August 2005

Dear friends, family and prayer partners,

Wow, last time I wrote to you about what God is doing in my life related to my health I was on my way to visit a doctor at Swedish to talk about the possibility of having a stem cell transplant to deal with my Leukemia. Soooo much has happened since then. I want to give you a quick update and again ask you to pray. 

Since I wrote last, I completed 4 months of Chemotherapy and as I write to you today I am being prepared for a Stem Cell Transplant through Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (S.C.C.A.).  While the chemotherapy has done its work the only way medically to have a chance at true remission or cure is through a Stem Cell Transplant. This entails another round of strong chemotherapy and radiation to destroy as much of the cancer as possible and then an infusion of donor stem cells (cells that don’t have a job yet).  After they are given to me they run around looking for something to do and see that my immune system is compromised and I have leukemia. Those cells then begin the process of rebuilding my bone marrow to produce healthy blood and fight the leukemia. 

I need to say that these stem cells have nothing to do with babies. They are “harvested” from a donor whose blood most closely matches yours. The hope is that a sibling is a close match because there is less chance that your body will try to reject the new cells. 

I am so blessed for several reasons. First, that my only sister is a very good match and is willing to be a donor. There was only a small chance that would be the case but, you know I think god likes to give fun little gifts like that (thanks Dad). Also, thankfully I’m still in good shape (except for this pesky Leukemia stuff) and my latest bone marrow “draw” revealed that I have a very low percentage of cancer in my marrow. The last huge blessing is that we live close to SSCA which is one of the best places in the world to have this procedure done.

I wish I had the time and expertise to explain the whole Stem Cell Transplant process well because it truly is amazing!!  We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. Here is what my next few months will look like…

• August 29^th-31^st more tests and prodding (I have been poked and prodded and examined more in a week then in the rest of my life)
• Sept. 1^st Minor surgery to have a “Hickman Catheter” put in my chest. That is the “port” they will put all the drugs, fluids and stem cells in through. It will also be used to take all my blood draws. No more poking around every time they want to take or give me something. That will stay in for about 3 months.
• Sept. 4-6^th Chemotherapy
• Sept. 7^th Rest
• Sept. 8^th Full body irradiation and Stem Cell Transplant (a new re-birthday)

After that I will be pretty wiped out for a while as my body tries to rebuild an immune system and fight off the cancer with my sisters stem cells as the main warriors in the battle.  Really God is the MAIN warrior!! It will probably be several months before I am in “circulation” again. And the doc says it takes about a year to build a new immune system. Then I get to start having all my childhood vaccinations all over again. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned about the complexity of the human body. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made!! 

 I will try to send out updates every so often to those who are interested so you know how to pray specifically.  Here is a “short” prayer list to get you started…

• Pray for God to do the miraculous, with or with out the docs healing from this stuff would truly be a miracle. I’m not just expecting a miracle, I’m depending on it!!
• Pray for peace and sleep for Cindy and me and our whole family
• Pray for my sister Vanessa. She has to go through a couple procedures that are not that much fun so that I can steal some of her stem cells.
• Pray that Cindy and I can be a witness and encouragement to the staff and other patients at SCCA.
• Pray that there will be little or no Graft Verses Host Disease. As your body struggles with the new stem cells it can produce some pretty nasty side effects in your body. No GVHD!!!
• Pray that I will not pick up any sickness or disease. I will be very vulnerable as my body re-builds my immune system.
• Pray for Cindy as she has to leave her job and take care of me for a few months while I recover. 

I feel like so much more needs to be said but know this.  A few weeks ago in my Quiet Time with God I ran into a passage that spoke tons to me.  It’s when Gods’ people were getting ready to cross over into the Promised Land. Now. while the Promised Land looked great they knew as soon as they were on the other side of the river they were going to be in a fierce battle. God tells Joshua (through Moses) “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord is the one who goes before you.  He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:8) That’s what I feel God telling me. Jeff, you will have to do battle but I have gone ahead and “softened the beach head” and I will be there with you. I won't leave you alone and I will fight with you!!  Wow, what more could I ask? I trust in a God who made me, saved me and has directed an incredible first part of life’s journey for me. I trust in the same all powerful God with the next chapter in my life. I’m still “freefalling” a bit but I’m expecting God to pull the shoot soon and I look forward to a nice, soft landing and having both feet on the ground again. 

I thank God for your friendship and fellowship over the years and I look forward to many more. 

Safe and Secure in Him,

Jeff Geise

I’m not just expecting a miracle, I’m depending on it!!

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