pastorjfreeman

Yesterday was one of the most emotionally draining days of my life. The home going funeral service for my mother in law was difficult, but also very Christ-centered and God-honoring. It wiped me out emotionally, but it was one of the most spiritually edifying moments I have ever experienced. Truly I witnessed God’s strength being perfected in our weakness. God was gracious to our family and provided just what was needed.

As soon as the service and other activities were over, I headed back to Dallas to be with Trey. My good friend Jeremy Carter drove me back. We had a great conversation on the way down. I’m very thankful for such good friends.

When I got back to Trey, he was doing pretty good and was glad to see me…always something that warms my heart. He continues to have fevers though and a fairly high heart rate. He is also having some pancreatitis due to one of the chemo drugs he received…so his tummy hurts quite a bit. We were able to mange his pain through the night, but he didn’t sleep great. When he has high fevers he tends to throw up, so we dealt with a little of that too. Around 3am, he finally really fell asleep and we both slept soundly for about 4 hours.

One other situation that happened last night was a son of some good friends of our’s, passed away. Xander Moore, 11 years old, has battled cancer for 9 years. He has firmly held onto the Lord and been an incredible witness of God’s strength…but last night, the Lord chose to heal him eternally. As I heard the news, I grieved for his mom and dad and their family. As a parent of a child whose life is up in the air, my heart resonated with the Moore family. I went to bed with so many pains in my heart and was begging God for help for so many people.

So…I went to bed grieving over so many things last night, but woke up with this verse on my heart. God is so good to encourage me with His Word:

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26).”

Truly His mercies are new each morning…great is His faithfulness.

Trey is having a good day today so far. We are in a “watch and wait” situation and are desperately crying out to God for healing…which we know will come either here or in heaven. I don’t know what God’s plan is for Trey…but I am sure asking him in humble faith to spare his life and heal him here on earth. We will trust God no matter what though.

Keep praying for Trey! Pray for the miraculous. Pray for our doctor’s minds to be blown! Pray for God’s name to be made great through his little life. My wife is coming up tonight and bringing our youngest daughter to surprise Trey…we are going to let her spend the night with us. Trey doesn’t know…he will be so excited. Just keep praying…that’s all we can do. It’s ALL in the Lord’s hands.

We love you!

Today will be Trey’s last dose of chemo. So, we are praying he handles this last dose well and then stays free of any infection. Please pray he stays protected.

Our doctor told me this morning that basically they have dropped an atomic bomb on Trey, and now they are waiting to see what happens. I don’t really like that analogy, but it is what it is. So, needless to say, these next 10-12 days are EXTREMELY important for Trey. If his counts stay low and his body stays healthy, we should be able to move to the next transplant…but if things start coming back up, we may have to re-do the chemo regimen again, or stop treatment altogether. We just really need to pray that everything goes well over the next 2 weeks. I am praying that Trey does REMARKABLY well and that his body heals quickly, without any complication, so we can do the next transplant.

Every day is so important! We know the Lord holds the future, but we are just trusting Him for the needed grace each day. As the song says, “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!” Please keep asking the Lord for the miracle that we need. Trey is looking good right now, we just need him to stay this way and keep getting better. Please Lord, we ask in faith!!!

As expected, Trey numbers are going down. This is a good thing, but it also means he is HIGHLY susceptible to infection and even the smallest infection could be very serious for Trey. Please pray he stays incredibly protected during this time. He has two more days of chemo left and then we watch and see what happens. We are praying desperately for the abnormal cells to stay suppressed right now…and thankfully, so far they are!!! Glory to God!

When Trey was on the Campath recently, the Campath would knock the abnormal cells down for a day or two, but then they would come right back up. So far, with this current chemo treatment, they cells are staying very low! We just need them to stay low when the treatment is over…which will hopefully allow Trey to get to the next transplant! Please Lord we ask in faith!!!

Another good thing is that Trey will probably be off ALL oxygen today. This is a very good thing. His lungs have healed nicely and he seems to be holding his own. We pray his lungs will keep staying healthy.

So, here are the big things to pray for:
1. No infections!
2. Bad cells to STAY suppressed!
3. Lungs to keep healing!
4. For him to get out of bed and strengthen his lungs and legs!
5. For his appetite to increase! We need him to start eating and drinking!

I will say…so far things are looking good. Of course, we do not ever get too excited because things could change in a heartbeat. However, we are trusting in our UNCHANGING God to meet our every need…and to keep holding Trey.

I read these Scriptures this morning…and I can say I know this to be true!

“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life (Psalm 119:92-93).”

My good friend and Deputy Sheriff in Moore, OK, Mark Hamm, stopped by the hospital today to bring Trey something very special. He worked with the Cleveland County Deputy Sheriff to make Trey an official Honorary Deputy Sheriff. He gave Trey a certificate as well as HIS OWN REAL BADGE!!! Trey was so excited!

