and provide what we need through the story I wrote as bottom ( in Chinese).
Faith is the key.   Brian has it.  We all has it.   Prayer warriors own it.   How about you?
 
There are some option and decision to make before next treatment.   Please keep praying for us. 
 
(Hebrews 11:1) Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
(Revelation 3:8 NLT ) I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
 
God bless us all,

Mark and Anita 
Thanks for your prayer.
 
 
 
親愛的勇士們，

非常感謝大家在百忙中抽空來參加Party (據保守計數有一百多人)，甚至有很多人放下自己教會的活動特別來為Brian 打氣、加油，uncle Kenny 是其中之一，在此獻上無限感激。BSF老師Mrs. & Mr. Wilson, GCCI 可明, Terry Yang 一家, 東安Edward & Lynn, Yang Ping, Paul Lin, 五姨&五姨丈,  VOH 家人, 和一些素未謀面的代禱者. 謝謝您們的參與.
 
很多人事先來信告知出城旅行，也更多是因家人或自己微恙而不能出席，羅省鄭牧師也很想來可是Yvonne 說咳嗽不行, 抱歉!
無論如何，你們的心意我們都領收到了，謝謝您們體諒我們對健康的嚴格篩檢以致您必須缺席， 也請您們為我們多保重您自己的身體。

我們很蒙福，在VOH這個愛的大家庭有這庅好的牧者 関牧師，區長 Paul Young.對我們愛護有加,全力支持。當我們在這麼急湊的時間內臨時起意要辦party，才一兩天的時間，上帝真實地令我們體會到大家常說的"調兵遣將＂，尤其看見這麼多VOH家人盡心盡力地付出，好美的畫面。

首先是Sophia,  神感動了她決定更改原訂行程 跨刀全力相助，從節目編排，制作PowerPoint,主持串場，連帶地英文堂Evangeline 的敬拜團隊也由她來邀約和coordinate。uncle Palmar 的音響燈光，Amy & Paul Tai 的power point control.  葉師母領軍的usher team.  Alice 的點心部門，Charlie 媽媽Helen 的水果雕.  負責攝影拍照的Joseph, Harrison,Thomas.  尤其臨時被推上去翻譯的Thomas 博得老少讚賞，實在是每件事  神都有預備，都不必排練也沒預約，一切銜接地就是這広流暢自然。那天我告訴大家，這是我們夫妻有始以來辦活動㐧一次這麼軽省，不必剪輯影片到天亮，也不必愁如何串場及各部門如何組織協調，因為我們我們深信有Sophia 出馬一切就搞定了，而且她更厲害的是擺平我和Mark之間的歧見，這也是在活動內容的要求上我倆首次如此合一，她真是 上帝派來的天使,代表 耶穌來當一個中保，幫助我們家合一。說到這兒，不知您能體會多少我們心中的感動。從這些小事當中我深深感受 神的愛與同在， 上帝一直將我們捧在祂的手心當中，這麼清楚地保護著我們，還有啥懼怕呢? 
各位代禱勇士，請您們也継續存著無畏的心，為我們爭戰得勝。

原以為聖誕節過後就會開始下一個療程，Dr. Gaynon 看Brian 狀況良好，他說＂可以繼續休息，過年後等你預備好再開始＂。  所以我們又可在家待久一奌了，跨越2013年。

