Prayers and Progress
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Marchuk Family
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Marchuk Family
Serge here, with a quick update on how Joshua is doing, where we are in his treatment, and what the next few months may look like for our little family.
Joshua's second round of Chemo
First, we are incredibly thankful to share that Joshua’s first round of chemotherapy did what it was intended to do.
According to his most recent bone marrow biopsy, the amount of leukemia detected in his bone marrow was brought down to 0.4%.
There is still work to be done, but seeing his leukemia reduced to such a small amount after the first round was an incredible encouragement to us - like seeing God's fingerprints where His hand has smoothened the path for us, and as he supported Joshua through the last few weeks, allowing his body to respond to treatment.
Joshua is now well into his second round of chemotherapy, and even though the first five days of this round were pretty brutal - as he dealt with nausea, exhaustion, and very little desire to eat or do much of anything... As parents, it was difficult for us to watch him go through those days again, especially knowing how much his body has already endured.
Thankfully, he has been doing better over the last several days, and has been able to eat (and hold the food down), move around, do some activities, and feel a little more like himself. This is a breath of fresh air for us, even as we know that things can change quickly during treatment, so we are trying to enjoy every good day and every small improvement as it comes.
OHSU Bone Marrow Transplant Meeting
We also recently met with the Bone Marrow Transplant team at OHSU to discuss what will happen after Joshua completes his third round of chemotherapy.
The encouraging news is that there are potential donors listed in the national and international donor registries; however, a donor has not been officially selected yet.
The transplant team still needs to contact potential matches, review additional markers, confirm that each person is healthy and available, and complete more testing before they can determine which donor would be the best possible match for Joshua.
Knowing that there are potential donors out there gives us hope.
At the same time, there are still many things that need to fall into place, so we ask that you pray for the donors, doctors, and coordinators as they work through this process. Please pray that the right donor is identified quickly, that they are willing and available, and that all of the necessary testing goes smoothly.
During our meeting at OHSU, the physicians were also very honest with us about what the transplant process may involve: They explained the risks, possible complications, and some of the difficult things Joshua may experience before, during, and after the transplant. Some of those conversations were hard to hear as parents, but we put our faith in Our Father.
The road ahead may include stronger chemotherapy, a very weak immune system, possible infections, complications involving his organs, other challenges while the donor cells begin to take hold and rebuild his blood and immune system, and some scarier scenarios that we have faith that God will steer us clear of.
We do not share those things to create fear or worry - we share them because we want to be honest about what Joshua is facing and because we believe deeply in the power of prayer.
Prayer Requests
We ask that you pray that God continues showing our little family His grace and mercy
Please pray that He protects Joshua’s body from complications, guides the physicians through every decision, prepares the right donor, and gives Joshua the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to continue fighting.
Please also pray for peace in Joshua’s heart.
He has faced every difficult appointment, treatment, procedure, and conversation with a strength and maturity that continue to amaze us. But he is still a young man walking through something no child should have to experience, and we ask that God continue to guard his mind and spirit.
The current plan is for Joshua to complete three rounds of chemotherapy before moving forward with the bone marrow transplant.
So for now, we are focusing on getting him safely through this second round, allowing his body to recover, and preparing for the third round while the transplant team continues searching for the ideal donor.
There are still many unknowns, which we place in God's hands, but there are also many reasons for joy and hope:
- The first round brought the leukemia down.
- Joshua's body has continued to recover.
- Joshua's spirit and faith remains strong - maybe even stronger than before.
- And, there are potential donors in the registry for his bone marrow transplant.
The path forward is clearer than it was when we first started going down this path, which makes the journey less frightening.
And through every step, God has continued to place people around our family who have prayed for us, encouraged us, supported us, fed us, helped with our children, checked in on us, and reminded us that we are not walking through this alone.
To every person who has supported our family through your thoughts, prayers, messages, donations, meals, help, and care: thank you.
We feel your love more deeply than we can express.
As we move closer to finding a donor and preparing for Joshua’s transplant, we ask that you please continue keeping him and our little family in your prayers:
- Pray that God's hand continues supporting Joshua's recovery.
- Pray that Joshua’s body continues responding well to treatment.
- Pray that his mind and spirit grows closer to the Lord throughout this journey.
- Pray that he is protected from infection and serious side effects.
- Pray that the right donor is found, confirmed, and prepared.
- Pray that the transplant is successful and free from rejection and serious complications.
- Pray that God continues to show Joshua His healing hand, His grace, and His mercy.
- And finally, pray for our little family - For myself, for my wife Anna, and for each of our children... Pray that God helps us understand and accept His plan, helps us grow stronger in mind and spirit, and brings closer to him as we walk this path he has set before us.
We do not know every detail of what lies ahead, but we know that God has brought us this far.
We continue to trust that He has a plan for Joshua and our little family, and we pray for the faith, strength, and understanding to follow that plan one day at a time.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for continuing to stand with us,
- Serge, Anna, Joshua, Theodore, Liam, and Ada Marchuk ❤️
- Serge, Anna, Joshua, Theodore, Liam, and Ada Marchuk ❤️
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Andrey M 13 days ago