Jan 5, 2026: Starting month 5 of cancer free

Living in today, in God's grace & mercy. I have an eternal hope through faith in the One who loved me and paid for my failings. 

My counts were good today. WBC & Platelets in the low end of normal range. RBC's still low but didn't drop from Dec 5. No detectable blasts, aka cancer cells. 

Also did an IVIG infusion (3 hrs). 

May His blessings be yours in full for 2026, along with His grace and mercy.

G

Dec 28: Ride the Rollercoaster!

Ride the Rollercoaster!

We got to talking about rollercoasters at our family Christmas dinner and there are those that love 'em and those that hate 'em. 

I love them. I'm not such an aficionado that I've gone out of my way to ride new ones or made it my mission to ride every coaster in the world. But, I understand why some don't like them at all. One that sticks out as my favorite was the Texas Giant at 6 Flags. It was built to be an old school, wood frame coaster with the clackity clack climbing every hill. The Texas Giant was originally opened in 1990 as the world’s tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster, featuring a 137-foot first drop with speeds reaching up to 62 miles per hour. 

2025 was a rollercoaster of a year, so to speak. There were a few times where I wish the ride had been over. As 2025 smooths out and pulls into the "station," I'm grateful I didn't toss my cookies too many times and am now feeling the best I have in 2025. 

Time and God's good and perfect plan will tell what 2026 holds for us all. He desires that all be saved; that none perish but gives us choice.   

Psalm 103 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Let us not live in fear or anxiousness in 2026, but live in Christ's perfect love, which casts out fear 1 Jn 4:18
Phil 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the PEACE OF GOD, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned[e] and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the GOD OF PEACE will be with you.

Ride hands in the air and screaming at the top of your lungs with me in 2026.

In His grace, mercy and love, may the God of Peace be with us all today,

Gary

Dec 9: Thankful and Grateful.

 Another month of "cancer free" It's an interesting head and heart space to be in because it's not like a surgery. It doesn't have that finality of healing. 

My CAR-T was Sep 9th, but there's no spot on the timeline that the doc will say, "Free and clear for the rest of your days." If you read my previous blogs, you know my thoughts on statistics. So... doing my best to live in the moment and goodness of today - where God's mercies are new every day. Thankful and grateful.

I am thankful that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us for the ultimate healing of my sin and "broken" body by Jesus's death on the cross. 

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Had supper with a Muslim couple who claimed we worship the same god. We don't. The God of Christians is triune - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the Trinity. The second distinctive is Christianity is salvation by faith alone, through grace alone in Christ alone. Works are an outpouring of that faith, not the basis of our salvation. So, why do I bring that up? In this season, the significance of Baby Jesus is John 1 above. Jesus laid aside His divine rights for His time on earth and became God Incarnate, according to the will of God the Father. 

Blessings, grace and mercy be yours this Christmas season,

Gary

Nov 9: A Long Road Traveled

 Hello friends and family,

It's been a minute since I shared. My journey started over 2 years ago in August 2023. I did enjoy an 8-month respite after my stem cell transplant. However, I confess that I am weary of the daily pain management related to my GI tract, damaged from the chemo. My immune system numbers are still low but climbing ever so slowly. My WBC count is 2.1. It was 1.3 3 weeks ago. 4.0 is the bottom of the normal range. My GI tract healed after my stem cell transplant when my WBC count got to 3.5-4. I know others have struggled with pain; some for 5, 10 even 20 years. Pray for your friends with pain battles. We need your prayers. Let us all who struggle draw near to Him. Our struggle is not without purpose. Still, it is a struggle. 

2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 

In addition, I've been diagnosed with bullous pemhigoid, a skin auto-immune disease. My case has been relatively minor with itching and blisters on my arm and leg extremities, and a small bother in comparison to the leukemia battle, but still a bother. 

This is the level of faith I aspire to - like that of the young Hebrew followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Daniel 3:8.

But if God does not save us from your hand, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 

This world is broken, our bodies are broken, our relationships broken, but His love for us is unbroken. 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 

Grace and Mercy be yours today from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Sep 26: Optimism

My Doctor is optimistic about CAR-T success. What is that optimism level for my doctor? 50-50% I would hope for more, like 90-10%. But, again, God is not bound by statistics. He is God. His plan is perfect; His plan is good. I am hopeful in His good graces. 

There's been challenges of pain, strength, Hopefully, this is a new phase with less pain. 

Grace and mercy be yours in full measure today,

G

Sep 1: Looking back; looking forward

2 Years ago, I didn't know what the next step was going to be, except what was immediately in front of me - multiple rounds of chem to knock back the leukemia. Like those imperfect saints in the Bible, your faith gets tested, strengthened, refined - eliminating the dross. I tend to think of it more like a blacksmith refining a fine blade - heated and reheated, beaten and folded into what can become an amazing blade. In the middle of that, you just have a lump of glowing red steel. 

As somber as the battle was 2 years ago, today, it feels more challenging today in some ways. There's not a lot of options beyond CAR-T at this point. But God... All along this twisty journey, it's always been God and His perfect and good plan. Maybe you're asking, "How can you say that, especially if your life ends soon?" Well, because my end is not in this world, but the eternal promise from Him that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. It always boils down to faith. Many choose to be their own god, even though they'd never admit to that. The object of their faith is ultimately in themselves. Faith always has an object and for me, it's faith IN Jesus Christ. 

I would ask you to pray for me, my faith, and His healing hand in all this. Pray my faith will not waiver, no matter what happens in the next weeks & months. I pray He would receive the glory in my walk of faith in this time. 

His Grace and Mercy be upon you and yours today. 

Aug 26: One Day at a Time

It has been a one day at a time journey since I got released from the hospital a month ago. 

Tough. 

I just now feel like I'm starting to climb out of the hole. Sometime this coming week, I'll get kicked back into the hole with a 3 day round of chemo for CAR-T. Hopefully the last cheno I'll ever have to experience again in this lifetime. 2 more rounds of dry heaves this morning to top it off. Hopefully, no more today. 

Please pray that CAR-T would be effective and successful. 

Grace be upon you all today.