Colson Update 9/21/05

Dear Friends and Family,

First and foremost, thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers. We cannot tell you how much it means to know that so many people love us and are praying for us. We know that amidst the confusion, the questions, and the difficulty of it all – God has placed all of the right people right in our path to be blessings to us at this time in our lives, and we continue to see God’s hand faithfully guide through each step.

As many of you know, Joey was supposed to be admitted into the hospital today for another round of heavy chemo. However, he was sent back home today as they are unable to administer his treatment due to complications with his liver. Joey’s liver counts are once again very high, and his doctors are not sure exactly why.

Again, this causes difficulty because Joey’s particular strand of cancer calls for the most aggressive treatment possible, and so continuously putting off his treatments or lowering the doses is not the best solution. On the other side, continual stress to his liver can also be very damaging and quite concerning. So, they are having to find a balance.

Because of the rarity and complexity of it all, Joey’s head doctor is consulting some experts at the hospital in Boston, where a team of doctors is already familiar with Joey’s situation.

A praise from today - Last Wednesday Joey had several CT scans and tests run, and his doctor told him today that they looked good and clear, so we are very grateful for that.

Joey is scheduled to go locally to have blood work done early on Friday, and as soon as those results are faxed to his UVA doctors, they will make a decision as to what to do and what the next step is. If all is well, he may go into the hospital this weekend.

So, for now Joey is home and well. We will take it one day at a time and see what happens on Friday. Please pray for continual wisdom for the doctors, and energy and strength for Joey as he has been feeling quite tired lately. Please also continue to pray for Joey’s nurse Tim. Joey will definitely see him next time he is admitted to the hospital, and we are hoping more will come of Tim’s search for peace.

We love you all!

Cynthia Colson