Hope Lodge, Boston. Wednesday 9th May 2013.
+ 331 days post transplant!

“The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad” – Psalm 126:3

As we approach the first anniversary of Noel’s stem cell transplant in just 4 weeks time… we reflect on this past year… and all the events… and are grateful for every day. The not so good ones and the good ones… But to name ever blessing would fill a book… But we recognize everyone and are exceedingly glad and praise the Lord.

Today’s appointment with Amy was a good one… She is very pleased with Noel’s continued progress. She said he remains stable, not yet normal but stable. She is happy with his general good health. He remains on the same levels for his drugs although Amy did make a further adjustment in Noel’s favour to the dose level of one of the immunosuppressive drugs he takes. The aim is to get him off this drug altogether and she expects this to also help his kidney levels to improve. Thankfully his liver levels are now back to normal, for the third measurement running. His blood levels remain much the same as 3 weeks ago hence the use of the word “stable”.

White blood cells: Today 4.5, last time 4.3, now within the normal range
Red blood cells: Today 3.24, last time 3.30, still below normal
Platelets: Today 96, last time 100, also still below normal

Noel has had more overall energy and less fatigue the last couple of weeks and is exercising at least 3 times a week, walking 3 or 4 miles in an hour (that is 3 if he walks along with me and 4 if he walks faster than me!). He is also doing 300 plus stairs (way more stairs than I can do) so his strength is returning for which we are so grateful.

Sadly his very sore mouth from the GVHD continues… Amy decided to keep his oral steroids at the same level, the eventual aim is to reduce that level again. But she has prescribed him a steroid mouthwash to use 3 times a day… hopefully this will bring some relief. Please continue to pray for this.

Good news! Noel is moving towards life returning back to normal… Amy said today that if he continues to feel well she is willing to allow him to take part in the Welcome Home Initiative Retreat for Veterans at the Spiritual Life Center on the 20th to 22nd of May. This has been so much the desire of Noel’s heart and one we have given much prayer to… But some restrictions will apply… mostly connected with his food… he will be able to have any food that is freshly cooked but not food that has been kept warm on a buffet and definitely no salad bar type foods. So I will have to make sure he is at the head of the line and not doing his normal thing of talking and being at the end of the line! He will also be allowed to take off his face mask unless in confined and in close contact with people… but as the rooms are spacious that should not be a problem… but no hugging! These retreats are intense and very tiring so I will be there to make sure he does not overtax himself… as although he feels well his body has been through a great deal. Amy giving her permission for this is such a big answer to prayer. PTL, it is such a wonderful move forward on the road to his full recovery!

Family here and in England are all well and enjoying the Spring… and being able to be outside in the fresh air more now winter is just a memory.

Just 3 weeks to go until our family here in the USA will all be taking part in the Greenwich Relay for Life to celebrate and remember those whose lives are forever changed by the word ‘cancer’. Did you know that at some time in their life it is estimated that 1 in every 3 people will suffer from some form of the disease…

The American Cancer Society in the USA does so much to help patients and their families… this year we are raising funds to ‘pay it forward’ so others will also receive the help we have received… We have been so blessed by the many nights of ‘free’ accommodation here at the Hope Lodge in Boston, one of the many such facilities run by the ACS all across the States.

We are so grateful for the donations we have received already but we hope we can raise even more by the end of the month… Please visit our Relay for Life team pages ….and help us reach our goal many, many times over. Thank you for partnering with us in our efforts.

Noel… http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY13EA?px=31513675&pg=personal&fr_id=49271

Meryl… http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MerylDawes

As you may know our granddaughter Charlotte is also a cancer survivor… and this year has her own fund raising page, sadly she has not yet received any donations… If you are able to donate a few dollars to her effort it would such an encouragement to her. She will be be 6 years old in July. It would be good for her to know that she is helping others as she celebrates being a survivor at this year’s Relay for Life… Thank you for considering this.

