Great article in the Island Packet on Jon

Here is a great article the Island Packet did on Jon and his battle with cancer!

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/09/29/2712456/longtime-beaufort-county-coach.html

Also, I didn't want to leave you hanging on my balloons.  I was going to post a picture of the balloons but that never happened.  Jon always calls me his beautiful disaster.  And sure enough everything I do has a story behind it and ends up in disaster.  I stopped by Kroger to get the balloons and they told me they had JUST run out of helium.  I did not have time to go back until the next day.  I got 2 light blue balloons, 1 Duke blue, and 1 pink.  I did not have time to release them until later that evening.  By the time I went outside to pray over them and release, 2 went to the heavens, and 2 went straight to the ground.  I am not even going to try and analyze it.  God knows my heart and I tried.  But I was laughing inside!

Here are lots of pictures!

There has to be a 1st for everything!!

The Strebe's are GODSTRONG!

GODSTRONG babies at the zoo after riding the train!

My baby boy Luke who is struggling with wheezing and his asthma while up here.  After doing this breathing treatment I am happy to report he has not wheezed in almost 72 hours!! Also, through Jon's Nurse Practitioner we are able to get in with an allergist at Riley Children's Hospital quickly!

Thank you Coach K for giving Jon something to work toward and look forward to!  Here Jon is with the different things Coach K has given him.

Jon and Emma Kate enjoying a beautiful day at the park on Saturday in Plainfield, Indiana!

God has given us gorgeous weather while up here!

During Jon's break between rounds Emma Kate and I play nurse each morning.  We flush his ("doodles") catheter out.

I hope you can see this.  I did a panoramic view of the apartment and all the cards that are strung along the wall.  The family room is full so this round let's fill up his bedroom!

Here is Jon on a Saturday afternoon in the BMT clinic watching football.  Don't you love the big flat screen they provide for him?!

There is a program for cancer patients called Magic Hour Foundation.  There are photographers all over the country that volunteer their time to take pictures of cancer patients going through treatments.  I found out about it through another cancer patient blog I was reading.  I googled it and sure enough there was a photographer in Hilton Head.  

Thank you Amber!  Amber is the owner of Little Elise Photography in Hilton Head Island, SC.  Amber did an amazing job with our family.  My kids are not exactly easy to take pictures of and she was amazing at working with them.  Here is a sneak peek of some of the pictures she took!  Amazing Job, Amber!

More Blessings and FUN!

**T-shirts.  One more day.  Closes at midnight tomorrow (Friday) so if you still haven't ordered, this is just a reminder!

Blessings:


1.  Our kids have stayed free of any contagious sickness!!  For those who know us well, that is a miracle.

2.  We live right on a canal that takes us many different places safely!

3.  Jon's 5 day stay in the hospital cost $46,398.85.  Patient liability:  $0!  Huge blessing.  Simmer down people.  Don't get too excited.  We haven't gotten the stem cell transplant part of it.  LOL.
Oh Yea, I was supposed to stick with blessings.  :o)

I grew up in Atlanta and Jon in Baltimore.  But both of us lived in the suburbs.  It was a treat to go downtown!  So city life, even for Jon and I, is new and different.  And it is especially different when you have 3 small children.  It has been quite an adjustment but extremely fun for the kids.  God has blessed us in SO many ways.  We live right across the street from the IU Law School.  Also, right beyond that is the IU Cancer Center and IU Hospital.  We also live right on a canal.  We literally can walk through our apartment building, out the door, catch an elevator 2 steps away and go down to the canal.  We can walk along the canal and feed ducks, walk to the zoo, and walk to a "field" the kids can play in.  It is super safe, and no traffic.

Today, we went on an adventure at the hospital.  They have a "people mover" that the kids call the monorail (like Disney) that moves people between 3 different hospitals.  We thought we would let them ride it.  So Jon dropped us off and we headed up to get on.  We were waiting for the "monorail" and Luke leans over to me and hugs me and says, "Momma, I love you so much!"  I knew something didn't "smell" right with him out of the blue trying to kiss up to me.  My little momma brain went to town and said, "Luke, do you need to poo?"  He said, "UMMM, I think I already pooped in my pants."  Told you something didn't "smell" right.  Anyways, got that all cleaned up, finally got on the "monorail" and the kids had the time of their lives.  We pretended to be going to the castle at Disney and seeing Cinderella.    We then met a doctor on the monorail and he told us to take the bridge to Riley Children's Hospital so we did.  (By the way, when the doctor got on the monorail, Emma Kate said, "Is that the 'docta' where daddy lives?")   Riley's Children's Hospital has a McDonalds, tons of stuffed animals, a really cool glass elevator that the kids could have ridden on all day, and a water fountain.  Jon waited for us in the car and 1.5 hours later we finally came back out.  He was wondering what the heck we did for that long!  Guess he will never know!

Here's another funny pooping story.  We were at the field the other day and Emma Kate announces she has to go potty.  Ok, now please understand we are DOWNTOWN!  I mean you have to be a little careful where you take these children.  And on top of that there was not a good place to take her nearby so we literally took a long hike over to this building.  Luckily, we did get in to use the potty.  But it was not exactly close by.  Here is a picture of my sweet girl trying to hold it while walking to the bathroom.

Prayer:

1.  Our kids will stay well until we leave here.

2.  Luke--I am having to use his inhaler for wheezing and his eczema is out of control.  There are too many factors that have changed here to try and figure it out.  Pray we can keep his wheezing at bay.  Also pray that we will get in with an allergist here quickly.  Our local allergy doctor told me today this is too serious and we need to be seen quickly.  I called and a new patient is SO hard to get in and I have no connections.  The first available appointment is October 11th.  My local allergy doc said if we can't get in sooner we will have to go to Urgent Care.  Pray that God will pave the way to be seen by Dr. Leickly quickly!