對了，前兩天party的主題是分享 " Faith picture 信心的圖畫" .   上帝在Brian 生病以前，就是在2010年的11月為Brian 所預備的主題--- 信心。當年我每週二晚上帶他去BSF 聖經研讀聚會，他參加髙中組，我去婦女班。有天他的老師要每個人在一張白紙上畫出你心目中所謂的信心，不知為何，他那次的表現可圈可奌，不只畫得特別，他對＂信心＂的一番解說與令人讚歎的自信，真可謂＂神來之筆＂。我還記得下課後他很興奮地分享給我聽，旁邊一個小學生問他那圖畫中的小鳥在哪𥚃?  Brian 回答他並把他手上拿的那張畫調轉了一下方向說＂你拿反了＂。那孩子說, "喔! 這樣哦！我看到了！＂。 其實Brian 是故意逗那小孩的，他的畫中沒有小鳥，Brian說 "這就是我的信心，別人或許看不懂在哪裡或是什庅，但我很清楚我的信心就在這裡，這就是 上帝所給我的信心。＂
記得當時我也被他所表現的觸動了，印象特別深刻。囘家後他分享給Mark 聽，Mark 很有同感，還在教會開會中分享給関牧師和一些同工。孰知那張原稿卻被我不經意地給丟棄了。一直到那年的12月，在他最危急的時候，我想起了他這幅畫，神的伏筆就是如此巧妙，雖然原稿被我丟了，可是那些精彩的畫面和對話是永遠不會磨滅的。畫紙雖然丟了,但真正的信心是無形的.
就是這個信心帶我和Mark走過那段最艱辛的時日，上帝對我說,"你的信救了你的孩子＂。
就這樣，加上眾人情詞迫切的禱告， 上帝帶領著Brian 奇蹟式地甦醒，腦部的瘀血逐漸褪去。 感謝主！所有記憶全部都在，真的是令人歎乎神奇！下面這張就是去年夏天，Brian 又再照當初的原味重畫了一張類似原畫的傎品以供各位參考。

代禱勇士們，你們曾經link連結到Maria姊妹為 Brian 所架設的部落格嗎? 去看看，她說," 相信，就必看見！＂
部落格的英文名是grip of faith. 緊握住信心。您也是嗎?  有緊握嗎? 或有片刻鬆弛呢? 「 不要放開信心的繩索」，讀過活潑的生命月刊 12月28日 p.149 的默想散文就是這個主題( 見夾帶的附件有全文）。

各位勇士們，希望我今日的分享可以彌補各位上週未能列席參與的缺憾，也更期望大家和我們同心祈求, 奇蹟必會不斷降臨。 
近日在等候下一療程中，看著 上帝又不斷在開門，我們還在繼續禱告和尋求中，待明朗後再向各位報告。

経文分享：
信 就 是 所 望 之 事 的 實 底 ， 是 未 見 之 事 的 確 據 。(希 伯 來 書 11:1)
 
(啟示錄 3:8) 我知道你的行為, 你略有一點力量,也曾遵守我的道, 沒有棄絕我的名，看哪, 我在你面前給你一個敞開的門，是無人能關的。


願 上帝祝福我們大家有更平安喜楽，更蒙福與得勝的一年。

God bless us all,

Mark and Anita 
Thanks for your prayer.
P149
 

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November 26,2012
Hi there! I know I haven't been updating as frequently as I used to, but like I said before, a boring stay in the hospital is a good stay! I don't wanna bore you guys with the details of what I do every day. Either that or I'm getting lazier with each passing day… -3-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today I felt like the Lord was speaking to me about faith. In 2 Kings 13, Elisha, on his deathbed, wanted to bless Joash, the king of Israel at the time, and told him to pick up his bow and send arrows into the ground. Joash did so, but only 3 times, and no more.
Yes, he did what was asked of him, but not whole-heartedly. He did only as much as his faith allowed him to. Yes, he did receive blessing, but it wasn't all of what God had originally planned for him. God is infinitely powerful, but he is still limited by our faith, or lack thereof.
⋯⋯
I don't want partial healing, or even "mostly healed"; I want to be healed completely, forever free of this disease. I want a normal life, one that all 18-year-olds should have, which does NOT involve being a patient in the hospital, receiving treatment for a life-threatening disease. I have to have faith in God 100% that he will heal me completely.
Sometimes God tells us to do something but doesn't give us the details. When this happens, we should wholeheartedly and enthusiastically give it our all. Don't just stop at one, or two, but keep shooting arrows into the ground until you run out of arrows or when He tells you to stop.
I will be that persistent archer, shooting arrows until the Lord tells me to stop.
 