Charlotte… http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY13EA?px=16077675&pg=personal&fr_id=49271

Please continue to pray for:

• Noel to stay well, giving thanks for the wonderful progress and for there to be an improvement in his sore mouth.
• For the Lord’s blessing on our finances and give thanks for His amazing provisions for us.
• For Charles, Sarah, Eve and Will in the UK and Toby, JoAnn, Charlotte and Lucy here in the USA.
• For continued safe travels.
• For the Welcome Home Initiative…and all those attending. For Noel’s re-growing ministry with US and Canadian Chaplains, for its funding and especially for the development of international relationships, in partnership and cooperation with numerous others who minister to Chaplains.

We are so very grateful to all our family and friends and everyone who takes time to read about our ‘journey’ , to pray for us, and to be there for us in so many ways… You are our encouragers. We thank you all and thank God for His faithfulness.

God bless you!

Written at Hope Lodge, Wednesday 17th April 2013. Transplant Day plus 31

Blessed be the LORD, The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise him. (Psalm 28:6-7)

We are praising the Lord! Noel feels well at the moment and has done for the last couple of weeks, although short periods of real fatigue each day are usual, and some now minor discomfort from mouth sores and digestive problems continue.

We thank the Lord so much for the strength and gift of perseverance that He gave Noel a few weeks ago during February and March as well as over this past 9 months. He has brought him through a period of feeling really down.

We have both been walking more for exercise and today here in the beautiful Boston sunshine enjoyed a 3+ mile walk in a local park where it was a joy to see so many signs of Spring. We are also using the stairs as much as we can and ‘did’ over 200 steps on then today. Our room at Hope Lodge has been on the 4th floor (3rd floor in UK terms).there is of course an elevator but we choose not to use it.

At the Dana Farber, Noel had a good appointment with Dr Soiffer today, April 17th. He made one minor adjustment, in Noel’s favour, of one of the immunosuppressive drugs he is on. Eventually the aim is for Noel to be off these and his many other drugs altogether.

Overall, Dr Soiffer was pleased with Noel’s blood work:
Red cells 3.30 — 3 weeks ago 3.13 — Normal 4.2-5.6
White cells 4.3 — 3 weeks ago 4.9 — Within normal range
Platelets 100 — 3 weeks ago 76 — Normal 155-410

Noel’s next appointment is in 3 weeks, on May 8th. There was some initial discussion about moving to monthly visits, perhaps starting in June. We are hopeful that Dr S might give Noel permission to start living in a less isolated way after the next visit. This will feel like a huge step forward.

Family life has again been busy on both sides of the Atlantic. Our grandchildren all enjoyed the Easter Holidays/Spring Break with their parents taking time off work to do fun family activities with them….just sad both families could not have shared time together but maybe one day that might be possible.

We give praise to God for continuing healing and wonderful prayer and other support from so many family and friends around the world. Please continue to pray for us and our family. Your prayers are such an encouragement to us.

This week, here in Boston, has seen yet another act of utter evil and terror manifest itself. It is hard to understand or even know how to react or find words to describe the events but I found hope for us all in the words of this prayer. I discovered it yesterday in a book, left by another visitor, in the room we have here at the Hope Lodge…the prayer was written by a prisoner at the Ravensbuuck concentration camp during WW2.

‘O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering, our comradeship, our loyalty, our humanity, our courage, our generosity,the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this, and when they come to judgement let all the fruits which we have borne be their forgiveness.’

Noel has been talking to a few people saying that there are two ways each of us can help, however powerless or inadequate we feel. First and most importantly, we can pray. And pray, and pray and pray. Scripture he tells them, talks about the need to pray continually (1Thessalonians 5:17). Next one ought to do whatever good is possible. Good overcomes evil and we believe every act of goodness, kindness, encouragement etc, has this effect on evil, even if imperceivable at this moment of time. For example, we both talked to a young man who took his dog to Boston Common for a while yesterday. The dog attracted attention and conversation, which led to him and others being encouraged, even though none of those there had been directly affected by the bombs. Scripture says that we are to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). And let’s pray the authorities do their work well and can bring the perpetrators of this evil to justice (Isaiah 30:18).