3.  Jon -- He is still feeling nauseated and fatigue.  Pray that he will feel somewhat "normal" before his next round and please pray that he will not get sick while on his "break."  We are being very careful about where he goes and when he does go out he puts a mask on.


I will close with this.  In Bible Study today, our leader challenged us.  She reminded us that we trust Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior when we give our lives over to Him and it seems easy to trust.  But do we trust Jesus with the day to day things?  Finances, our children, sickness, our marriage, our jobs, etc.  Do we truly give over our fears and release them to Jesus?  WOW!  That hit me like a load of bricks.  Am I laying my fears of Jon's future at Jesus' feet?  Am I laying my fears of my children at Jesus' feet?  I have had near panic attacks over these things since we got to Indianapolis.  Boy, was God talking to ME!  It is a continual process for me and I must do it daily, hourly, by the minute!  My desire is to trust Jesus with these things that bring me lots of fear and to lay them at Jesus' feet.  I hope you can do the same today for whatever in your life you need to release.  Tomorrow, I am buying 4 helium balloons.  One will say JONATHAN-Cancer.  The 2nd will say LUKE.  The 3rd will say EMMA KATE.  And the 4th will say RYAN.  I am releasing them up to the heavens.  I pray that I will truly release these 4 precious people to Jesus and let HIM take control!   He loves them WAY more than I do!

Shirts and blessings

First of all, I wanted to let you know that the T-shirts have been opened up again.  They are only open for 5 more days for those of you who never got around to ordering a t-shirt.  You can click the link to the top right of this page.  Thanks!


I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the pictures you all have sent out of your GODSTRONG shirts.  Jon is so uplifted by the support you all have shown to him.  This picture today touched me in a profound way!  This is Andrea Hartley.  She is the daughter of my pastor when I was growing up.  I used to babysit her, then I coached her, then I taught WITH her and coached WITH her.  And I also wore her wedding dress on my wedding day!  She is SO special and I ask that you join us in praying for complete healing in her body.  She has a husband and 4 young children and lives in Texas.  I love the verse she included on here.  The outlook that her and her husband have had through this process have been such a blessing to me!  Their total dependence on God has really struck a chord in me.  But most of all that she would be going through this great trial herself and put this GODSTRONG shirt on in support of Jon is selfless and AWESOME!  Doesn't she look beautiful?  She is INSIDE and OUT!

I feel like I've really let Satan get a hold of me in the area of dwelling on the negative.  So I am going to re-focus my thoughts on some of the blessings God has provided for us during this time.

1.  People in Indy through friends of friends have reached out to us in magnificent ways.  A family today had us over to their house.  HUGE blessing for my kids.  We have not been in a "home" since we got here.  My kids had the BEST time!  Kathy and Jen were the nicest people and we completely connected with them.  Another person hosted us at the Children's Museum one night which was absolutely amazing!  These people are perfect "strangers" but all part of the body of Christ and allowing God to use them!

2.  Jon got a surprise this morning when he showed up at the clinic and they dismissed him without even giving him fluids!  His blood work looked great.  He will go back Thursday for more blood work.

3.  FAMILY:  Our family has rallied around us and left jobs, homes, and friends to come join us in taking care of our kids and us!

4.  Jon has stayed mentally strong during this time--like stronger than me!  He has really focused on staying GODSTRONG!

5.  Our kids have adjusted so well!  They have stayed positive and haven't really asked to go home which is amazing.  They "get" it.

6.  Emily has been a huge blessing and such a "constant" for the kids which is what I wanted.  She knows all their activities and routines.

7.  Jon had minimal side effects during this 1st round.  HUGE answer to prayer!

8.  We have gotten plugged into a church from the second we got here.  They have been amazing and such a blessing.  The kids LOVE it.  And we have a "pastor" that comes and prays with Jon weekly.  He is a former high school classmate of mine and lives in Indy and works on the IU campus.  His church is the one we attend.

9.  Apartments have been a blessing and the location is AMAZING!

10.  Jon gets lots of "fan mail" everyday because of YOU!



Another precious Luke story:

We were at our friends house today having a play date.  We were all sitting eating our lunch, Luke was beside me.  Kathy asked me what the hardest thing about this journey has been.  So as I was struggling to answer the question Luke taps me on the shoulder and says, "We need to pray for daddy."  It totally caught me off guard.  So I said, "OK, right now?"  "YES"  he said,  "RIGHT NOW."  I said, "OK, are you wanting me to pray, or are you going to pray?"  He said, "I"M GOING TO PRAY!"  So, we all bowed our heads and his prayer went something like this:

"Dear God, bless us and thank you for this day.
Please help daddy get better and help his doodles go away.
Help him to eat his oatmeal again.
AMEN."

Of course, most of us were crying.  And that was that.  He was done and we went along continuing to eat and talk.  He is one amazing 4 year old!  His heart for the Lord and his care and concern for others blows me away.  This is the heart that God has given him.  It is nothing that he has been "taught", it is nothing that we have done as parents. Just to clarify, the doodle the kids refer to are Jon's catheter where they administer the fluids, meds, chemo and stem cells.  The kids see his "doodles" as a sign that he is sick and they want them gone because for them this will signify Jon being WELL.  Also, Jon started this round in Indy by coming up to the kids apartment every morning eating oatmeal.  As the days went on, eating oatmeal became more difficult until one day he ate eggs instead of oatmeal.  Then after a few days of eggs Jon stopped showing up at all.  We have never talked about this with the kids.  They observed this on their own, and they drew the conclusion that if Jon is not eating his oatmeal he is SICK.  When he starts eating his oatmeal again, he will be WELL!  Precious, precious children of faith who pray for their daddy every night and we do our family cheer, "STREBE'S ARE GODSTRONG."

