Thank you all for remembering us in prayer! We took quite a few photos here and there, but kept forgetting about the PC cable, will upload some photos in to make it more interesting than just words :)

Shufen started with the mmf/cellcept medication on Tues evening, a daily oral twice dose, and we are waiting for the medication to take effect, probably 1 week later. It's a huge almost 2 cm long tablet, but shufen is becoming an expert in swallowing pills.

Oh yes, we are finally shifted out of the high dependency ward into the "normal B2" ward since friday. Single bedder, personal aircon, cable tv, phone line, table, wardrobe, of cos the impt attached bathroom too! :) Does not sound impressive and feels normal like home rite? well, if u have been in long stays in hospitals/hotel/camps/mission trips, some of these are luxuries. God is good all the time!

ok see u all in church tmr! Agape!

Shalom, it will be 9 wks today, and the doctors though seeing Shufen's condition is stable, am not seeing the great improvements. They will be considering tomorrow / these few days in using a newer drug called Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF / Cellcept). May the Lord grant the doctors heavenly wisdom. The internet searches does show good response from patients using this medication, and we will be praying that Shufen's body respond well to it.

With God's good plan in our lives and your prayer support, we hope to be in church / cell very soon. We are eager to return & share face-to-face how good God has been in our lives. It has been a challenging time, let's see where should we start first.... hmm .... :)

Thank you Jesus, and Blessings to all !

Have not been updating for the past week, cos we are truly blessed by a simple booklet on the Holy Communion written by pastor Joseph Prince. So Shufen and myself are partaking the holy communion together every evening. We start off with simple praise/worship, prayer, reading aloud God's word, holy communion, then more worship, prayers, spiritual proclamations. The whole process can take from 30 mins to an hr. (hence that takes away blogging & bathing time :P)

We learned more about the holy communion, that is made up of 2 portions. The first portion, Jesus' body broken for us such that we can be whole & healed. The second portion, Jesus' blood for the forgiveness of our sins. I must say that prior to this, my level of faith in the second portion is way much higher than the first. Real Christians rarely doubt the blood of Jesus is able to sanctify them, but we do somethimes find difficulty in fully understanding divine healing and good health.

We are praying much more now and claiming the abundant life that God has promised to all of us. Today's blood test results do show improvements! Praise God!

Another thing which I must share, happened during last sunday's message when bro James Ke is preaching beautifully on Unshakeable Foundation (UF). 2 names flashed so clearly in my mind.

One of the main reasons why Shufen and myself are still in COSB after 15 yrs, is becos the church is just filled with solid Christians. They might not be very charismatic or eloquent, but if u study the bible carefully, these are the traits of real Christians.

The first is the exisiting cell leader of Toa Payoh home cell. Shufen and myself danced in their wedding, (yes I was still a thin dancer back then :P) and I was so impressed in how they (Thomas & Pauline) always put God first in their wedding & marriage, that I purposed to model ours after theirs :)

The second is a true man of God. Deacon Poh Tee, despite his decreasing health, is still so fervent in going to bible school & going deeper in God's word, plus serving Him as the Outreach Dept Head (v tough role). I pray that as you remember us in prayers, u will also pray for God to heal him.

Bro James message struck me with this - replacing Love with Know (the biblical context of "know" encompass great intimacy, that goes beyond just head knowledge, that it can be used to describe a husband knowing a wife, uniting as one body)

Mark 12:30 - Love (Know) the Lord your God with all your heart, (Know Him) with all your soul, (Know Him) with all your mind, and (Know Him) with all your strength. Hallelujah!

UG, Unprecedented Growth for all!

Peace to all and some updates. All the powerful medications are administered, and we are waiting upon the Lord to do the miracle.

Shalom, shufen's BP went up to 200 last night after dialysis, as the doctors want to squeeze water out from her. They took out 3500 ml 3 days ago, and another 3800 ml of water yesterday of 4 hrs sessions each. Today, they will be putting in lasix drip to try to remove as much water as possible. Water when not properly managed within the body, becomes dangerous and drives the blood pressure high. (reminds me when Jesus was crucified for my sins, historians say it is scary but true that they are drown by internal water). The EPO (hippo :) drug would have to wait until the BP comes lower.

Happy Mother's Day Shufen!! :)

Luv,
Dan

P.S. We'll take extra care of Janelle today. Hehe. :D

Shalom, the prelim results of the bone marrow biopsys is out and thank God did not show any extreme abnormalities. As such the doctors will discuss further on Mon, to decide on the 2nd dose of the longer term medication cyclophosphamide. (yawn, yes it's public holiday today, and the doctors want to enjoy their weekends too)

Peace. Shufen went for the bone marrow biopsy around 11.15 am today and the entire procedure took about 30 mins. She is recovering well and was able to move about in the afternoon. Prelim results should be out on Fri afternoon to see if the cyclophosphamide medication is suppressing the bone marrow production of red blood cells and platelets.

Haemotologist (blood) doctor feels that the TTP (Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura) has gone down (not much fragementation of red blood cells seen) and the current condition is a less severe ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura).

After not going through kidney dialysis for quite a few days, the water swelling in the legs and all over the body seems to be growing. Shufen put on about 4 kg within a day. So today we will have to go through a gruelling 4 hr dialysis to drain most of the water out.

Thanks for supporting us! o:-)

Shalom, the doctors are proposing to do a bone marrow biopsy to try to find out the reason for the low platelet count and the effect on the strong medications on the bone marrow. We have not really decided, but would most prob go for it. Thanks :)

Shalom, the 2nd dose of rituximab was administered Sat and thankfully shufen did not have any side effects. After a rest on sunday from dialysis, the daily blood dialysis continued for the past 2 days. Shufen however have not gone through kidney dialysis for the past few days. Creatinine levels still remain high at 300+ though. Gradually we have stopped asking about the various markers in the blood and instead focus on the general well-being of the body. Shufen was able to walk to the toilet with assistance for the past few days, which is a good improvement.

Being honestly human, sometimes when i look back and wonder why did God choose to strike the lupus at this time period of our lives. Ps Ronald Ooi said it brillantly that we should be asking what God? What do we have to learn through this disease.

I do believe that God has better plans for us. With shufen's neither greatly improving nor worsening health condition, the eagerness sometimes do become impatience. i can only continue to trust in His Word that our thoughts are not His thoughts, neither our ways His ways (Isa 55:8).

43 days in the hospital and counting ... ... now is the preparation time :) Persevere and remember us in prayers bros and sis! Agape.

Shalom, it has been a tough busy week, but things are recovering and getting better. With the H1N1 2009 virus ongoing, and Singapore raising the alert till "ORANGE" level, ONLY I am allowed to visit shufen during visiting hours. If the virus keeps on spreading and the alert level raises to RED, no visitors will be allowed :(

The SLE and TTP does seem to be under control by the kidney & blood dialysis, plus medications. We will be going thru the 2nd dose of rituximab this evening. Prayerfully, the side effects will be zero. In the first dose last friday, shufen had vomitting, poor appetite and high blood pressure 2 days later, possibly due to it.

Though not worsening dramatically, improvements does seem minimal and very gradual. The Lord is really testing us in being patient and persevering. Doctors are saying if things go well, the schedule of dialysis can be increased further from daily to alernate days or even few days.

I am putting in memory this verse James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

Thanks for remembering and supporting us in prayers. Though u would not be able to see shufen physically, your prayers do make a difference :)

Agape!