Thank you to those of you who have already responded to my April 1st update and supported our Relay for Life fund raising efforts… Trying to ‘pay it forward’ for the amazing help the American Cancer Society has given us through our stays here at the Hope Lodge….

…. So please visit our Relay Team ‘Hearts of Hope’ pages: Noel’s page or Meryl’s page. We appreciate you partnering with us in this. God Bless you!

Hope Lodge in Boston, MA.

‘When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheers my soul.’ Psalm 94:19.

‘Give thanks to The Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.’
Psalm 107:1.

Today Noel had his usual 3 week appointment at Dana Farber… yesterday’s drive to Boston was a sunny Spring like day, which was encouraging. Has winter really left and Spring arrived even though there was lots of snow last week – much like many other places in the USA and Europe.

So far this year, we have routinely been seeing Amy but today we were pleased to see Dr. Soiffer for the first time since Christmas. Dr. S reviewed Noel’s blood work and was at a loss to know why his results 3 weeks ago had showed such a leap but today are back in line with 6 weeks ago… He is not concerned about this but thinks everything is going along fine. Even though today’s numbers on paper seem lower, they are actually consistent over all with a gradual slight rise in the levels. He sees this as good, continual, progress.

This weeks blood test:
White blood cells 4.9 with in the normal range — 6 weeks ago 3.8
Red blood cells 3.13 — normal 4.2-5.6 — 6 weeks ago 2.98
Platelets 76 — normal 155-410 — 6 weeks ago 74

As Noel is still taking drugs to suppress his immune system Dr. S said the restrictions on his life style are still in place, so no change yet in where he can go, what he can do and what he can eat.

With the good progress and it now being 9 months since his transplant, today Noel began to receive vaccinations just as a newborn infant would. As all his own immunity was wiped out by the aggressive chemotherapy before the transplant. Today he had the Polio Vaccine, DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough), Hib, Haemophilus Influenzae type B and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine. He will get more doses at set intervals as well as the boosters shots that children are normally given.

Noel’s next appointment is in 3 weeks on April 17th, again with Dr. Soiffer.

Since his leg injury healed Noel has started walking again for exercise, however he is still fighting bouts of fatigue and digestion problems. But he generally feels good and continues to have a positive attitude. We are both encouraged and not discouraged. And each time we stay at Hope Lodge, as well as in other places, the Lord seems to provide opportunities for us to share naturally with others what we do, and how the faith we profess enables us to live fully and positively. We are usually able to pray for others, formally or informally, as we share.

Family on both sides of the Atlantic are doing well… and looking forward to all having family time over the Spring break / Easter Holidays. Hopefully in both countries the weather will be fine so family days out and about can be enjoyed. Toby, JoAnn, Charlotte and Lucy will have lunch with us on Easter Day. Meanwhile, in England, Charles, Sarah, Evelyn and William will have lunch with Sarah’s parents.

Please praise and pray with us… for again being blessed with being able to stay here at the Hope Lodge. We are grateful for Noel’s progress, our family and friends and God’s amazing gift to each one of us at Easter…

Please continue to pray for Noel’s complete healing, for the GVHD to stay controlled and for more energy. And for the Lord’s continuing provision for all our needs.

We ask the Lord’s blessing on you and all your families this Easter time.

Thank you again for your support in many different ways. We are blessed by you, including the many encouraging responses on our web pages, for the donations that were given in March which helps so much with the medical bills and travel costs; but above all, for your prayers, concern and love.

… ‘they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint’. Isaiah 40:31.

After our last joint update when news was not greatly encouraging… I am pleased to report today that things are much better and the news is encouraging once again. Praise The Lord!

After a very difficult couple of weeks Noel is feeling so much better. Increasing his steroid dose certainly has subdued the very nasty and painful mouth sores which were preventing him eating. He is now back to enjoying real food rather than ‘Ensure’ through a straw!

We were in Boston yesterday for his appointments at the Dana-Farber… We knew the GVHD was under control, and that it had taken four days for the increased steroid dose to clear up the mouth sores, but we did not know what his blood work would be doing… After a bad cold, the leg injury (both now very much better), all we felt we could hope for was that his blood work was no worse than 3 weeks ago… PTL what a joy to see they were the best they had been since the transplant… still need to be better but this is such an encouraging sign that progress is going quickly forward.

