Sami Lahoud

I had my appointment at MDA today and, as usual, I needed Platelets. Well, I got my system filled up and was ready to head home when the Transplant department called (out of nowhere) saying that they were ready to conduct a large T-Lymphocytes infusion on me tomorrow. We then checked with our Leukemia doctor (who was unaware that Transplant was ready so soon). He gladly endorsed the procedure.

To me I felt special 🙂 since I desperately needed such an infusion … to get it on my birthday … when it was unexpected … hmm, hmm, hmm … immediately a thought came to mind that it was a surprise birthday gift from above – Praise the Lord. Actually, it’s a very unique and custom birthday gift, much better than any gift card (lol). I am ready and I am excited. Please pray for a successful transfusion that will bring me to permanent remission !

I am scheduled for tomorrow after noon Houston time. Not much info beyond that 🙂 – – – it’s all good when the Lord is in full control!

Ecclesiastes 3:11

In His Grip,
Sami

The latest new drug, stopped working (ya Salam) and my cancer blasts (bad cells) came back with a vengeance. My Journey’s roller coaster was going up, then all of a sudden, Kaboom, it headed straight down. The new drug stopped working and I started heading down hill … however, if you would think about the roller coaster, you would realize that it was designed to deliver you safe and sound, once the ride is over. It does not matter if you are going up or down, you are being held tightly in your seat. The whole ride was designed with your safety in mind, regardless how you feel.

Same with life. I am tightly held in His Grip regardless the ups and downs. He custom designed my ride for safety and He will carry it on to completion ! Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

The doctors found me a “temp” drug that is working just fine with little to no side effects (yeah!), while awaiting a new protocol, expected within two months, that would allow us to use “killer cells” vs more Chemo.

I am relaxed (praising & rejoicing) since I know who is in charge. The roller coaster effects are just discouraging feelings along the way, that I chose to totally ignore, but rather to keep my eyes focused on the author and finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. I desperately need them.

In His Grip,
Sami

UPDATE (05-11-13): my blasts have fallen 58% on the new drug in just one month !!!! Praise The Lord! The doctors are very happy and plan to keep me on it. So far so blessed! Thank you for your faithful prayers !

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UPDATE (05-09-13): I ended up needing both an Aspiration and a Biopsy, however thanks to your faithful prayers I did not feel any pain. Praise The Lord. The results should be out soon. 🙂

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(05-08-13) They have scheduled a Bone Marrow Aspiration (ouch) for tomorrow (Thursday the 9th) at 10AM. The results will determine if the new drug is working or not. Please pray for favorable results.

I have started walking on my own, however, I still cannot climb steps, even the smallest one without help. I need muscles. So my physiotherapist is focusing on muscle building. All through this journey I realized how many things I have taken for granted in the past. Walking, eating, drinking, etc… an eye opener and a very humble experience, especially when you loose such functionality.

All in all the Lord is still encouraging me, on a daily basis, my spirit is up and I am full of the “peace that surpasses all understanding”. Praise the Lord.

Thank you for faithful prayers and support.

In His Grip
Sami

The Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration qualified me for the new Chemo that is supposed to fight this cancer. I started taking the Chemo and so far no side effects (Praise The Lord).  Yesterday I spent the whole day at MDA. Seven times they drew blood from me as a requirement for the study.  They had it all timed. It was interesting. By the way, I have good news. I am able to take baby steps by myself which is a great accomplishment. I am starting physiotherapy next week which should help me to eventually walk on my own. I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN MY FEET WILL REGAIN THEIR STRENGHT AGAIN !!!!  (Luke 5:25-26) The other super news is that I am back home AHHHHHH the comfort of home! this statement brings tears to my eyes. It is so good to be around the kids, my mother and Jacqueline everyday … I cannot say enough.

All in all, I am taking it one day at a time. As the Lord leads, so shall I go.
So far, every day has been better than the day before. So I can’t but … Praise the Lord !!!!!!!

I still rely on your faithful prayers (please)

In His Grip
Sami

I WAS INFORMED THAT THE/A CANCER IS BACK. SO I AM EXPECTING A BIGGER MIRACLE FROM GOD 🙂
HM, HM, HM, ….   HOWEVER, THEY PLAN TO CONDUCT A BONE MARROW ASPIRATION AND BIOPSY TO FIND OUT IF I QUALIFY FOR A NEW MEDICATION THAT WOULD FIGHT THIS CANCER.

RESULTS SHOULD BE OUT NEXT WEEK OR SO.
PLEASE KEEP ME IN YOUR PRAYERS FOR A PAINLESS BONE MARROW PROCEDURE … AND PLEASE, FOR THE RIGHT RESULTS.

IN HIS MIGHTY GRIP !

SAMI

You were honest with me and I am going to be honest with you. 🙂
Here is the honest truth, I am sharing it among my beloved blogworldcommentators and readers.