One last blessing and I will stop here:

Jon and I received a personal note handwritten by Coach K (Duke University) inviting our WHOLE family to Cameron to a game!  WAHOOOO!!!  We got it the day before Jon got out of the hospital.  He was SOO excited!  Pretty cool and Jon is SO looking forward to this at the end of his journey.  Coach K also sent Jon a signed hat and a signed poster that said he was on his side, and a Duke shirt.  God blesses us even with little blessings.

Strebe's continue to be...

GODSTRONG

The Little Engine That Could

     Good morning everyone, this is Jon writing today.  The title of this post certainly is where I am at this point in the process.  At the very beginning of this process, back in January they told Donna and I that this would be very up and down, kind of like a roller coaster ride.  Well, they certainly didn't lie, because that is exactly what it was and continues to be, up and down and all around.  But God is good, no some of the time, or in certain situations.  He is good all the time!
     There are certainly moments where I feel like certain periods of time will never end.  Sitting in that hospital bed over those four days seemed like months.  You are very restricted, and literally at someone else's mercy.  However no matter what fear we have, I am reminded that God is always with us.  He loves us and wants to be with us because first and foremost He loves us.  We are His children and He will NEVER leave or FORSAKE us.  So I remind myself that as it says in Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and Courageous, do not be afraid or terrified........".
     We all have fears, anxieties, and shear times of panic.  But God reassures us that He is with us holding our hands as we work through our fears.  Fears of not being a good enough parent.  Fears of not loving your spouse the way you should.  Fears of not doing enough at work.  Anxiety of a life threatening disease, or whatever it may be, we all have our own challenges.   God tells us to replace those fears and anxieties with trust.  Ultimate trust in Him.  I certainly have times where I let Satan plant  that seed of fear or anxiety into my not so strong mind.  I encourage you to join me in this battle of fear.  Trust that no matter the situation, no matter how bad you think you your situation is, or that no one can help you.  Keep in mind that the creater of this universe, the Great I Am is waiting for you with His outstretched hand, just waiting for you to reach out with your hand so that He can help you through.  He loves you more than anything in this world because we are all created in the image of Him.  We are all children of God, and we need to know and trust that he will never ever leave out side!  Have a great Sunday, and thank you all for your continued love and support.  We feel it every minute of every day!  
   

Jon is home and an outpatient again!

Jon was released from the hospital today!  YEA!!  He will go back to being an outpatient until they can get some of the side effects under control.  He will report to the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Clinic Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the very least.  But they have taken him off all his antibiotics.  He is still low on potassium and magnesium which he is taking through pills.  The clinic will basically just be giving him fluids.  The doctor is very concerned with his kidneys since he is loosing so much fluid.  For those of you who are medical or have been through a stem cell transplant you will enjoy seeing this.  For those of you who are not, basically this week on the calendar shows his counts coming up...a huge cause for celebration when you work with BMT patients.  PTL!

We were able to go to the apple orchard with the kids today.  Jon's dad brought Jon home from the hospital while we were gone.  It was about 30 minutes away and SO fun.  I have wanted to do this since the twins have been born and we have no apple orchard near us that I know of.  I had a blast and the kids did also!  It was a beautiful day!  Here are some precious pictures of our time at the orchard picking apples!  

The Strebe's are...

GODSTRONG!

A sweet video that will touch your heart and good news!

I have told you about Luke on numerous occasions.  He loves God with all his heart and wants everyone to Praise God.  He also loves to learn about God.  Here is a sweet video of a "Bible" he got at CBS (Community Bible Study).  It was so cute because when he brought it home I could tell he was repeating exactly what his teacher said (He listens to EVERYTHING).  He said, "Momma, this is a Bible, but some people call it God's Word."  He carried this with him for 2 days straight and read it a thousand times!

Good News!

Jon's counts are on the way up.  His neutrophil counts were higher today and the Nurse Practitioner and BMT Doctor both said they will continue to rise everyday and Jon should be out of the hospital by Friday or Saturday.  BUT he has to be able to take pills by mouth without getting nauseated so please pray that his nausea will get better.  So far today there hasn't been improvement in that area.  The counts are going up a little earlier than "usual" so the docs were happy about that.  They said his symptoms that he is having will subside as his counts continue to rise.  We were very encouraged with the news!

Thanks for praying and we continue to be...

GODSTRONG!

Jon is now inpatient

This is a very difficult blog post to write because I am not in a good place and Jon is not in a good place.  But part of the reason I am writing these blogs is for our family, especially our children to be able to read later and see how faithful God was in our family.  So, here goes...

