Some Great News!

Hey everyone, I know I blogged yesterday but I just had to share with you some great news that I recieved at the Dr. today. I went in for my followup appointment with my rheumatologist concerning my chemo. I had bloodwork drawn to see where my levels were. She was very excited to tell me that my blood work came back excellent and that my Lupus was in remission! The best part is that I had no protein spilling in my urine (which was the worst part of my disease) and that my kidney function was back to normal! It appears the Chemotherapy did it's magic! I am so thankful that God has helped me get through this and has placed his healing hand on me through this medical process. My doctor did put me on a new medication called Imuran to maintenance my disease but it appears I can now come off of the prednisone all together! And the best part, no more Chemotherapy for this guy!! Thank you all for your prayers these last six months, they worked. I will continue to blog on my life so I hope each of you will stay tuned. But for now, I am going to enjoy my remission!
God is Good!
KLN

Greetings from one Tired Banker!

What’s up everyone, I hope you have had a great weekend and you had a chance to checkout Icthus! I am exhausted from volunteering all weekend but it was a great experience and I even go to checkout some concerts. Right now I am sitting in my office watching it pour down rain and I couldn’t help but think about how God just seems to show up at all the right times. Today, the rain started out of nowhere. It was an incredibly sunny day with scorching temperatures when I left for my lunch then out of nowhere, this crazy storm popped up! Now in reality, God is always with us but we seem to “leave” him out of the picture when everything is going well in our lives and then run to him when we need help. I am just as guilty as anyone when it comes to this. I find myself praying less and seeking his word less when everything is going great. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 6 verse 9. It says “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. “ Basically, God never lets me down when I run to him but I seem to forget about seeking him when all is well. In the third chapter of 1st Corinthians, Paul talks about “mere infants in Christ”. “Brother’s, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready, you are still worldly”. Is this you today? Are you still a mere infant in Christ? I think I struggle with this daily. In order to switch to that solid food in Christ, we need to be immersed in his word daily and keep in constant conversation with him through prayer. God wants to hear the good stuff going on in our life, not just the bad or challenging things. Give him praise for his blessings and remember others in need. I think you will be surprised how much more fulfilled you will be when you run to him during the good and the bad of life.

In other news, my cat Chester goes to the vet this week to be “neutralized” (neutered). I hope this calms him down because he spends most of his time with me biting and being wild! Have a great week and I will catch up with you all soon.
KLN

A Crazy Busy Weekend Ahead

Hey everyone, I hope you are well and things in your world are moving right along. Its been a couple of weeks since I have blogged but Ive been busy with different things at the office and at home. First of all, I had my last chemotherapy treatment last Wendsday and all went well. My nausea was very limited and I was only out of work for two days. My next step is to go in for bloodwork and see how the treatment has effected my protein levels and my creatnine levels. I hope that my doctor does not recommend any additional treatments. If she does, I will have to really be shown some evidence that it will be worth it. As most of you know, the chemo has been tough on my body and my appearance. I am ready to get back to a normal routine of life without making concessions for treatment. Everytime I have been out of the office, I have had to find coverage for managing the branch and something has always gone wrong. I do appreciate my staff during these last 6 months as they have been tremendously helpful. Thanks to all of you and to the many people who have called, stopped by, written cards, brought food over, facebook messaged me,or just simply cared for me during my treatment. I could not have gotten through it without each of you.

This weekend promises to be a hectic and crazy weekend. Starting tonight I am "house sitting" for my friends as they are out of town in Pittsburgh. They have two dogs and two cats that I have to care for and let run around. I could stay at my apartment and just go over and feed and let them out but they need to have some time out of their kennel so I will probably just stay tonight and tomorrow. On Saturday I have to work at the Bank then I have a work day at the Icthus grounds preparing for next weeks festival. Then, I have to run back to the house and feed the animals. After that I am have a Harry Potter night with a friend of mine. Yes, I said Harry Potter. Let me just say, I have never been a fan and dont think I will start being one now but I promised her I would give it another try so I am. I will probably need a good bottle of wine to get me through! On Sunday I have church then a CBT softball game. I really hope we can get a win since we have yet to do it so far. Our team has come very close on several occasions but we cant seem to put the finishing touches to the other team.

Well thats it for now, I will update you next week as to my feelings regarding Harry Potter. Dont hold your breath, they probably wont change!

Kyle