As a believer, ONE DAY, you might reach a point where you will find yourself at a hard, very hard cross-road. You will have to make a serious decision. Jeremiah 6:16 – the good path might not be that clear. In my case I found that the hardest path was the blessed path, with tears in my eyes and pleading in my heart, I asked the Lord for his guidance … and He responded with a plethora of answers through physicians, blog active members, family, believers and friends …

In my case, I woke up and found myself a handicap.  Believe me the options I had were to throw in the towel, just take it like it is or take a deep breath, que sera sera, remember your creator, remember that you believe IN A  GOD THAT IS IN FULL CONTROL AND ACCEPT  the challenge from HIS hand.  LORD I ACCEPT IT FROM YOUR HAND. LETS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s what I did.
I would like to close with this miracle.
Below is a medical memo that was passed among physician concerning one of the evenings when the Lord was closely  holding me to his side, the physician … not reaching much,  and the believers fervently praying !!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago a physician was examining me and noticed that I was no responding. He checked my legs and noticed I was bleeding all over. my stool was running and was full of blood. I was taken to ICU and the set of x-rays taken showed my LUNGS FULL OF BLOOD (refer to image one) The physician was very apologetic and told Issam and the family that there is nothing much  he could do. The next day the x-rays showed my LUNGS FULLY CLEAR OF ANY FLUIDS AND VERY HEALTHY.   The same physician and many others were amazed, everyone was in awe. It was A MIRACLE CONFIRMED BY ALL !!! PRAISE THE LORD … MY JOURNEY CONTINUES …
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” Today a lung expert evaluated Sami.  He called me in amazement as to what has happened between March 5^th and 6^th in the ICU.  He told me that he has never seen anything like this, and that this was a real miracle.  Attached are copies of the X-rays before (March 5^th) and after (March 6^th).  On the March 5^th X-ray you see a white lung suggestive of a massive bleed / pneumonia on March 6^th, you see clear lungs.  The lung expert was amazed but after all the prayers, I was not.  Praise the Lord.  ” 

Issam Raad, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Lahoud Lungs Full of Blood. Day One

Lahoud Lungs All Clear. Day Two.

You go to bed, you wake up in ICU after 5 days and everyone jumps at you with all joy and excitement the minute you open your eyes. Now keep in mind you have NO idea you were down under. Think about it. You ask them questions and all their answers are that you were flying on the edge of death. You try to move your legs … no way. you need serious therapy … you cannot move your legs … what happened? what now? you can’t stand up, you cannot operate anything on our own …. you are fully dependent on others !

pause. think about it. and tell me what you would do if you were in my shoes?
let me stop here, if I may, and hear from you, please – What would you do if it was you in this situation? I would love to hear from you ( I miss you). What would you do in this case??? – Let’s talk a bit before I tell you what choices I had and what I decided to do 🙂

L0ve you
Miss you
Please keep me in your faithful prayers !

In His Grip

Sami

This is Lamia,  Sami’s sister from the ICU :

I am providing you with a short update now that the storms of this journey seem to have calmed down … for a moment. A few weeks ago life was rosy, sure smelled great, the miracle drug was killing the enemy blasts and the Donor Lymphocytes were getting ready for battle. Everything was A-OK, until … I was hit by a flaming arrow of fever, which no one could pin point its root cause and, the miracle drug, became a disaster/useless drug, etc. … hmm … well who wants to be part of this drama now? to be honest with you, I do! I would like to find out how God is going to get me out of this one. I know that He already knows the ending, and victory is complete, it’s just the waiting period that sometimes gets to me … the more complex the drama, the much cooler the ending … so hang in there, more to come. fyi – A quick sneak preview, they already identified another miracle drug (ha!)

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. It is so cool to be secured in His Grip during such times.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18: That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are fading, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. Amen!

My blood is still maintaining a zero blast %, which is great. I was hoping that my bone marrow aspiration and biopsy would reflect a bunch of zeros too, so we can have a year-end phenomenal deal 0-0-0, just like the auto commercials (0 down, 0 first payment and 0 interest). Nothing, nothing and nothing, however, the Lord has different plans. My bone marrow reflected a 36% blast, similar to the last draw, yet none are being reflected in the blood (which is a blessing). According to my physician, at this stage, he’s not concerned since the % is not increasing and not reflected in the blood. He believes that in due time, it will eventually start decreasing from the Bone Marrow. As we left the clinic, I thought to myself … “there are two things I can do … panic and lose sleep or just relax knowing that the Lord is in full control. Keep in mind, if nothing happens unless He endorses, then who am I to sound the emotional alarm. Accordingly, I voted and elected to just relax and enjoy the peace that surpasses all understanding. Hm, hm, hm … If He is with me and He controls my destiny, then why be foolish and waste time worrying? Philippians 4:6 ” Well, interestingly enough, as soon as I finished that thought and we were driving back home, the phone rang, it was the transplant department. They were very excited. Apparently, my original donor had agreed to provide me with T-Lymphocytes (immune cells) ! He is willing to do it this Thursday (1/3) so MDA wants me to show up on Friday (1/4) to receive them !!!! Wow … we were left speechless … Praise the Lord … and what an incredible Donor I have !!!! What a cool dood … what an angel! Our prayer is that his T-Lymphocytes will come ready to fight (Lebanese Style – not gangnam style) and destroy all the blasts !!!!! 🙂

On a cool side, WordPress just sent me my year-end blog stats and I thought I would share the info with you. Just click on the picture below. It will take you to the location of the WordPress report. Once there scroll down.

Some interesting factoids:
We had 28,000 views in 2012, from 61 countries, the busiest day was October 4th (blog: I don’t know what to do!) with 474 views on that day. The top most active commenters were 1-Marie, 2-Micha, 3-Sana, 4-Frank and 5-Anis. 🙂

Thank you all for your faithful prayers and support! … I honestly cannot thank you enough !! Philippians 1:3
Still in His Grip
Sami

The WordPress.com stats 2012 annual report for blog samilahoud.

Here’s an excerpt:

The samilahoud blog had 28,000 views in 2012. From 61 countries in all!