 
             Brian

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November 13, 2012
Kim, my occupational therapist from the very beginning, seems to view me as one of her greatest accomplishments, as she played a very important part in my recovery. She is giving a presentation about how occupational and physical therapists can help with the quick recovery of a patient (or something like that) to students-in-training at USC. My testimony will be showing therapists that they can make a difference in someone's life. My life, is about to benefit, who knows how many other lives? Kim also interviewed me briefly, asking me what my next goal is. 
"My next goal?" i replied. "My next goal is to ride a unicycle around my college campus." 
"And what college is that?" 
"Hmmmm.... MtSac." 

"Whaaat??? You were supposed to say USC!!!"
"...Sorry..."

Tomorrow I will have a bone marrow aspirate and spinal tap done. This means that tonight I will be NPO. Three letters that, when put together in that sequence, become the least favorite phrase for a growing boy like me to hear. >:(
At least they have me scheduled early, at 10 (in the morning, I hope). 
Please pray that no leukemia cells are found and that this chemo was successful. The way the doctor sees it, everything looks good, and he expects nothing less than good news tomorrow. Hallelujah! 
They will also be removing the stitches from Wednesday's biopsy while I am under anesthesia tomorrow. No more uncomfortable stitches to hinder me from doing more stuff! Wheeee!!!


       Brian

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Good morning, our prayer warriors.

Today is after chemo day34. Brian's white cell count is still the lowest( <0.1k). 
I checked my note about his recently 2 chemo on June and August. June one's white count started at day24 to recover. August one's started at day31.
They said the more chemo make the white count recovery slower.  We need your prayer for his bone marrow recovery soon and only good normal cells exist.

This week the attending is our primary Dr. Gaynon. Please pray for him the best wisdom to make all good and right decisions for Brian's treatment.
He said they arrange a bone marrow test next Wednesday. BMT team wants to see the test result. They said, " If the cell is too little, we will do another test again next next Wednesday."
I'm here in hospital with Brian. He is doing good. Still need platelet and blood every other or 2-3 days to maintain his blood counts in a certain level. 
He just finished a bag of transfusion last night.
The pre-med (tylenol for transfusion to anti reaction) made him sweat a lot last night. He changed his shirt for 3 times from midnight to this early morning. He will need more sleep now. 

Brian has 2 little bump rash nodules on his fingers since last week for many days. They treat it very aggressive.   4days ago, they punched one of it to get a little piece to biopsy to see if there is any infection.    I show you the pictures.
Many of the biopsy results are negative so far.
Please pray for the result and the healing of this wound. 

The most important prayer now are the effective chemo and a good timing for 2nd successful transplant.
Thank you.  

 God bless us all,     
 
Mark & Anita

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Dear prayer warriors,

Many of you might have not known that Brian got fever thess 2 days.
I only texted to some of my friends when it happened. Here are some details I sent.......
10-21-2012 Sunday morning.....
Urgent prayer request.
Please pray for Brian.
He has high fever last night. It started at 8:30pm. After he went to pee and suddenly felt cold and
started to shiver for an hour. At 10pm. His temperature up to 39.5c.
Now is 1am. It still high at 39.1c. They gave him Tylenol to reduce the temperature and also gave him 2 strong anti- biotic med- menopenon & venco.
Please pray hard for the fever will be gone soon. No more infection.
Also pray for his mouth sour. It called mucositis.
It probably caused by chemo. He has very painful mouth inside of his cheeks. Hard to chew and swallow food. Sometimes need to use morphine to reduce the pain. They said it need to wait until his count recover . Only his own immune system can handle it.
It will take a while.
We need you to pray hard for both.
Thank you very much.

God bless us all,
Anita

10-22-2012 Monday 7:23am ............
Good morning,
They found bacteria in Brian's blood culture yesterday. But need time to let the sample grow to define what kind of bacteria.
He doing ok last night but shiver and fever happened again at 5am. this morning.
Please pray for them to know soon what kind of bacteria it is and can give him right med to cure it directly.