This weeks blood test results:
White blood cells 7.3 – Last time 3.8 – (a huge leap into the normal range of 3.8-9.2)
Red blood cells 2.98 – Last time 2.92 – Normal 4.2-5.6
Platelets 120 – Last time 74 – (a good more towards the normal range of 155-410)

So this seems like a real move of progress in Noel’s lengthy convalescent stage of his recovery… Amy says she will keep the steroids at this level for the next 3 weeks… and then she my consider lowering them again. It is really a matter of trial and error when it comes to the rate the drugs can be reduced. There is no way to predict. There is no set down plan that works for every one… It is a delicate balance for each individual… the aim is to eventually get the patient off ALL drugs and blood counts back to normal, but some go faster and some slower… There are no fixed rules.

Noel is still fighting a lot of fatigue but that seems to be ‘normal’… if no fun! He feels energetic then hits a brick wall… but thankfully does bounce back fairly quickly.

We are so grateful for Noel’s good overall progress. Yesterday we heard the very sad news of another transplant patient who had been doing well but succumbed to an infection, developed pneumonia and died at about the Day +150 point.

Family news is all good… Every one busy with school and work and looking forward to Spring… We are enjoying our couple of days each week with Lucy and then Charlotte after school… at this stage children seem to change weekly… We so hope that later this year we will have the chance to see our other grandchildren, Eve and Will, who are also growing very fast. Many of you, with family far away, know this feeling so well too. We miss everyone so much.

We returned home last evening. Normally we stay in Boston till Thursday and then drive home refreshed after a nights sleep. But yesterday we were concerned that the weathermen were predicting another wild winter storm and we wanted to be home before it hit the north east… And thankfully we were. Seems winter is still hanging around with just two weeks to go till the first day of Spring!

Thank you for all your past prayers please keep praying…

• For Noel’s energy levels.
• For continued positive increases in his blood production.
• For the GVHD to be kept in check and for it to not flare up again.
• For The Lord to continue to provide for all the medical expenses.
• For our family on both sides of the Atlantic.

Noel has asked me to include the following ministry praise and prayer request, he although not back in ‘full time ministry’ never has his heart or mind far from his ministry…

• For several recent ministry opportunities for Noel. He has been able to pray for, talk to, encourage and generally minister to several US and international Chaplains, active duty and retired Veterans and others.

  (Note: In addition to folk being worn out and pressurized with ‘compassion fatigue’, PTSD and other forms of combat trauma including TBI, a growing aspect of ministry seems to be focused on what the military is calling ‘moral injury’. So far, in everything Noel has studied and ministered into regarding this, he has yet to hear of any connection between moral injury and ‘spiritual injury’ (as Noel calls it). It seems the prevailing view is that one’s moral value system and damage to it has absolutely no spiritual value aspect or connection at all. Noel’s experience, especially through the Welcome Home Initiative (WHI), would suggest differently.)

Thank you for walking with us, we were encouraged this past couple of weeks by your messages, calls and cards…I am still not good at keeping up with personal replies but please know you are all special to us.

God Bless you.

Ash Wednesday, February 13th 2013 — Hope Lodge, Boston.

Rejoice in The Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Philippians 4:4

How quickly the 3 weeks since last we were in Boston have passed. Where does the time go to?

We have been busy trying to walk more for exercise and have been able to see more of Charlotte and Lucy and get back into daytime care for them. Noel has been more active making ministry calls and doing our taxes. The predicted super snow storm passed us by with just about 8 inches of snow – so nothing unusual, unlike here in Boston, where they had 25 inches and still, today, have mountains everywhere. But Spring seems to be on the way and we are having some lovely sunny days, today being one of them as was yesterday for our drive here which was a blessing after the snow.

Today, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we had some great encouraging news from Noel’s blood tests… his white blood cells are now within the normal range!!! PTL.