Jon threw up all night Saturday night into early Sunday morning.  Also, when he started vomitting at 10PM Saturday night his fever was 100.9.  I called the on call doctor and he said it was 50/50 whether to come in and be admitted.  But after Jon threw up 4 times, he could hardly walk so at 4AM Sunday morning we headed in to the hospital.  Jon was able to come right up to the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Unit and be admitted here, thus avoiding the ER.  That was a blessing with his counts being so low.  Basically he was dehydrated.  They began giving him fluids and he never threw up again.  They took blood cultures and found everything was normal.  So the praise is there isn't anything major going on.  It is VERY different over here in the inpatient part as opposed to the outpatient clinic. When you are outpatient they want you very involved in your own healthcare because after all they are sending you home for your caregiver to take care of you.  So they tell you exactly what meds they are giving and you mark it off on a sheet and then you write down at night all the pills you take.  When you are inpatient they just start hanging bags, and starting them.  They do not tell you what they are giving you unless you ask.  And before when he felt nauseated I would give him an Ativan.  Now when he is nauseated we have to ask for it and it could be an hour before he gets it.  Don't get me wrong, the nurses are great both places, it is just a different mindset to be inpatient.  It has added some more stress for me for sure.  Let's just say they are getting to know his control-freak wife very well!  At shift change, the new nurse came in and told me exactly what they were giving Jon and the dosage and said, "I heard you like to know what we are giving."  LOL

Since Jon can't write and tell you all his troubles I'll tell you mine!  I'm just breaking down in every way:  emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I'm just really questioning why Jon, of all people, have to suffer like this.  My heart aches to watch him.  My heart aches to be with my children.  I'm not even sleeping with them in the apartment!  I went from living with them and checking on them before I go to bed at midnight, then again in the middle of the night, to not having a clue if they are OK.  They had only been away from me at night like 2 times!   I don't want to live here.  I don't want to be separated as a family.  I want to be home, be together and healthy!  I want Jon back.  He is my best friend and the one I count on for everything.   I'm definitely not finding joy in the this trial at the moment!  I'm certainly not rejoicing in these circumstances.

I think sometimes in the Christian life we like to fluff things up and make everything sound positive because that is what we are supposed to do.  But reality of the situation sets in, and you are going to have moments that you have negative thoughts, you are overwhelmed with fear and that you just can't handle life.  I'm there!  I am human and in no way perfect--not even close.  And boy have we seen that in the last few days!  A good friend reminded of this story:

 Matthew 26:36-46 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
  
Jesus was the only perfect one to walk the face of this earth.  And even he asked to have this painful, sorrowful situation taken from him.   He had great anguish over the physical pain, separation from the Father, and death for the sins of the world that he would endure.  In His human nature, Jesus struggled.  And fortunately He can relate to me right now!  I hope that in my relationship with Christ I have the strength like Jesus had to obey!  Jesus knew his future and He still struggled with the suffering He would go through.  I like in vs. 39 Jesus saying not as I will, but as you will and again in vs 42 when he said YOUR WILL BE DONE.  I hope that I can have a renewed sense of trust in God's plan for our family through Jon's suffering.  

Ironically, as I'm sitting here typing this, another very good friend (who has not a clue of where my head is these past few days) just texted me this verse:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."  II Corinthians 12:9

Thank you dear friends for your encouragement.  And even if I don't mention in the blog, every letter, email, text, FB message, card, package, etc means the world to me and my family!  You all are such an encouragement and I hope to grow up to be like all of you!  I will forever be changed because of this situation.

We just found out that Jon will be in the hospital until the end of this round, probably anywhere from 6-9 more days.  Please pray for him.  He is barely eating.   He is loosing strength.  His counts are still extremely low (he got more platelets today).

**Note:  I started this blog days ago, and have written a little everyday for 3 days.  Today (Tuesday), I can report that Jon went on a "walk" with me last night around the halls and started being silly and jogging.  He sure is a funny guy!  For the most part he has slept today but he is having spurts of energy and has kept his spirits up!  He has been amazing!  Thanks for praying and our family will continue to be...

GODSTRONG!

Quick Update

Jon continues to go downhill.  I don't even know if he or I could tell you exactly how he feels but I would say in general just miserable.  He is not in pain.  PTL.  These doctors/nurses have done this so many times and are right on with what days you feel the worse.  Today was definitely the worst so far.  His platelets were low today (6,000 for you medical people) so they gave him a transfusion.  He is hardly able to eat.  He is super nauseated although he has not thrown up which is a blessing.  At times, he can hardly answer yes/no questions I ask him.  But there are short times I see LIFE in him and it's encouraging.  He will smile when I show him a video/picture of the kids, or when the kids come to see him, or when I make a funny joke.  These times are very uplifting to me!  His blood counts will stay super low until about Wednesday when they should start coming back up.  Please pray for him!  I just can't imagine what he is going through and it is excruciating to watch.  Continue to pray he will not get an infection.

My mom got home safely and Jon's parents arrived safely!!  Thanks goodness for family!!

Thanks for joining us in this journey!

We are GODSTRONG!

A small snippet of our lives

First of all I will start off with a story that happened 2 nights ago.  Jon is on LOTS of medicines that sometimes require late night runs to Walgreens.  We have found a Walgreens a mile away that is open 24 hours and even has a mini grocery store.  So, the other night Jon wanted biscuits for breakfast--he is like a pregnant woman in their 1st trimester).    I was out of baking soda.  So at 11PM Emily (my babysitter) and I headed to the local Walgreens.  After all, we had been there 2 nights prior to pick up medication and felt totally safe.  There was security at the door, and seemed like an ok area.  As soon as we walked in there was a creepy guy I noticed looking, like really looking at Emily.  So of course I kept my eye on him closely (he didn't give me the time of day...LOL).  I noticed a police officer on duty in the store.  As I approached the counter, I told the girl checking us out that I felt uncomfortable with a guy that had been in there.  She said it was no problem for the officer to escort us out.  So, actually the manager and the policeman escorted us to our car.  As we drove away, I noticed a brand new black escalade in the parking lot and as we passed by it it was the creepy guy starring at us.  So I drove out of the Walgreens, around the corner and back in.  The officer was walking back in Walgreens and I called for him.  He came over and I explained that I was sure I was freaking out over nothing but that this guy was making us feel very uncomfortable.  The officer said we cannot be too careful in that area.  He stood at our car, looked over at the Escalade and the guy drove away.  Thank goodness because I was so afraid he would follow us back to our apartments!  Definitely a good wake up call that we are in the city and we are very thankful Jon's dad will be here for 2 weeks to do the late night errands for Jon:o)