God bless us all,
Anita

10-22 Monday 5pm.....
He has a headache. Fever & shivering still on and off.
But the mucositis is better and he eat some cream of wheat, banana, and some soup.
Praise God. No need to use morphin to stop pain.

Doctor said he looks ok. The bacteria needs time to clear out.
The culture they drew today is negative. They will check it again everyday till 3 negative in a row.
Thanks for your continuous prayers and thinking of him.
Let's pray to kick the fever out and aim for his counts recovery soon ( in few weeks ) to get "Remission".
Pray for God's " proctectoon"-- No more infection.

God bless us all,
 
Mark & Anita

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Something incredible happened today. Well, actually the story begins yesterday.
So I was talking with the librarians who come around every Wednesday, Carole and Linda, about Dr. Seuss's anti-war ideas in his cartoons and books. I knew a lot about them for some reason, and it all came to me so naturally. They'd never heard of the books that I'd talked about, but the general ideas that he had sounded familiar to them. Then today, Carole stopped by to confirm that what I had said yesterday, all of it was completely true. Then my mom remembered something.
As it turns out, the year I was diagnosed, I had done research for a project about Dr. Seuss for school. She remembered taking me to the library and getting a lot of books on Dr. Seuss for my project, and going online for more ⋯⋯

research, etc., etc. I had no recollection of any of this, so this was all news to me. It turns out that the bleeding in my brain had done nothing to affect my memory permanently. Well, my long-term memory, anyways. I can still remember everything that has happened to me up until several weeks before my initial diagnosis. Praise God! Even the MRI scans, which originally had shown signs of damage from the brain bleed two years ago, show an undamaged brain now. Jehovah-Rapha truly is the One who heals!
Just like what I studied these past couple days, I really shouldn't be wasting my time, with memory like this, remembering such precise details as Dr. Seuss's. God has left me my learning potential, so I really shouldn't waste the gifts God has given me. I should use these gifts to benefit others and help them to find their life's purpose.
Speaking of which, I believe that life's purpose is an endless search to find life's purpose, which I admit does sound a bit redundant, but if you think about it, isn't that what life really is? I believe I've found the answer to the age-old question: What is the meaning of life?
I believe the answer is this: It is an eternal journey to discover what role God has for one's life.
 
 
 
           Brian

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Dear Mark & Anita：主內平安！

 
感謝讚美主！看到你們的家庭雖處患難還不失幽默，以喜樂、平安和信、望、愛的心情來面對一切～，這是因為你們知道一切神掌權，一切懂得卸下，一切仰望主～。

 
耶和華拉法要行奇妙的工在你們的家庭～～，東方比利能勝過，Brian也能，你們要比他得勝且有餘～～。

 
喜樂的心、乃是良藥．憂傷的靈、使骨枯乾。（箴言17：22）
就是你們在患難中受大試煉的時候、仍有滿足的快樂、在極窮之間、還格外顯出你們樂 捐的厚恩。（哥林多後書8:2）

 
注目看耶穌！定睛看耶穌！主恩夠用。阿們！

 
惠香

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各位代禱勇士.

Brian今天早上要再做一次LP脊椎水抽樣檢查並同時注入化療藥的手術。
預計早上十奌左右全身麻醉來進行。請禱告抽出LP完全乾淨沒有癌細胞，並手術成功。
這次他們提早預備，現在是凌晨3奌，該給的血小板剛輸完，5奌左右會抽血驗看指數夠否以通知OR能儘早手術。
這是一個他們常做的手術，很多孩子都可以不必全身麻醉去被抽。Brian 上週曾試著醒著只局部麻醉去抽，但效果不佳，白被戳了好幾針, 結果還是得去正式手術房，那些專門做這手術的醫生畢竟還是經驗豐富些而且人手充裕，動作俐落明快. 記待週一的那次手術Brian 可把這些醫護人員逗得好開心,還唱好幾首歌給他們聽呢！我預備要請他們把過程錄下來，你可能想像手術室和術後恢復室有這麼多笑聲嗎?

