Preface: http://ourlittlenicole.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-power-of-word-and-beginning-of.html.
Scripture 1: http://ourlittlenicole.blogspot.com/2014/09/scripture-1-works-of-god.html
Scripture 2: http://ourlittlenicole.blogspot.com/2014/09/scripture-2-i-know-that-god-loveth-his.html
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Three years ago, if someone had asked me what bone marrow does or why it is so important, I would've probably shrugged and said something like, "I don't know. Isn't it related to the blood somehow?" I was blissfully ignorant of how fundamental bone marrow is to life itself. When we finally learned that Nicole was dying because her bone marrow was malfunctioning...well, suffice to say that suddenly I had a much keener interest in this subject.
For a bone marrow transplant, the doctors look at 10 different markers to match a donor to a patient. If a 10-for-10 match cannot be found, a 9/10 match, or even an 8/10 match can be used, but as the number goes down, the probability that the transplant will be successful decreases.
For various reasons, a sibling donor match is preferred over a non-related donor match. The probability that a sibling will be a match is about 1 in 4 (25%). The probability of a non-related donor match being found in the bone marrow donor registry varies greatly; it can be as high as 1 in 500 (0.2%) or less than one in a million (0.0001%), depending on the marrow/tissue type of the patient, and depending on the individuals who are in the bone marrow donor registry (see http://bethematch.org/). Based on the number of donors in the registry and the number of potential matches in the registry for Nicole, this number seemed to be about one in one hundred thousand in her case.
As an aside, I briefly mention the motivation and challenges of using a parent as a donor here: http://ourlittlenicole.blogspot.com/2014/06/heroines-saviors.html. This was not really an option back in 2012 - they've never even attempted using a parent donor at PCMC until this year - and even if it had been an option, it would have been a last resort.
Anyway, in Nicole's case, since she has six siblings, it seemed likely that at least one of them was a match. The mathematical probability that at least one of her six siblings was a match was approximately:
1 - (3/4)^6 = 1 - (729 / 4096) = 82.2%
As it turned out, none were a match. Sometimes math really is useless.
Fortunately, however, there were several potential donor matches for Nicole in the registry. After the second round of chemotherapy ended in March, the doctors planned to do a third round of chemotherapy and then go to transplant, which they assumed would take place at the end of April, depending on Nicole's ANC recovery following the chemotherapy. Nevertheless, we were very anxious about Nicole being able to receive a bone marrow transplant; we were totally dependent on a complete stranger with the "right" bone marrow being willing to donate to our daughter; no bone marrow transplant would mean no chance for Nicole to live...
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| March 8 2012; precious time at home for a few days with brother and sisters. |
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| March 11, 2012; nap time with sister, Rachel. |
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| March 12, 2012; with sister, Ana, and a small bear that arrived at our house one day. Nicole would be back at PCMC within a couple hours of this picture being taken. |
The scripture focus of this post is closely related to the temple; the House of the Lord. As such, I cannot give full expression of certain things, so I want to first share a song written by sister Janice Kapp Perry, titled, "I Love to See the temple", which can be found in the Children's Songbook (https://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/i-love-to-see-the-temple?lang=eng):
"I love to see the temple. I'm going there someday
To feel the Holy Sprit, To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God, A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young; This is my sacred duty.
I love to see the temple. I'll go inside someday.
I'll covenant with my Father; I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth; A family is forever."
Normally, Cathy and I try to attend the temple weekly; together if possible, separately when required. However, this practice was disrupted when Nicole was hospitalized, and there were periods that we did not attend as often in 2012. During the first few months of Nicole's hospitalization, Cathy continued to attend the Logan temple weekly on her own, but I did not.
When Nicole came home in March, between her second and third round of chemotherapy, we asked our oldest daughter, Kersten, to come and be with Nicole (and the rest of our children) while we took a couple hours to go to the Logan temple; I hadn't been in three months, since before Nicole had gotten sick, and very much wanted to go; the temple is a place of revelation and power, and I desperately needed the rejuvenation that can only be found in the House of the Lord. So we went...
Since I am not at liberty to write details and provide context, I will just state that near the conclusion of the temple endowment ordinance that we were participating in, the Spirit of the Lord whispered to my soul; it was a truly profound, revelatory experience. I cannot attend the temple without being reminded of this. Comfort was given, promises were made. Cathy had previously had similar experiences to mine while she had been attending the temple on her own.
Later, as I was reflecting on this experience, I was reminded of a scripture in D&C 89 that mentions "marrow" in reference to living the Lord's law of health: "And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen." (D&C 89:18-21).
I did some searching in the scriptures, and it turns out that there are only a handful of other scriptures that reference "marrow"; one that stood out to me is part of a scripture that I was familiar with, and is often quoted, but it's only the first two verses that get quoted. The second two verses are still part of the same thought being expressed, but I didn't recall ever hearing them before. Here are all four verses: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8).
Nicole's bone marrow was defective - it was killing her - but I felt that God had told me that a suitable donor would be found, and that Nicole would have a successful transplant. My experience in the temple and with these scriptures helped to fortify me, and I would need this reassurance in the weeks to come...
So in March, the bone marrow transplant team started the process of getting a donor lined-up for Nicole. I don't know how many of the handful of potential donor candidates were contacted, but the one that was ultimately selected and was willing to go through the bone marrow harvest was a female that also shared Nicole's blood type (A+). In other words, this was a "perfect" non-related donor match, in every way possible, and an answer to our prayers; Cathy and I felt that the hand of the Lord was in this perfect "coincidence".
At the time, this is all that we knew about Nicole's donor. And I think all that Nicole's donor was told is that the transplant was for a female infant. One year following the transplant, if we wanted to, and the donor consented, we would be allowed to make contact with her.
There is abundant testimony in the scriptures that God is a "preparer"; He prepares the way for His will and His works to be accomplished. I believe that the Lord prepared Nicole's donor, Laura, a young woman from the mid-west, to be the instrument of Nicole's deliverance during her first battle with leukemia.
Of course, this required that Laura use her agency to be willing to make the sacrifice in Nicole's behalf, the same as our Savior, Jesus Christ, was willing to make His atoning sacrifice for all of us. And just like the Savior, it was actually a series of choices that Laura made throughout her life that made it possible for her to act when the moment of crisis was upon Nicole. Unlike the Savior, though, Laura did not know Nicole, yet she had compassion on this little stranger (whom she has yet to meet); she was like the Samaritan in the parable that Jesus gave in answer to the question, "who is my neighbor?" (see Luke 10:25-37). Through Laura, God fulfilled His word, and put good marrow into Nicole's bones.
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| March 15 2012; blood pressure cuffs are nice toys |
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| March 13, 2012; 30 hours into the third round of treatment |
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