pastorjfreeman

Trey will have his spleen removed laparoscopically next Wednesday. Please pray his spleen does not grow any more before the procedure and that it can be removed without any complications.

Also, please pray this helps Trey! Emily and I have both felt for a while that this needed to happen. By removing the spleen, we think the consistent pain Trey has had in his abdominal area will be immediately relieved and the abnormal cells that we feel are trapped inside the spleen and causing problems to his platelet and other good cell development will hopefully be eliminated as well. Emily and I feel this is the best decision for Trey and can only help him. Please join us in praying the removal of his spleen will go smoothly and help him immensely!

Thank you.

Trey handled his treatment well yesterday. It’s only a once a week treatment, so he will get it again next week. He is getting his photopheresis treatment today and tomorrow as well.

I will say, things continue to be very complicated for Trey. With the level of abnormal cells growing and the size of Trey’s spleen enlarging, I feel we are getting to a place where we will need to make some decisions. One decision will be whether or not to take Trey’s spleen out. Our doctors feel this may be a good thing if it can be done laparoscopically. They do not want to put Trey at risk through a more invasive surgery, so if the spleen can be removed safely, I think we will move that direction as early as next week.

Another big decision will be when to move to transplant. Our doctors do not want to move to the next transplant with this much disease still in Trey’s body and skin. While we had the abnormal cells controlled in the blood, we could not control them in the skin…which is why we were forced to try something besides the Campath.

Now, we watch and see if this new drug will work. If it does not, I really have no idea what they will do next. We NEED, more than we can say, for this drug to have some very positive effect on Trey. I will admit, this is hard. It is hard for everything to be completely out of your hands, and although I know the Lord is holding Trey, I struggle to rest in that reality sometimes. God is good though and is patient with us…and HE IS IN CONTROL! We know that to be true without a doubt!

I read Psalm 20 this morning and it was very uplifting. Here are a few verses I am praying. Join me please in asking the Lord to do exceedingly, abundantly than all we could ask or imagine:

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans…may the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalms 20:1, 4, 5, 7).”

Update from Emily:

Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever!!!! He is in control when we get good news, and he is in control when the news is not so good. Today the flow test revealed that The bad cells have gone up to about 20%. ( they were previously 0.01%). This is not what we hoped to hear.

Our doctors are also leaning once again toward removing Trey’s spleen, and are consulting with the surgeon to see if it can be done laparoscopically.
Today from 2:00 to 6:00 trey will receive the new drug Romidepsin. Please join us in praying that this drug is the answer… That it will not only go after the skin, but also everywhere else in treys body that is affected!!!
We do know WHO goes before us, and He continues to renew us each day. Thank you for your love and prayers!!

The doctors have decided to stop Campath and try a new drug called Romidepsin. This drug is a relatively new drug, but has recently been successful in treating relapsed cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma. It should target the skin more and hopefully keep the abnormal cells controlled in the blood. Trey’s ultrasound showed a little more enlargement of the spleen (14.7 to 15.6cm), which might be to blame for his tummy trouble. We are waiting on the results from the flow cytometry test to tell us if the cells are growing in the blood too. We pray not.

Trey’s new treatment will begin tomorrow. One of our biggest prayers has always been wisdom and new insights for our doctors. This new drug looks promising, and we are hopeful it will work. Trey’s transplant is still tentatively set for July, depending on his skin of course. Please pray that God uses this new drug to work wonders in Trey’s body…with no side effects. Thank you!

“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken (Psalms 16:7-8).”

I am clinging to those verses right now. As most of you know, Emily and I have been home together for the weekend to be here for Ben and Jeannie and Toby’s funeral. Emily is heading back to Dallas tomorrow…actually today since it’s after midnight (Monday).

I’m anxious for Emily to get back to be with Trey. He continues to have fevers and tummy pain again. His skin is also worse than ever. The fever and tummy pain are most likely just related to the abnormal cells since his blood cultures continue to grow out negative. I’m really praying for the Lord to help Trey more than He already is. Please join me in praying for God to do “exceedingly abundantly” MORE than all we could every think or ask. Please pray his skin condition could be resolved and that the fevers and tummy pain would go away so we can move to the next phase of treatment for him. Please pray God lays His hand on Trey’s body tonight.

We trust the Lord, but are asking Him to do the miraculous in Trey. I just want him back home and our family back together…but as I preached this morning, God’s ways are greater and what He does, He does for His glory. So, in all things, we trust the Lord and pray He gets great glory from Trey’s life.

Heavenly Father,
You are good and what You do is good. We know that You can do far more than we could think, ask or imagine, and we ask You to do that in Trey’s life today. Do the miraculous! Heal the skin!!! Destroy the cells!!! Bring life back to my son!!! Make him whole!!! We love You Lord and trust You…but You tell us to ask of You in faith…so that’s what we are doing! We ask because You are the only One who can do what’s needed in Trey! We need You and we ask You to act mightily on Trey’s behalf. We love You Jesus and it’s in Your mighty name we pray these things,

Amen!