Separate Lives

It has almost been 1 full month since Jodie's last hospital stay. That is by far the longest she's gone since being diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia. Living apart from the kids and I has obviously been good for Jodie's health, staying at her mom's house and being cared for by her has been a wonderful blessing, but it's been very difficult on our family too. The kids and I have been sick a lot lately, first normal coughs and runny noses, then a stomach virus and the latest has been a cough with congestion. I'm even using a breathing machine on Elizabeth right now so she can inhale some medication. All of this means that we can not see Jodie. She's probably been with the kids for no more than 4 hours over the last 2-3 weeks. It's hard on me too taking care of the kids on my own, but as soon as I get tired or frustrated I quickly remind myself that I can hug the kids anytime I want. Jodie can't! Although Jodie has not been in the hospital, she still battled some other health concerns. Severe sinus headaches from a sinus infection, high blood pressure and early onset of diabetes. She's still getting regular transfusions of platelets and blood too. We are also still waiting to hear from the transplant team on potential donors. There are 3 left out of the original search and we are still waiting on test results from them. We pray that God would make one of those people the perfect match for Jodie. BUT, with all that going on, we press on. We press on with the hope and strength only the one true God can supply. We press on too because there is still so much to be done and we thank many of you for doing most of that work on Jodie's behalf. - Right now there are 13 bone marrow donor drives scheduled into March and more are being coordinated. - Numerous stories have already been published in asian newspapers. Jodie will even be on the front page of a local korean newspaper here in Dallas. - The Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News will also be publishing stories on Jodie. - A local TV station in Houston is also planning on doing a story to help publicize the drives scheduled for next weekend. We pray that all our efforts help find Jodie's perfect marrow donor match soon and bring more awareness to the need for minority marrow donors. Take a look at Jodie's new website, www.savejodie.com. In His care, The Gees "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30