BASE CAMP

A friend of ours sent Bob and I an encouraging note.  In the note she used the simile that we had a tall mountain before us and that together we would be able to climb it, get to the summit  and then be able to descend to "normal" life.  The mountain, of course, is Bob's recovery from the stem cell transplant.  The summit would be remission and the descent would be to a time of less drugs, less side affects, a time of less stress.

Thinking about this, I believe that we are still at base camp.  I have read some about the groups who make the climb of Mount Everest.  All the preparation is done at the base camp.  The supplies are all brought in and stored for the trip up the mountain.  Short climbs are made to help the climbers adapt to the changing, thinner atmosphere.  After these climbs it is back to base to make changes, tweek the plans.  All around the base camp are prayer flags.  They remind me of the buntings many of us have up in our homes.

All around Bob and I, we can feel the prayers of so many.  We have notes and phone calls from people who are upholding us to The Great Physician.  We truly have peace that God knows the way up the mountain and when the course is set, Bob will be discharged from hospital and the climb will begin.
Bob keeps spiking a fever pretty much daily.  As I write this, the staff cannot find a definitive reason for the fevers.  Bob has had so many blood tests and cultures done that we will be listening to opera on the way up the mountain.  He has had two blood transfusions to help give him energy and health to adapt to the new situations.  Antibiotics are packed on in preparation for leaving camp.  Some days Bob thinks it is getting close "we will leave soon".  Then we have  the experts come in and say more tweeking to do.  As the platelets increase the fevers should diminish.  The blood counts are all going in the right direction ---up.  The blood sugar has been more in the normal range lately.  That will be an answer to prayer when the blood sugar stays normal.  Bob will need a touque, as his hair has fallen out.  Maybe this time it will come back on top too!!!  Maybe it will be dark and wavy, the way I can still see him in my mind.   :-} ah when we were young.   Bob may need a new parka as he often gets shivers and chills.  He also gets some bad, hmmm we call them twitches, don't know what causes that either.

Waiting and preparing in base camp is getting  a little tiring.  We know that our guide, the Lord Jesus, wants both of us in the best possible condition.  So we will wait amidst the prayers and trust that we will be ready to make the ascent.