Today was not the best day for me.  I went with Jon to the hospital.  He always has 4 hours of fluids, that is standard.  Then they take his blood and based on the results he could get other things that make his stay for the day longer.  Today was standard but I wanted to stay and at least to talk to the NP.  I have been leaving Jon for a little while each day.  He enjoys the time alone and I enjoy seeing the kids.  Well, in particular today I was really missing the kids and wanting to be with them.  So i decided to meet them at their Gymboree Sports class.  I left Jon and went down to get the car from valet.  It was taking SOOO long.  I finally asked and they had forgotten to get my car!!  When I finally left, Siri took me the wrong way.  (By the way, I'm over Siri.  I've stayed mad at her the whole time--she has done a terrible job so far!).  I got back on track and then hit a terrible wreck, traffic was barely creeping.  I finally got to the class in time for snack and a story:o(.  I then sent Emily to get Jon and I was able to hang out with the kids.  We ran some errands, and then we went to the zoo to play in the splash pad.  That was the best part of the day!  But another funny story.

The kids already know everything about the zoo.  They went straight to the splash pad.  5 minutes after the got all wet, Emma Kate announces she has to potty #1.  So I take her to the bathroom (it isn't exactly super close to the splash pad).  We get back and I take Luke because they are about to close the bathroom and the kids had not gone for hours.  I get in the bathroom with Luke and I get a phone call from my mom.  Emma Kate has to go #2--poop!  I hurry Luke along, go back and get Emma Kate and as I'm walking off Ryan runs up and says I POOPED!!  Really?  It was a crazy 20 minutes but we made it through and I was just thankful to be spending time with my kids.

If I had it my way, I would clone myself.  My heart is to be with my children.  But my heart is also to take care of my husband and get him through this rough time.  I feel SO much guilt everyday.  I want to do it all!  And I can't!  I cannot possibly be 2 places at once, so I have to choose.  And then I end up running back and forth between the two.  I feel guilty on days like today when I had to send Emily to get Jon.  I feel guilty when I have to tell the kids "I gotta go", as they are whining at the door.  I know that Jon has a very hard job to do what he is doing, so then I feel guilty for complaining about my life.  Guilt, Guilt, Guilt!  You can pray for me that I will find a balance and be able to divide my time.  It's times like today that I feel like I'm doing a million things, but nothing well!

The above was written yesterday (Wednesday).  I never had time to send.  So the rest of this post is written on Thursday!

Today was better!  I felt refreshed after I left Jon yesterday and spent the rest of the day with the kids.  SSHHH!  Don't tell Jon I felt "refreshed" after leaving him.  LOL.  Just kidding.

My kids are adjusting well but my little boy blue (Ryan) is starting to struggle with being away from me.  He is a MOMMA's boy!!  Luke has done very well and been super sweet.  Emma Kate has done well with me being away and has such a sweet heart but her and Ryan can get into trouble together faster than you can blink an eye.  Emily is doing AWESOME!  I do not know what I would do without her!  The kids LOVE her, she is so caring, kind and gentle with them.  But yet she is firm and has expectations for them.  My mom has been helping her the past 2 weeks but is going home tomorrow:o( boohoo...But Jon's parents are coming for 2 weeks!:o)  YEA!!  It's just one big party for the kids...they get lots of love and attention these days!  My mom looks like she has lost 10 lbs and is exhausted!  In fact, if you know my mom, you may not even notice her because she is so skinny!  HAHA.  Let's just say she has worked her butt off cooking, cleaning and taking care of kids and keeping up with all their activities!  Now it's the Strebes' turn, I told them to rest up before they came, let's hope they did:o)

Jon is going downhill.  His white counts are getting lower and all this chemo has taken a toll on his body.  But honestly, outside of his white counts being low (which is normal for his circumstance) his blood work looks great.  All his numbers have stayed good so far.  The only thing they have added to his regimen is potassium and magnesium.  But please keep praying.  His worst days will be tomorrow through next Wednesday. His counts will continue to drop.

Prayer request:  PLEASE pray that Jon will not catch an infection.

I am SO paranoid so I am sanitizing all the time, washing hands, and mostly keeping the kids away.  It just isn't worth the risk.

Please forgive me if I have not responded to you either FB or email.  I'm so far behind but I promise I will catch up.  I will tell you I am better at responding to email.  I'm just terrible with FB.  I will remember someone sent me a message but then I have NO idea where to find it!
My email is:  donnastrebe@aol.com

Also, the cards, letters and packages are AWESOME!  Jon probably gets 4-5 cards a day.  It is awesome and it really lifts his spirits!!  Thank you!  Keep them coming.  I will give you a break in 2 weeks:o)

Here are some cute pics

So thankful for highchairs.  We had a friend of a friend deliver these to us.  We are much happier caregivers when my little boy blue is in a highchair!!

We have had to get real creative here.  We have a bag of outdoor toys that we take to the field in front of the Law School that is directly across the street from our apartment.  We are not sure how the law students feel about us being there, but the kids are thankful they are sharing their space!

Emily and my mom took the kids to practice their instruments before music class.  I'm sure glad they were outdoors and not in the apartment!

BTW, yes, the neighbors are still complaining.  Pray their hearts will change!

Splash pad at the zoo.  And yes, it is HOT up here!  Like, really hot!  I did not know the north was so hot and had such nice people!:o)  

This is the Butler Bear.  I have NO idea what his name is but this was outside the NCAA building.  They were having an event and he came out and was SOOO sweet to the kids!  