White cells today: 3.8 – Three weeks ago 3.4 – Normal 3.8-9.2. 🙂
Red cells today: 2.92 – Three weeks ago 2.66 – Normal 4.2-5.6
Platelets today: 74 – Three weeks ago 56 – Normal 155-410

So this is an improvement as they have been in the 50’s for so long.

Noel still has some problems with the mouth sores from the GVHD and has been feeling quite fatigued at times during the past 3 weeks. We asked about this today and Amy said it was typical to feel very tired on the lower dose of steroids he has been on. She lowered it again today and said she would expect him to feel very tired as the body tried to adjust to doing with out so much of the drug. She also said his digestive upsets are from one of the medications he takes… At least we know it is not anything serious. But over all she is really pleased with his progress….she said his bigger problem today is his leg! He hurt his right leg just above the ankle about 10 days ago while walking and climbing steps at the Civic Center where we go to walk. It has got no better and is quite painful to walk on. Amy sent him for an X-ray and said she would call us when it has been read by a Doctor. We got a copy of the X-ray on a CD to give to Noel’s Primary Care Doctor, whom he has an appointment with on Friday back in Glens Falls. Noel is trying to rest it but nothing seems to help…. So we wait to know if he damaged it and what the treatment might be…

We discussed again with Amy about the possibility of Noel being able to travel and attend meetings towards the end of March…. It seems much more likely that he will be back to ‘normal’ by the end of May so till then he just has to be patient ….it is only 3 months away and considering how far he has come it will soon be here. Before the transplant we were told the recovery time would be in the region of 12 months so this is no surprise to us…and is within what is normal.

One blessing at the hospital today was providentially running in to one of the Hospital Chaplains who was blessing people and signing them with the sign of the cross using ashes…. A sign to mark the beginning of Lent. She signed both of us.

If you are wondering about the meaning of Ash Wednesday and the Distribution of Ashes in the Christian Church here is what I think is a good article written by a Protestant.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/markdroberts/pages/series/ash-wednesday-practice-and-meaning.html

News of our family is good. Both Charles and Toby stay extremely busy in their jobs… Charles, who travels internationally almost every week, was in Mexico last week. And Toby has recently moved to a new position within the company he works for. Both Sarah and JoAnn are busy juggling home and work lives. And all 4 grandchildren are thriving. This month, both Eve and Charlotte have been ‘Student of the Week’ at their schools. Eve also had her 5th Birthday this month. Will is 3 later in February. Charlotte lost her first baby tooth this week, and Lucy and Will increase their language skills daily. Busy days.

Please give great praise to the Lord for the miracle of healing through the Stem Cell Transplant process. The cancer that was in Noel’s bone marrow has gone. we both give praise daily for great medical care and for his donor. Please continue to pray for patience as he fully recovers and eventually comes off many of the drugs he takes. There will be much rejoicing when he can return to a (new) normal life again and all this is just a memory, even though there will be lots of check ups into the future.

Our prayer requests are always the same:

• For family and friends who have been so wonderful in walking the walk with us.
• For travel safety.
• And sufficient finances to cover the continuing costly medical bills and associated expenses (for example two drugs Noel takes cost over $1,000 each month, even with health insurance).
• Praising the Lord for answering your prayers for us in the past and providing for us.

I am still not up to date with personal replies to messages.. Please forgive me if you feel neglected you are all thought about and one day I will get around to answering all my mail.

Next appointment at the DFCI is March 6th , in 3 weeks time…..

God bless you and all those you love!

Hampton Inn, Boston Crosstown, MA.

” If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. if you look within you will be depressed. But if you look at the Lord you’ll be at rest”. Corrie ten Boom.

” I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord………..Both now and evermore.” Psalm 121.

Happy New Year to everyone! The new year here in the North East USA brought us expected very cold temperatures and snow… ‘beautiful to look at’ is all I have to say about it! But we were blessed by Toby and a friend of his and JoAnn’s who snow plowed our driveway and side walks after the two heavy falls. We are sure the winter will bring us more snow but hopefully sunny days too.