Mark told me to tell Trey that when he gets better, he will get to go on patrol with him. Trey was super excited about that. So, I took a picture and made a video for Mark from Trey and Trey said a funny thing at the end of the video. He thinks he’s hilarious! Any way, a HUGE thank you to Mark Hamm for making this happen.

Also, a HUGE thank you to Frank and Kathy Gaynor for coming to get Caleb from the hospital today. They drove all the way up just to pick him up and drive him back to Oklahoma. We couldn’t endure this journey without such good friends!

Trey has had a good day…a little sleepy, but good. He is off the high powered oxygen machine and his lungs are doing great. He’s playing video games with his oldest sister right now and smiling…which makes me very happy.

This will be a hard week for our family though. Please pray we have no surprises with Trey while we try and sort through everything for Emily’s mom’s funeral this week. Trey is having a hard time with Emily and I both having to be gone for the funeral this week…so please pray he will be okay without us for a night or two. He’s very emotionally unstable these days…so we are praying the Lord will guard his heart and mind.

He will be done with chemo on Tuesday this week…and we are praying desperately this chemo will get his cancer in remission so he can get to the next transplant. Keep praying!!! Oh God hear and heal!!!

We love you all!

Trey is receiving round 3 of chemo right now. So far he’s handling everything okay. He is one of the most amazing people I have ever known. Even our doctor said this morning, “Trey is a true hero.” It really is amazing to be 7 years old and considered to be a hero. I’m so proud of Trey.

Trey has good moments each day and difficult moments. He can be feeling okay and then all of a sudden, really start struggling. His lungs continue to get better each day though. Our doctor said that is such a good thing because it shows his body is still able to heal. Trey’s biggest issue is just finding something that will keep these horrible lymphocytes suppressed. We are so hoping this chemo will do that. He has had some tummy issues with the chemo and he is still not eating at all. We really need his appetite to increase. Please pray for that. We also need him to drink more. Please ask the Lord to give him a hunger and thirst.

After today, Trey is halfway done with his chemo. We are hoping and praying this chemo will send those bad cells into oblivion and quickly get him ready for the next transplant. Of course, we’d take a genuine miracle over all this…which is what we pray for daily. Please keep lifting our sweet boy to the Lord. Pray our doctors continue to stand amazed and that God’s name is made great through Trey.

On a different note, many of you know Emily’s mother, Cynthia, has been battling cancer for quite some time. She truly is an amazing woman. Recently, her health has been in radical decline. Cynthia’s husband, Larry, has called in hospice and they are doing what they can to keep her comfortable. We do not know if she will have days or weeks…but whatever the case, her time left on this earth is short. Please pray Cynthia can remain comfortable and peaceful until the Lord calls her home.

Our family is in the thick of the fire. We are being challenged in ways that stretch us tremendously. We are all holding on to the Lord and know that we have “no good thing apart from Him.” Please lift our whole family up to the Lord. We are just in need of extra grace and strength. Thank you.

Day 2 of chemo for Trey is about to start in about an hour. Please keep praying this drug does what we know it’s capable of. Pray for miracle upon miracle.

Trey has had a pretty good day. He got to see all his siblings, except his oldest sister who is coming tomorrow. It was so refreshing to see how they lift his spirit. He loves his brothers and sisters so much, and they love him. He colored a picture for every one of his family members…it was important for him to get that done. He’s so thoughtful…and even in his struggle, he continues to think of others. I love that about him.

Please pray his body keeps holding strong. Pray he does remarkably well. Pray for the life blood of Jesus to run through his body bringing tremendous healing! Oh Lord may it be!!!

My wife made a great statement yesterday. She said, “Trey will either get to experience a miracle on earth, or he will get to go and be with his Jesus forever.” Knowing those things fills us with tremendous hope…because we KNOW God is holding Trey. God is on His throne and is sovereign over all things, but He is also intimately and intricately involved in every single detail of Trey’s life.

Trey handled round 1 of chemo well yesterday and had a pretty good night last night. He will get his second dose tonight at 6pm. With every dose, he gets more compromised…so keep praying. Our immediate family will all get to be with Trey beginning tomorrow…so I’m hoping that lifts his spirits tremendously.

Our doctor said that we should know in about two weeks if this treatment is working or not. Keep praying for no side effects and no infections! Even the smallest issue could be extremely serious for Trey. We still believe miracles are happening daily and that they will continue to come. Trey’s lungs are looking better daily too. Keep praying they stay strong.

We love each of you and are humbled by so many praying with and for us. The best is yet to come! I will end with a passage I read this morning:

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices…(Psalm 16:8-9a).”