We are GODSTRONG! 

Thanks again for joining us on this journey and for your prayers and support!!

Thanks for praying!

Jon did awesome during his transplant!  The actual transplant took 8 minutes.  They thawed his stems cells out in these small bags and put them back into him through a syringe.  The nurse actually said it was the fastest transplant she had done in a while because Jon collected so well.  He had less bags, so that means less preservatives and that means less time it takes to push it through the syringe.  He had minimal side effects so God answers your prayers!!  The only thing he felt was a little flush.  He said the slightest bit he felt chest tightening but that was for a short time.  He did not get nauseated at all!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  Jon is a champ!

For those of you who are medically minded here are some pictures.  It is a fascinating process.  I prayed with Jon before we got started and I prayed that Jesus would "rescue" his body.  Because we know that He is the one that made Jon's stem cells and He is the one that will use those specific stem cells that He made JUST for Jon  to "rescue" him.  It is a cool thought!  I'm also super thankful for the minds that God gave these doctors to come up with this process!

This is the chamber where they keep the stem cells frozen.  It looks like in a movie when they open it up and the steam comes out.  

This is the frozen stem cell bag she pulled out.  The nurse puts it is saline for about 30 seconds to thaw it.

This is the process of the stem cells being pushed through the syringe.

PRAISE GOD.  Only through his strength can Jon get through this!

We are GODSTRONG!!

The Kid's Happenings

The kids are having a ball here!  They think it is one long vacation.  We bought a membership to the zoo and we can walk there.  So, this weekend they walked to the zoo Saturday and Sunday and I was able to leave Jon at the hospital getting his fluids and walk and meet them.  It was great!  There is a playground there and a splash pad so they played and played in the water.   The IU Law School is right across from our apartments so this morning they are playing with balls and outdoor stuff over there in this big field and going to feed some ducks in the canal.  Saturday night we got invited to an event at the Children's Museum here.  It is the biggest and best one I have ever been to.  It was amazing.  A family invited us and hosted us that was told our story through a common friend.  What a blessing and the kids had a complete blast!  They love that they have an apartment and Daddy has an apartment.  They love to go downstairs and visit him.  They have NO idea where I live!! I put them to bed at night and appear in the mornings:o)  We were able to get connected with a church here through a high school classmate of mine.  They meet on Sunday night which is perfect because I can go with Jon to treatment in the morning and head to church at night.  The kids were all in the same class which was great and they love being together.  And there are TONS of college students there which Emily, our babysitter can connect with.  My mom was by far the oldest person there...LOL.  I actually think I was definitely one of the oder ones there also. But it was perfect!  We just see God's provision in EVERYTHING!  Down to the fact there is an ER doctor at IU Hospital that lives directly across the hall from Jon at the apartment!

Below is a library Emily and my mom found for the kids.  They said it was fantastic!

Jon tells the kids EVERY morning that he is fighting for them.  Well, the first morning he told them that they all said separately "but daddy, it isn't nice to fight."  So now he changed it to, "I'm fighting this cancer for you!"  And so now all of them respond: "Fight that cancer.  Spank it and pinch it."  We also pray as a family for Jon every night.  The kids are just precious with their prayers.  I wish I could record them!  We end our prayer time by all piling our hands on top of each other and saying The Strebe's stick together like glue.  And we throw our hands up in the air and say, The Strebe's are GODSTRONG!  They kids LOVE our nightly prayer time together.  It's very adorable and we would never have started this if it weren't for us going through this trial that has brought our family so close!

Please pray for Jon.  His body is definitely going downhill.  Extreme fatigue is setting in.  His nausea is getting worse each day.  He was unable to walk to the hospital today.  His counts are dropping each day.  These are all things we knew would happen but just pray Jon will stay strong mentally!  It's tough on him I have no doubt!  He still comes up to see the kids in the morning and still puts them to bed at night.  It is precious!  But I know he wishes he could do more.  He will soon enough.

The most urgent prayer request is for his transplant tomorrow.  It will happen sometime between 9:30 and11.  This is the day they will rescue him.  It takes 15-30 minutes.  They push his stem cells through a syringe.  The nurses will stand by his bed and watch him closely.  The reactions that are common are tightening of the chest from the preservatives, nausea and vomitting and sweating.  Pray that the reactions will be minimal and Jon will be able to withstand this process.  I know he will!

On a side note, you all have been cracking me up with how into the neighbor story you are getting!!  I have no idea if the neighbors are still complaining but quite frankly I'm over it.  The more I am in the apartment complex the more I'm realizing we are just living our lives, not doing anything wrong or out of the ordinary.  There are many times we hear pounding and doors shaking from people walking above us.  Many mornings my kids tell me a loud boom wakes them up.  It is just apartment living.  I walked past my "neighbors" door the other day by accident (b/c I'm geographically challenged) and right across the hall from them the tenants had their music blaring!  Again, I'm over it.  I have bigger fish to fry.  We are going above and beyond to get the kids out of the apartment morning and early evening and get them to bed punctually.  They are learning about living in an apartment and doing so much better about whispering in the halls and tiptoeing.  They are SO adorable!  The girl we are renting from has been awesome!  And she goes way above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable.  She has been great with our neighbor situation.

Thanks for joining us in this journey!

The Strebe's are GODSTRONG!

This was Jon on his first day of chemo.  Doesn't he look great??!!

God's Promises!