Today is day plus 213 or 7 months post transplant… and we continue to see slow but steady progress along the road to recovery. We saw Amy, Dr S’s NP today. She was happy with Noel’s general health and pleased to hear he is regularly walking for exercise…
His WBC was looking a lot better today and almost into the lower range of normal. His RBC remains much the same as do the Platelets. His blood DNA is still at 99/100% which is good and expected; and his GVHD is slowly getting better but energy levels still fluctuate daily.

Today’s bloodwork results
White blood cells, 3.4 – Last time, 1.9 – Normal, 3.8-9.2
Red blood cells, 2.68 – Last time, 2.65 – Normal, 4.2-5.6
Platelets, 58 – Last time, 58 – Normal, 155-410

Amy, seeing the improvement in the GVHD, has again lowered Noel’s dose of steroid so hopefully he will soon be off it altogether. His liver and kidney levels were also looking a little better.

We talked with her about his immune system and when we could expect to see it recover… She said it is still early days and described his immune system as having 3 components: first, the system itself, Noel’s being a ‘baby’ one just 7 months old. Secondly, the blood count levels, especially the white cells. And, thirdly, the drugs he is on that can suppress or affect the immune system. She thinks it will be later in the Spring around March when restrictions can start to be lifted but is willing to keep reassessing this. But this is the worst part of the year for coughs, colds and ‘flu, evidenced just today when the Mayor of Boston declared a state of health emergency, the city having had over 700 flu admissions to hospital in the last few days, more than 10 times the total for last year. This week the ‘flu virus seems to have hit many areas country wide and hospitals in several cities are overwhelmed with cases and a number of deaths. It seems that although the vaccine does help it is missing one strand which is hitting some people very hard. We are trying to keep away from people and germs as Noel is more susceptible than the average person, even though he had a ‘flu injection back in November.

Noel is very much hoping to have all the restrictions lifted by mid March as he would like to fly to Atlanta for an important 3 day CANA Convention. But as this involves travel and being with a lot of people we will have to see how things pan out… Amy is not willing to take risks and neither are we… We have come to far to have any avoidable set backs.

Noel’s next appointment is in 2 weeks on January 23rd with Dr. Soiffer. We hope he will say Noel can have the Hickman line taken out as it now seems redundant as he has not needed a transfusion for over 2 months. Amy said she was hopeful he will also be moved to appointments every 3 weeks… So that will be another step forward.

This visit we were unable to have accommodation at the Hope Lodge but thankfully have been able to stay at the Hampton Inn at the reduced hospital rate. This was an answer to prayer as when I first tried to book there were no rooms available. With so many hospitals in Boston and so may out of town patients, subsidized rooms are greatly sought after. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness to us. Our prayer this year continues to be that He will provide for our needs as he did throughout the last year.

We continue to be blessed by our friend Father Dave (formally Deacon Dave) who was ordained as a priest in December. He brings us Holy Communion each week. Also by visits from friends and family (germ free, of course). And we are enjoying having Lucy for some day care days and seeing Charlotte after school some times. Thankfully they have remained well and healthy. Long may it last!

We hope your new year has got off to a good start. We were pleased to have lots of news from people over the Christmas time and we would love to hear your news and prayer requests at other times too… Do keep in touch.

Prayer requests

• for movement forward to appointments every 3 weeks.
• for resources to meet all the medical bills and associated costs.
• for accommodation needs in Boston, either at the Hope Lodge or reduced rates at the hotel.
• safety as we travel in winter weather.
• good health keeping free from seasonal germs.
• for our families here and in the UK.

And please give praise with us for so very many blessings that have seen us through the past almost 2 years since Noel was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. A journey we would not have chosen but one of many blessings.

Written on December 24th/25th 2012, Hope Lodge Boston.
Transplant Day plus 198 and 199

‘Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared praising God and saying ” Glory to God in the highest and on earth to men on whom his favor rests” Luke 2 :13,14 NIV.

‘For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ Isaiah 9: 6 NIV.

