day 4

 Harley LOVED playing in the snow, but man these legs took a long time to melt.

 Monday night we made it up the mountain to hang out with the Bryants for dinner and the big game!

I'm home from work for the 4th day in a row, and I don't have to go back until TUESDAY (because of the MLK holiday on Monday)! As thankful as I am for the free time, I have to admit that I'm getting a little bored... I have been working on our to do list, reading, watching Law & Order SVU and I completed a 500 piece puzzle!

Also, the snow days have given me the perfect opportunity to spend time with Matt and Becca every day. After being sick for a few weeks, Matt went to the hospital in Birmingham last Thursday. They admitted him because his white blood count was 140.2 (normal people are 10!), which was an ominous sign right off the bat. Becca and her dad immediately drove from Ohio so they could be together. They did a bone marrow biopsy (which has been the worst experience of it all so far!) and sent him home to Chattanooga to wait for the results.  They spent the (looong) weekend in Chattanooga waiting anxiously for the results on Monday. Unfortunately, Birmingham got perhaps an even worse winter storm on Monday, and the results were delayed until Tuesday. They finally got the word that Matt has Leukemia. Fortunately, they just found out yesterday that it is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (which is much better than the acute version they initially thought it might be). They started him on a chemo drug (orally) shortly after getting him admitted on Tuesday, and they have a plan in place. He got his PICC line inserted yesterday, and last night they started him on chemo through the line. They will keep him at Memorial for 2 weeks while they do this round of chemo. Today he will have a spinal tap and they will deliver some chemo through his spine. They are going to test Andy and Kathryn to hopefully find one as a match for a bone marrow transplant, which they will likely do as a precautionary measure. After this two week round of chemo they will send him home for two weeks to rest, then back to the hospital for 48 hours, then home for a couple weeks, then back for another 2-week round of chemo. At that point they will probably do the bone marrow transplant and the prayer is that he will be in remission at that point! Pray with us! The Lord has already answered our prayers (CML instead of ALL), and we know he will continue to hear us. I am so thankful that Matt has exactly the family he has, and I know Becca is the biggest blessing to them all. Pray for everyone as they work out the logistics (especially for Becca's school situation) of this season of their lives. Pray for Matt's side effects to be minimal. Pray for the chemo to knock out the cancer! Pray for total healing of Matt's body.