Good morning everyone,

     This is Jon writing to you this beautiful Saturday morning!  I just wanted to share some thoughts and bible verses from the new bible study that I began today. The thoughts, ideas, and verses that I am going to share are certainly relevant for the stage of life that I am going through.  However I am confident that we all can benefit from God's word, because we all have our own challenges that we must deal with each and every day.
     The book I am studying is entitled "Always True---God's promises when life is hard" by James Macdonald.  Now you must also know that Mr. Macdonald is a fellow cancer survivor which drew me to his work.  My study today focused on the fact that God is a promiser.  "A promise from God is an assurance He gives His people that enables them to walk by faith wile they wait for Him to work.  Today we believe; tomorrow we receive.  When God promises something you can believe and act on it."  What a blessed assurance that is!  To know that what God promises, He follows through on.  It might not be our timing but it is His timing.  The hardest part about all of this is waiting according to Macdonald is the gap between believing His promise, and receiving the fulfillment of that promise.  Life would be much easier if the fulfillment of His promises came much quicker :)!  However Macdonald states, that while we wait, we learn to trust God, and He builds our faith.  Otherwise, we would never truly rely on God.  We would simply keep relying on others, circumstances, and ourselves.  Never a good idea!
     As the chemo drips into my body, I am praying that likewise, God's word would drip into my heart.  I pray they will do the same for you:

Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you."

Isaiah 40:31 - "They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mont up with wins like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Jeremiah 29:11 - (My life verse) For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not harm you; plans for a hope and a future."

John 14:14 - "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."

John 14:27 - "Peace i leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

Philippians 4:19 - "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Wow! 1,000 t-shirt goal reached!!

This is Jon writing.  All I can say is praise the Lord!  I am truly humbled by everyone's sincere generosity toward my family and I.  You will never know how much we appreciate your love and support!  I am at a loss for words right now, so for those that know me, that truly is a miracle.  We could never repay everyone, but you can be rest assured of a couple of things.  First and foremost, God is rejoicing with us in this victory.  His will is being done and His word will reach so many untold numbers by the simple act of wearing a t-shirt and telling a story.  This is truly a victory for God's family!  All I can say is we are all GODSTRONG!

Ephesians 3:20

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"

Starting High Dose Chemo

We ate out one last time last night at Hard Rock Cafe and walked around the city.  We had a great time celebrating the night before Jon's chemo.

Let me quickly update you on the neighbor situation.  We had a "meeting" with the 2 lady's below us last night (a daughter and her elderly mother).  The conversation did not go well.  Jon started it off and was very nice, told them our situation and told them we are trying our best to keep our kids either gone or quiet.  The daughter in particular was not very receptive.  So I of course was getting more and more mad.  Then I started crying and asking them if they had a clue what it was like to "fight for your life."  I explained that our kids do not have much of a mom or dad present in their lives right now and we are all doing the best we can.  Honestly, they didn't seem to care much about any of that except the "thumps" and screaming they hear.  So I was too upset and pretty much just left.  Jon of course was awesome through the whole thing as usual.  But it was funny when he told them we do not expect our kids to be perfect because no one is perfect except Jesus Christ.  They didn't seem to want to hear about that either.  Do pray I can calm down and make them cookies and be a witness.

Jon is currently sitting in a private room receiving his fluids.  The nurse has come in this morning and drawn labs.  We are waiting for results and then the chemo will be ordered.  (We just got results--PTL all his tumor markers are NORMAL!!  So pray this high dose will knock this cancer down for good)  We will be here until about 4 or 5 today.  He will receive the one drug, Etoposide over a 2 hour period.  The carboplatum will be given over 30 minutes.  He will also receive pre-meds.  And then 4 hours of fluids.

These are the things we are praying for:

1.  That God will guide each nurse, doctor, pharmacist, etc that is in charge of handling his care.

2.  That God will get glory through this.    Jon is taking EVERY opportunity to share with people he comes in contact with about His Savior.  Jon was already amazing before this but I've seen God work in his life and CHANGE him.  It has been awesome to watch and he will surely never be the same.  Good lesson for all of us whether or not we are faced with a potentially fatal disease.  Share Christ with others!!

3.  Jon will feel minimal side effects and the ones he has can be controlled with meds.

One thing that I'm learning is what it means to help others and reach out!  I will never pass up another opportunity again.  All of you have been amazing.  Jon is SOO encouraged by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers you all have sent his way.  This is a HUGE encouragement to him.  He is amazed at the response with his shirts.  What a blessing that over 800 people will be standing with him through this (and we know there is more than that that are not ordering shirts).  I know I keep the money being raised on the DL but we are also grateful for that.  I don't think it is any secret that this is a huge financial cost and Jon is the breadwinner of the family--and obviously not currently working.  This obviously helps to keep him stress free which is our goal:o)



I will leave you with one thing:

This is what Jon received in the mail the other day!  He was very happy!  He also received a personal email from Chuck Pagano.  It was so encouraging and uplifting.  Coach Pagano (Head Football Coach for the Indianapolis Colts) talked about his faith through his cancer ordeal (he was treated at IU about a year ago).  In it he states that a close friend of his told him to ask God to heal him each morning and night.  Then the friend told him to start thanking God for healing him long before he was ever in remission.  So let's start THANKING God for Jon's healing!!!!

PTL...We have great news!!

Jon went in this morning and had his catheter placed.  He did very well with the procedure.

The nurse then took him to the Apheresis area where they would collect Jon's stem cells.  He was prepped and given a little "education class" on the procedure.

A little side note and funny thing:  They had me sign the papers in addition to Jon because he was still under the influence from his procedure.  And Oh boy, was he being a VERY talkative, funny guy!!  He told the nurse he felt like he had drank 4 shots.  We were laughing!  He has NO idea what 4 shots feels like.  The nurse was still laughing about it when we left.