我常在想，在醫院這樣的環境，我們這兩年來在這裡待了好多時間，這當中所經歷的各樣景况，甚至隨時得應付各種臨時排上的檢查，尤其禁食連水都不能喝整亇早上甚至要拖到下午，諸如此類的應変和適應能，可真虧我們一家原本就有一個彈性佳且不按條理出牌的特性，沒想到這一缺奌在醫院的文化裡卻成為生存之道。
生命是有無限可能的，Brian 常勸我，媽媽妳不要太擔心。是啊！選擇開心的去面對每一件事，讓我們在醫院的生活輕鬆有趣多了。醫護人員甚至圖書館的義工，廚房負責接電話奌菜和送餐來的工作人員都成了好朋友，而且彼此鼓勵。好感恩！

強力的化療藥在週日完成後，這兩天Brian 的皮膚顏色有變深楬色，身上有些紅疹，肝指數也上升好多。請為此代禱，能儘快回復正常數值。
感謝主！Brian 的精神體力都還不錯，上帝賜給他喜樂的心和純真的個性可眞是抗戰的本錢。各位熱切的禱告更是助益良多，無限感激！

希望今早的手術可早早完成而且順利成功。王崗叔叔說Brian是劉得勝，Albert 叔叔說要全面得勝！願今天又是美好的一天。

        God bless us all.
Mark & Anita

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The first chemo's finished, which is a huge relief, but lately, my appetite's been kinda funky. Which is weird, since I'd been feeling fine throughout the chemo days. Today was the first time in a year that I threw up. I know most of you think that you feel better after you throw up, but I beg to differ. Throwing up makes me feel even worse, and the smell…. Well, you get the point. Hopefully.
During the days of chemo I didn't get much sleep, because the nurses kept waking me up for vital signs, which was really annoying (even though I knew it wasn't really their choice) because they kept waking me up at 15-minute intervals throughout the night, up until 4am. I was forced to be nocturnal for a couple of days, sleeping until noon every day until chemo was finished. And then now I have to get a shot (called GCSF, for those who are in the medical field) every day to boost my immune system. The initial shot itself isn't painful, but ⋯⋯
the medicine that goes in, that's what's painful.
These past few days, however, have been okay, for the most part. Except Monday. Ooh, was Monday a disaster. So on Monday I was scheduled for LP (spinal tap) while under anesthesia, so I had to be NPO after midnight the day of, which meant that I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything until the procedure. Well, the anesthesiologists hadn't planned things out properly, so I had to wait until 3pm before they did the actual procedure, which meant that I was NPO for 15 hours. Only then was I allowed to eat. Terrible.
Yesterday I wrote in my own personal journal that I feel like I'm not doing anything productive, and I'm just wasting my time. Then this is what I read today in one of my devotional books. "The fool kills time. He wastes the precious moments God has given him…But the wise man walks circumspectly. He redeems the time." God used my devotions book to speak to me, telling me to use my time wisely. The time given to us is a gift not to be taken lightly.
All seriousness aside, on Monday when I had LP, after the procedure was done, I was singing for the nurses there. I really have no idea why, though. While I was doing that I was wondering, "Did they give me happy gas to make me fall asleep?" But no, they didn't. Anyways, that's just a little something to lighten the mood.
 
 
                                                                 Brian

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We all have giants or obstacles that try to keep us from possessing what God has promised, especially in our dreams. We have two choices: we can quit and live in mediocrity, or we can fight and take hold of the victory.

In the Bible, the children of Israel were camped right next door to their Promised Land. God had already told them He would give them the victory; all they had to do was go in and fight for the land. But, when they heard how big their opponents were, they had such a weak, defeated mentality that they just gave up. Their attitude was, “What’s the use of even trying? We’ll never defeat those people. We might as well just stay out here in the wilderness.” They settled for mediocrity because they weren’t willing to fight.

