  
FALL/WINTER 2002-2003 Mark had a BMT (bone marrow transplant) in the fall of 2002 and after that, he never really bounced back this time. He spent a lot of the following months in the hospital, his counts very low and he wore a mask most of the time - very suseptible to infection. He battled physical setbacks in his progress to get better, and battled depression and discouragement with this disease. He battled shingles in the spring of 2003, and a little over a month ago, some swollen nodules were found in a scan. I suppose Mark was just plain tired of fighting. : ( That can be difficult for us who are left behind, to understand, yet not being in the shoes of the person who is suffering, we are in no real position to understand, or to judge. I know Mark gave real evidence of his trust in Jesus. I know that Mark knew his life was safe with Christ - that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ, as the scriptures say in Romans 8. Our prayers are for his family, as they go on without him - yet in sure hope of seeing him again. JULY 1, 2002 Mark has been on the Legacy prayer list in the past, fought non-hodgkin's lymphoma and in April of 2001 was declared to be through with treatments and told to get on with his normal life! Mark did very well after that, going for his scans every 6 months, but otherwise - life had returned to blessed normalcy for this family. Recently, this situation changed though. Mark had some illness and in the course of treating that, it was determined that his cancer has returned. : ( Today he is having a scan to determine exactly what's going on in his body. We were saddened to hear that he is back in the arena, battling this beast . . . but feel privileged to pray again for Mark to overcome this setback. I'll post an update when I receive it. Thank you all for praying for this man and his family. SEPTEMBER 3, 2002 Mark has been undergoing various tests in recent weeks, since his cancer returned. Members of the family have also been tested in order to attempt to find a marrow match for Mark. Unfortunately none of the family members tested, turned out to be that match. Mark has been placed on a national registry, where he now awaits word that someone has been found, that matches. When that happens, he will undergo a bone marrow transplant in hopes of eradicating the cancer cells from his body. Please continue to pray for Mark and family - for strength, for courage, and for a match! OCTOBER 17,2000 Mark is battling non-hodgkin's lymphoma, diagnosed on September 16, 1999. He has been in treatment, receiving chemotherapy since then. Mark had a brief remission, followed by relapse, then recently received an Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant. For those unfamiliar with this term, he donated and then received his own stem cells, specially processed,in a bone marrow transplant. September 22, 2000 was the BIG day! Mark had a rough time afterwards, with the typical side affects and setbacks associated with BMTs - but his white count has begun to rise, which is very good. He is recovering from some infection in his throat, also associated, and suffering a bit of short-term memory loss. Hopefully this will be temporary for Mark. There is some concern that his gall bladder is not functioning normally, and Mark may require surgery to remove it. This brave guy is 42 years old, married to Sussie, and the Daddy of 4 boys, ages 17, 15, 11, and 8. He also has a sister that loves him very much! Marcia visited Legacy and wanted us to know Mark, and pray for him. Thank you Marcia! Mark has a long road to recovery, but with the support of family and friends, if God wills, he will prevail! Our prayers are with you, and for you Mark! God bless you and speed you to good health again OCTOBER 19, 2000 UPDATE A quick report on Mark! His bloodwork is looking good,along with chest x-ray! If all goes well, they will take his catheter out on friday (he's had it in his chest for months, for all the different chemos, and meds...) he will see his regular bone marrow transplant doctor on Monday and he will get to go home when his blood #'s return to normal, maybe 2-4 weeks. OCTOBER 24, 2000 UPDATE Mark did get to go home for the weekend - overjoyed to be a family man again! He returned to the hospital on Sunday evening with blood counts a bit low, so he is receiving the Neupogen injections to boost blood counts. Chest port remains, as he is still receiving some meds through it. Next week will hopefully brings some changes in living quarters as Mark continues to make progress. Marcia, we appreciate the update! Way to go Mark! God speed to good health! NOVEMBER 12, 2000 Mark is home right now! He had a CT scan on Monday, and got the results back...it looks good!! It showed a reduction of some of the lymph nodes, and an elimination of others. Mark will be taking part in a drug study, taking Rituxan, which contains monoclonal antibodies. These will attach to any remaining cancer cells (if there are any) and his immune system will kill them. The treatment is for 4 weeks, once a week...then he will get it again in 6 months...and, the drug is free since he is in the study He has to be back at Stanford on Monday, but has been eating well...he still gets tired easily. Thanks Marcia, for another good update. Tell Mark he remains in our prayers. JANUARY 18, 2001 We have a great update on Mark today! He had a bone marrow biopsy last Wednesday and received the results back today...it showed NO signs of Lymphoma!! :D Mark's sister Marcia says he still has one more round of the new drug in March, and then he should be all done...these were her words - "We are sooo happy!!" SO ARE WE!!!! We give thanks to God, for sustaining Mark through all these troubles, for helping Him every step of the way. We will continue to hold Mark before God, in prayer. MARCH 28, 2001 Just a little update with some continued good news! I spoke with Marcia today and she said Mark is doing very well, his hair is growing back in nicely, and he has one more round of the trial drug to go. She said they are so very grateful as they know that not everyone does so well. Mark's family has gotten more active in their local church; they know in a real way, as never before, the goodness and mercy of the Lord! We love to be able to share good news like this. So often we report sorrowful updates - it's just a thrill to be able to praise the Lord for a good outcome. Obviously Mark still has lots to do here! God speed to full recovery!! APRIL 17, 2001 I am very happy to share the following letter with you all.. from Mark.
This is one of the nicest letters we have had in a while! Good news is sweet to us here at Legacy and we rejoice with you Mark, in finishing the course!! May the Lord bless you with good health for years to come! We look forward to hearing periodic good reports from you! God Bless you, brother!
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