In simple terms, to collect stem cells, they take blood from you, divide it and put back in what they are not using (they are collecting the immature stem cells from the bone marrow).  The machine does most of it, but the nurses actually stay in the room the whole time.  It is an interesting process for sure.  The nurses are literally watching over the machine and Jon the whole day.  Everything went very smoothly.  So smoothly that Jon does not have to go back in tomorrow.  They collected enough today!  He gets the day off!  I'm so happy for him.   He will start his high dose chemotherapy on Thursday.  We are praising God for this great gift of a day off before he starts this process!

We definitely have a funny story but serious prayer request.  Not even 24 hours after we moved in to our apartment, the police knocked on our door.  He said the neighbors were complaining  we were too loud.  I wasn't there, but my mom said the boys ran to the door and waved to the police.  We were all super stressed after we found this out because we really cannot get kicked out!  My kids can get out of control, but they are darn cute:o)  Honestly, they have been fine, you know just a little jumping around every once in a while.  I wanted to make a peace offering and take them cookies and sorry notes from the kids!  Jon wants to go knock their heads off.

So unfortunately tonight I got an email from the company we are renting from.  The people below us want us to move to another apartment.  Now do ya'll know what it would take for us to move??  From Thursday until next Friday or so neither Jon nor I will be around.  We do not have enough man power AND we have totally settled in.  Jon says he is going down to talk to the people below us tomorrow.  Please pray they will be understanding of our situation.  Please pray God will change their hearts and not be annoyed by my wild and crazy kids that have NO idea how to act in an apartment setting.

Your support has been amazing.  The shirt sales are out of this world!  Jon is SO excited and I canNOT wait to start getting in pictures of you all in your GODSTRONG shirt.  I am making a HUGE collage poster of these pictures and putting it on Jon's wall!  That will go beside his autographed poster that Coach K sent him  today!

All of you are amazing!!

I'll leave you with this adorable pictures.  By the way, I'm writing these blogs super late these days, so forgive me if there are mistakes!!

Let it begin...

Good evening everyone,

     This is Jon writing tonight.  I felt it only fitting, that on the eve of the beginning of this process, that I post some thoughts as we embark on this process.  Let me first of all begin by thanking everyone that has, and continues to pray for us.  You will never know just how much it means to me and my family that you support us in this way.  As a follower of Christ, we as a family strongly believe in the power of prayer.  Jesus asks us to lay everything at His feet, and without a doubt, you as brothers and sisters in Christ have done that unfailingly.
     I was telling Donna tonight, that it truly is hard to believe that we are about to begin tomorrow.  It almost seems surreal.  It feels like we have talked and talked and talked about what has to happen in order for us to begin this process, and now it is finally upon us.  I must admit, that the human side of me is very scared about what is to follow.  I am anxious about how this treatment is going to affect my body and the symptoms that will be associated with this line of treatment.  I am fearful of what the end result might be after it is all said and done.  I am wary of how this entire process is going to effect our kids.  I worry about that might, my wife is running herself ragged to take care of me, while at the same time attempting to adequately provide for our kids.  I am acutely aware of the financial strain that this process is placing on our family.  Yet, I am reminded that God has been in the process since day one, and He will be in this process until the very end.  From the day I was born on November 8th, 1976, my Father in heaven knew that on September 3rd, 2013, I would be starting one of the greatest struggles of my life.  He also knows the eventually outcome.  It is comforting to know that Jesus while on this earth experienced, and felt first hand all of the apprehensions, and fears that I am currently going through and feeling.  He empathizes with us through our struggles.  But ultimately, I am filled with courage to know that Christ went through something more grueling than any human will every know, as He bore the sins of the world, and died on the cross for us, even while we were still yet sinners.  He overcame death so that we might have life everlasting.  Hallelujah!  It is in this comfort, that I will rest.  Knowing that as each passing day goes by, His will, not mine is being accomplished.  It is in His comfort, that I will find peace.     
     Let me also thank all of you for supporting us in our pursuit of the sale of our GODSTRONG t-shirt.  What an amazing show of love and support.  I was asking Donna how in the world have we sold almost 500 shirts?  I don't even know that many people for crying out loud!  However, I realize that it is a testament to the strength of character of those that we call our friends and family, and the body of Christ.  Most importantly, the more people we have wearing these t-shirts, the more potential mouth pieces we will have to tell our story so that God can infiltrate the lives that need to be touched by Him.  I would also be remised to not thank you all for the financial support that is associated with the purchase of our GODSTRONG t-shirts.  Words can't adequately describe our incredibly grateful the Strebe family is for your support in this manner.  Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
     Finally, let me publicly thank my biggest fan, and support, my beautiful wife Donna.  She will never know how much I love and appreciate her support throughout this grueling process.  I have no idea how hard it must be to see her spouse endure this process.  While at the same time, trying to keep it together to take care of three small children under the age of four.  Truly amazing!  To understand the details that had to be met, in order for not only this trip, but the next three months to be pulled off effectively and efficiently is mind boggling.  And yet, she did it.  We have two beautiful apartments that are literally walking distance to the hospital.  She has weekly activities that encompass at least 5 days a week for our kids.  She has meals planned out, as well as schedules of people who are visiting us over the course of the next 2-3 months.  I also wish each of you could see our kids bedroom.  All three of our kids are sleeping in the same room, and the attention to detail that Donna put in to making our kids feel like they are at home, and in a place of safety and comfort is amazing!  She is truly the most remarkable woman I have ever met.  And to think that God has blessed me with a best friend, a wife, and the most incredible mother of my children all wrapped into one, is nothing short of a miracle.  I truly don't deserve her, but am eternally grateful for her love!

Watch this short video some friends made for Jon.

Click here to show Jon support with his T-shirts