Friend, don’t let that be you! The battle you have to fight today is in your mind. You have to change your thinking in order to possess God’s promises. Start choosing thoughts of faith and victory. Declare that you are an overcomer. As you stand and fight and win the battle in your mind, you’ll move forward and embrace the promises and dreams that God has for you!
 

Father, today I come to You believing that You have given me the victory. I will not focus on the obstacles before me; instead, I will focus on You. Help me to stand strong and keep my heart and mind focused on the victory You have in store for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

“The Lord your God will thrust them out from before you and drive them out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you.”
(Joshua 23:5, AMP)

 

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So, I went to the hospital for a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy operation yesterday, and the results came back soon after. It turns out that the remission wasn't very successful, as the leukemia has returned. So this means I have a choice, and it doesn't look too good for me. The first choice is to try to get another remission with chemotherapy. The second choice is to have a very light chemo, but that's just to prolong the disease for a while and let me enjoy the time that I have left. I'm not likely to follow that second option, because it feels like I'll just be giving up. Therefore, we have decided to try to get another remission. USC's motto (since CHLA is part of USC) is "Fight on!", and I plan to take that motto to heart. I WILL fight on, until the final victory.

This month my church is studying the book of Job. It might be coincidence, but there have been far too many "coincidences" for this to be a coincidence. I believe that this is God giving me a reason for all my suffering, a luxury that Job did not have. Perhaps not exactly the same circumstance, but eh, I think it's close enough. Anyways, Job suffered a LOT, losing nearly all his material possessions in one fell sweep, including his health, social standing, and his material wealth. But he still remained faithful to God. I want to be able to do the same, because if I don't trust in God, who else could I trust? Where else would I put my hope?
 
           Brian

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Dear Prayer Warriors,
 
The lab report today is good. Hallelujah!
We went to CHLA this morning to draw blood and they think he might need blood or platelet transfusion ( that's why they set up this appointment for Brian). The result came out after an hour.
Everything is good. HGB 10.2, platelet 35, ANC 1010. Even his potassium level is good 4.2 ( back to good range).
No need to transfuse and we went home right after.
It looks like his body is producing the blood cells on his own. He should be ready for transplantation soon.
 
The problem is ........ BMT has not set up a time to admit him yet. There are many pre-BMT work-up need to do. Such as Brian's Bone marrow test, MRI, CT scan, blood , eyes and teeth check. Vivian's health check, blood check. Those work-up takes time to do.
 
Dr. Gaynon will meet them tomorrow. He wants to do it as soon as possible. We all work so hard all the way.
May God bless us more abundantly to arrange the best date for ever thing.
 
Please pray ---
1. Pray for Dr. Gaynon to have the best wisdom to help us to get a successful transplant.
2. Pray for the preparation of Transplantation will be done smoothly and quickly in a certain time.
3. Pray for the consent meeting with BMT Dr. Shah next Monday. Brian and Vivian both need to get the detail of the transplant
procedure and sign a consent. Pray for their strong faith, no fear , and keep being courageous.
4. Pray for Brian's bone marrow test to have a good result ( leukemia free).
5. Pray for Vivian to stay healthy and strong to get ready to be a donor again.
6. May God bless us more abundantly to arrange the best time and date for everything.
7. Pray for Brian and Vivian to have the Joy and Peace all the time. God's protection over them.
8. May God's mercy and grace keep protecting them together to work harmonily, strongly to fight the good fight.
9. The successful transplant without complicaton.
10. Pray for Mark and I stay healthy to take care our children. And be patient to wait upon the Lord and draw us to be closed to
Him.
God bless us all,

Mark & Anita

Thanks for your prayer.

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August 14, 2012
Well, I'm 18 now. Now I'll have to read the entire terms and conditions before I sign a paper, instead of my mom handing me a piece of paper and telling me to sign, and be responsible for paying for my education, and stuff like that. Ehhh.
One thing I have noticed, though: I have not been able to stop smiling ever since the morning that I turned 18. It's like God has given me his Spirit of joy as my birthday present. This has never happened to me before in the past, and I hope that this joy will endure throughout my chemo, recovery, and beyond.
Only five of my elementary/middle school friends and my neighbor came on my birthday, yet it was still the happiest birthday I've ever had. Which goes to show that, you don't need many friends to be happy, just a few close friends who really know and care about you.