John 3:16 -“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (NLT)

We celebrated Christmas at our home yesterday, Sunday, with Toby, JoAnn, Charlotte and Lucy… Enjoying seeing the girls thrilled with the gifts they unwrapped… and enjoyed a meal of roast pork followed by Christmas pudding and mince pies… while wearing the paper hats from our Christmas Crackers and laughing at the silly jokes we found inside. But I will spare you from those!!! And we all had a great time interacting with Charles, Sarah, Evelyn and William in the UK via Skype. Not quite like all being physically together but fun.

Today, Christmas Eve we drove here to Boston in glorious sunshine… cold and brisk but so beautiful through the Berkshires and what a blessing, only a few heavy vehicles and much lighter traffic than normal on the Interstate… and we were able to get good reception on the Public Radio station so listened to the traditional Christmas service of nine lessons and carols from the King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England. It was very uplifting.

We arrived in good time for Noel’s appointment with Dr. Soiffer at the Dana Faber today… Very few patients being seen today so we had a short waiting time… Still not any great changes in Noel’s levels… Dr. Soiffer says he is not worried with a big W or even worried with a small w but is keeping a close eye on him. Today Noel’s platelets were down very slightly, his Red cells were very very slightly up but his White cells had dropped quite a lot… which is not good for fighting infection at this difficult time of the year when there are so many people fighting different seasonal illnesses. So he will need to be extra careful.

Today’s results (and 12 days ago)
White blood cells: 1.9 — Last time: 3.1 — Normal: 3.8 – 9.2
Red blood cells: 2.65 — Last time: 2.58 — Normal: 4.2 – 5.6
Platelets: 55 — Last time: 58 — Normal: 155 – 410

So all his restrictions stay in place. Noel is still fighting the mild GVHD and the sores and thrush in his mouth. Glucose level is too high so a watch is being kept on that too. Noel’s next appointment is on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013.

Our Christmas Day tomorrow will be quiet as there are few guests here most people having been able to go home for a couple of days break. We do have a friend and his wife coming to visit us around 9am in the morning and although not yet confirmed with the duty manager they hope to play Christmas Carols on the piano and violin for every one to enjoy. Then there is a Brunch at 10:30am kindly put on by local volunteers. Of course Noel cannot eat the food from the buffet but I brought breakfast stuff with us and have a tasty but simple meal planned for tomorrow evening. We will drive home on Boxing Day, 26th… Snow is forecast over the next couple of days but hopefully in this area only about an inch, just enough to make everywhere look picture perfect but not enough to delay our travel plans.

So this year will soon be coming to an end and a new one beginning… We pray for you all to be blessed with the peace of the Lord and to stay safe and healthy. God Bless you!

We were blessed by receiving so many cards and good wishes this Christmas time… Thank you all for your continued prayers and for standing with us though difficult times… We hope you will continue to pray for us in 2013 and continue to follow Noel’s progress on the road to a full recovery.

Prayer requests:

• For Noel’s blood levels to return to and stay within the normal range.
• For The Lord to continue to bless us with the resources we need to pay all the medical bills this coming year.
• For safe travel during winter weather.
• For both of us to have renewed energy.
• For our families on both sides of the Atlantic.

Thank you, please do stay in touch, we love hearing from you… Happy New Year!

Christmas Day update:
We have enjoyed our day… Our friends Greg and Diane and their son Matt arrived as planned and permission was given to announce the Carol singing. Sadly the piano was out of key but Greg played his violin. Four other guests came and were all thrilled to hear Noel read the Christmas story and joined in the carol singing. We finished with the prayer of St. Francis and all felt up lifted.

Brunch was a FIVE STAR event… hosted by Hope Lodge Board members… they supplied and cooked a variety of omelets, bacon and pancakes… fresh fruit salad and whole fruits a huge array of pastries and muffins and breakfast cereals… and lots of coffee and juice. As some of it was cooked freshly to order Noel was able to enjoy it. Greg, Diane and Matt were also able to join us for the brunch before driving on to see relatives locally and then drive home to Maine.

We were also blessed by a gift of a hand knitted scarf each… made mostly by one lady who said she wanted to keep us warm in the chilly Boston weather. So a great Christmas Morning. We have much to give praise and thanks for.