Overwhelmed...

I've been trying to figure out how to start this one. I've been meaning to write for a few days now, but just honestly haven't had the words. Sometimes there aren't any. I suppose this is one of those times. But I must do so, if for no other reason than to make a sad attempt at recognizing the glory of God and His faithfulness and goodness to me. I will start first with the news, because I've just found out some information that is such an answer to prayer.

Veronica, the "non-related donor" coordinator at Baylor called me yesterday and let me know where we are on the schedule. She said that they have contacted my potential donor and are meeting with them this week to discuss dates and times for the transplant. I now know that it is a male in his early 40's and that he lives in the United States. Whew-pretty incredible just to think about that. Some guy somewhere in the US is planning his donation process for someone he's never met. I wonder what they have told him about me. American guy in his early 30's probably is the only info he has. Who is this guy? Will I ever know? I sure hope so, not just to profoundly thank him for his donation and time and effort, but to see God's work in his life and meet this person who God has so richly blessed me with.

So, like I said, the coordinator people where he lives will contact him and let him know the possible dates that my coordinator/doctor has proposed. Those dates are January 25 starting the collection of stem cells from him. That would mean that I would go into the hospital on January 18. It's so nice to have some possible dates, even if they might change, just to be able to say, ok, this is real, it's actually happening. I've been ready for a couple of months, but the unknown is sometimes the worst part. So, depending on what he would like, they will discuss those dates and proceed. If he agrees to those dates, then they will proceed with his medical checkup and make sure he is still healthy and has no infections of any kind. If all of that checks out, then we will be ready to proceed with my side of things on Jan 18, which is when I would start my chemo treatment for 7 days leading up to what we call "day 1"-transplant day. Some more information that I found out is that I have two back up donors, in case this guy doesn't work out for whatever reason. My first backup is an American woman in her early 30's, and my 2nd backup is an American woman in her early 20's. These 3 people have all gone to get blood work taken to see about what kind of a match they were to me. All 3 people are perfect matches to me, which is so awesome. It also means that they have all 3 gone beyond just being on the national donor list, to get the bloodwork done, which hopefully means they wouldn't back out once they found out they were a match to someone, which is still always an option for them.

So, basically it's the waiting game this week. As soon as they meet with....hmmm....let's call him "Bob the transplant dude", they'll let me know if those dates work for him or not, if he's healthy and when we can set Jan 18 as THE DATE to start. That's one huge piece of news.

The other huge awesome news is that I found out from my insurance company that they are covering 100% of my transplant! What! Amazing right? Such a huge blessing from the Lord. CIGNA is who I use, and even though they have given us some trouble here and there, when it comes to inpatient hospital procedures, they are pretty much the best. This is a huge blessing, and I can now transition into my next overwhelming topic, the Benefit Concert. I was so so so blessed by the overwhelming support, love and prayer that God showed me thru y'all and others at the concert-which hopefully was more an evening of worship and praise than anything else. The fact that my insurance is covering the transplant, means that the support from that evening will be able to cover many other medical expenses, such as the dental work that had to be done before I could get the transplant, medical co-pays for the many doctor's visits the past year, being without work due to illness lately, as well as upcoming in my recovery period, bills and living expenses.

If you were at the concert, thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming. I cannot tell you how blessed I was to see all of your incredibly encouraging faces, and what a gift it was for me to sing and tell my story and us all worship the Lord together. If you were unable to make it, thank you for your support and prayer, as there were so many people who I wished were there, but even though you were missed, God lifted me up that evening with your prayers. Thank you a million times over.

I honestly had no idea how it was going to go. I had never done a concert before, and I didn't really know the "rules", but I hope those who were there felt this, but it seemed to me that the Lord was walking us thru the evening and even though there were some mistakes! (i.e. singing the first part of the first song with the microphone not on-just the Lord's way of keeping me humble!), I honestly felt it couldn't have gone better. I was so pleased and want to thank my family as well for their generostiy-not only in singing with me, but in helping me organize, publicize and create an experience, not just music. Thank you to my amazing friends Chad Kennedy, Phillip Odom, Mackenzie Wilson and Sarah Thornton for being a huge part of the evening and coming along side me in this process. What a blessing.

As you can see, I have so many reasons to feel overhwelmed. I know that being overhwhelmed in a good way will definately help when and if I become overwhelmed in a bad way coming up in the next few weeks. I can remember the people, the music, the support, and the prayers that God showed me on this evening and be amazed at His glory and splendor.

My schedule for now is to be in Abilene mostly until the transplant happens, at which point we will move to Dallas and I'll be admitted to the hospital. I will be going to Ft Worth to see friends a few times, as well as to Dallas for a doctor's appt next week, but will be based out of Abilene.

Thank you again (for reading this far!), and also for being a part of my life. God has truly show me grace-in His love, His provision and His goodness. Thanks for being Jesus in my life.

By His Grace alone,

Luke