 

      Brian

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Thanks for all of your spending time and blessings on Sunday Brian's 18th Birthday.
He is happy since then.
He feels the holy spirit fills him with Joy.   

He smiles all the time and not being irritated anymore.  We went to CHLA yesterday afternoon for his PICC line dressing change.   He kept the joy face all the time.
All the doctors and nurses are so happy for him too.

Please pray the Joy of Holy Spirit stay with Brian permanently.  

Let it accompany him to go through all the treatment in the future.   Also pray for the peace in all of us too.
Tomorrow we will go to hospital for 2nd part of chemo.   It will start at 9pm.    Please keep praying for the best.
Thank you. 

God bless you,

 

 

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Dear Prayer Warriors,

 

I still remember Sunday morning, 2 days ago.   I was reading Brian's lab report and studying it with many of his reports from long ago.    I tried to compare which way this lab will trend to.   Then Dr. Fu came and said, " Well, you have no fever and you may go home today."    " I remember you told me it won't be today, it should be Monday to discharge, isn't it?", I asked.    She said, " His counts and ANC are doing good,  he is free to go."   That day ANC is 700.   " But Brian complained he is very tired this morning.", I said.     Dr. Fu responded " We can give him one bag of blood to make his HGB goes higher."

Brian said, " No need, it will make me even more tired because of the pre-med. Benadryl will make me sleep."    Dr. Fu said," OK.  I can see your red blood cell is producing.   You will be fine."  

You know what?   Brian suddenly felt energetic, no more complaining tired.    He expects go home for many days .......

I called Kevin Camitta, Brian's friend from kindergarten, " Kevin, you don't need to come today.   We will go home this afternoon."    But Kevin still insisted on visiting and helping to pack up.    All of the Camitta family came before we leave.

What a valuable friendship!  

 

Home sweet home!   Brian feels relaxed and joyful.    Eating gourmet food from Liu's kitchen ( including Antie Sally's wonton

soup).     No wonder he said it's comfy and delicious home.

 

Tomorrow morning is the time to test the Bone Marrow.   Please keep praying harder.  

Pray for the bone marrow is clear without any bad cell.    Leukemia free.  Remission!!

 

God bless us all,

Mark & Anita

 Thanks for your prayer.

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July 30, 2012
Well, I'm finally out of the hospital and back in our delicious, comfortable home yesterday! Um, I used the word delicious because of the variance of foods that I can eat at home.
The past week I'd had fevers (or so they told us), so my mom called the hospital last night and they said that my body hasn't regained its normal function to vent out body heat, so my body retains the heat from being covered in blankets. So during the day I was fine, but at night when I slept with my blankets, my temperature shot up to 38.5C, and got my parents really worried. It did go down to 37.5C later on in the night without tylenol, though, which is good.So then I was stuck sleeping without blankets; just a bedsheet. Which sucks, because I was really looking forward to covering myself with my big heavy blankets that would probably be more suitable for the wintertime rather than during the summer, but I like 'em anyway. They make me feel safe from th⋯⋯
e night monsters. :3
This Wednesday I will have a bone marrow test done to check my bone marrow function. Please pray that there will be no leukemia cells to be found and that the chemo was successful. Also pray that my bodily will return to normal and be able to vent the excess heat out of my body.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Devotion time!
Today I was studying my devotions and I read about Jesus casting demons out of a man. This was a whole legion of demons, which was a Roman term for about three to six THOUSAND soldiers. This got me thinking, since Jesus could cast out three to six thousand demons out of a single man, he has the power to, metaphorically, "cast out" this demon that has been tormenting me, called leukemia. The legion of demons he cast out were deathly afraid of Jesus' position and power. How nervous is His power making the cancer cells in my body feel?
 
 
         Brian

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