Prayers for Matt

My other life stuff will have to be put on hold for this post because this is far more important and long overdue.

Becca Hart and I became friends the first summer she and I worked together way back in 2006 and at the end of that summer, she started dating Matt Cash who had been the "Dock Daddy" at CVP. Out of all of our group of friends from that first summer, Becca and I were pretty much the only ones to return in 2007. I would say that was the summer that she and I clicked--we had a summer of experience under our belts and were both dating guys that were at camp/had worked at camp.
Through mine and Becca's friendship, I became better friends with Matt. Becca and I have kept in touch over the last few years and even made a few visits to see one another!
I especially loved that she was in Chattanooga this summer, even though we were so busy we hardly got to see one another. (I am giving all of this background to help make my connection to Matt make a little bit more sense if you are trying to follow my train of thought.)

Just last week, Matt was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. I wish I understood all of the medical lingo, but Emily Geyer does a far better job than I could of what's been going on, so I hope you don't mind Em, but I'm just copying and pasting from your post last week!

"After being sick for a few weeks, Matt went to the hospital in Birmingham last Thursday. They admitted him because his white blood count was 140.2 (normal people are 10!), which was an ominous sign right off the bat. Becca and her dad immediately drove from Ohio so they could be together. They did a bone marrow biopsy (which has been the worst experience of it all so far!) and sent him home to Chattanooga to wait for the results. They spent the (looong) weekend in Chattanooga waiting anxiously for the results on Monday. Unfortunately, Birmingham got perhaps an even worse winter storm on Monday, and the results were delayed until Tuesday. They finally got the word that Matt has Leukemia. Fortunately, they just found out yesterday that it is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (which is much better than the acute version they initially thought it might be). They started him on a chemo drug (orally) shortly after getting him admitted on Tuesday (1/11/11), and they have a plan in place. He got his PICC line inserted yesterday, and last night they started him on chemo through the line. They will keep him at Memorial for 2 weeks while they do this round of chemo. Today he will have a spinal tap and they will deliver some chemo through his spine. They are going to test Andy and Kathryn to hopefully find one as a match for a bone marrow transplant, which they will likely do as a precautionary measure. After this two week round of chemo they will send him home for two weeks to rest, then back to the hospital for 48 hours, then home for a couple weeks, then back for another 2-week round of chemo. At that point they will probably do the bone marrow transplant and the prayer is that he will be in remission at that point! Pray with us! The Lord has already answered our prayers (CML instead of ALL), and we know he will continue to hear us. I am so thankful that Matt has exactly the family he has, and I know Becca is the biggest blessing to them all. Pray for everyone as they work out the logistics (especially for Becca's school situation) of this season of their lives. Pray for Matt's side effects to be minimal. Pray for the chemo to knock out the cancer! Pray for total healing of Matt's body."

I got the chance to visit with Matt and Becca last Thursday--I was so impressed by Matt's positive attitude and how laid back he seemed about everything. I'm sure that confidence comes and goes with news like that, but from what Becca has said, Matt has really been such a trooper through everything so far. Matt started a harsher round of chemo over the long weekend, so please be in prayer for his continued health and optimism.

I have been so impressed as well by Becca and her never thinking twice about being by Matt's side throughout all of this. She has been so loving and selfless and the best way I know to love and support Matt is to love and support Becca.

Please be in prayer for Matt, his family, Becca, and the doctors and nurses that are on his team to help him fight his cancer. I am certain that God is sovereign and has Matt in His grip.

Also, you can follow Matt's Caring Bridge website Becca created to get regular updates on his treatments and progress!