Ready for Round 2

I thought it would be good to write another post before I begin another round of intense chemotherapy on Monday. Once again, to all of you who have lent support to us, thank you. Without your help it would be impossible to have stayed current on all of our bills and medical expenses. Without your prayers it would have been nearly unbearable to be facing the prospect of more chemo.

Many of you have surely been wondering about the state of my hair. Well, last Friday I ran my fingers through my hair while helping give the boys their bath and found them full of hair that simply gave up its will to live. Shortly thereafter, I had Elizabeth shave off the rest of my hair so that I wouldn't look like a mangy dog and so the boys could see my hair being cut and not be freaked out. Being bald isn't so bad and I'm saving considerably on shampoo. Yesterday my whiskers began falling out of my face. I actually shaved with my fingers! Although being able to skip shaving for awhile is a huge perk, I still can't say that I'd recommend chemo.

Last weekend we went back to Florida and Elizabeth and I were able to say goodbye to our dear family at Calvary Chapel South Orlando. The church held a garage sale and a special offering for us and raised hundreds of dollars to help us out. We also had the opportunity to come before the congregation and share our story and gratitude. Our send-off was finished by all of those who know us well joining us on stage to lay hands on us and pray for us. What a blessing to be a part of God's family!!

I'll be finishing up my treatments in Virginia at the Massey Cancer Center. After viewing the facilities I decided to attempt to do this next round outpatient. I've had to go there four days straight now for shots of Neupogen, which builds your white blood cell count. It causes severe bone pain, but I've been able to deal with it fairly well. I also had one chemo treatment of bleomycin, which has left me feeling extremely nauseated for the last few days. I've lost 4 lbs so far and I've had difficulty eating.

Thankfully, my doctor at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Orlando is going to review my case again to see if two rounds may be sufficient to kill all of the microscopic cancer. My particular cancer has been surprisingly nasty and had begun spreading out of my lymph nodes into the surrounding soft tissue. Once she looks at my pathology reports from my last surgery again they should be able to tell if they got all of that tissue during my last surgery or not. If any of you reading this happen to be dealing with cancer, I can think of no better place to pursue treatment than MD Anderson. To think that my doctor is still reviewing my case after I've moved out of state and transferred to another cancer center is amazing. Dr. Tseng if you're reading this, thank you for helping to make sure that I have the opportunity to grow old with my wife and see my small boys become men. You're the best.

Please keep us in your prayers. Specifically, pray that the Lord prevents the extreme nausea and helps me to maintain my weight, that He would provide opportunities for me to encourage others down at the cancer center and in my family, and that He would continue providing for our financial needs especially as we prepare to move to Scotland in just 5 weeks. My entire family could use your prayers too as they'll be nursing me and undoubtedly suffering along with me for the next couple weeks.

Much love and many blessings to all of you,

Jeremy

Updates, Prayer Requests, and Partnering

Hello Everyone!

I am now 10 days past my first chemo treatment. I underwent 5 consecutive days of chemo therapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center beginning the first of July and am entering the good part of my recovery. The last couple days of treatment and first few days out of the hospital were incredibly tough with nausea, uncontrollable shaking, and an inability to sleep more than a few hours at a time, so I'm not taking anything for granted anymore. For the past couple days I have been praising God for the ability to eat and taste most of my food, for the fact that I still have my hair for now (the dr. said to lose it between 10 and 28 days from my first treatment), for two consecutive nights of good, restful sleep, and most of all for the amazing care and support God has provided me through my family and friends.

First, I need to brag about my wife. She has obviously undergone a tremendous amount of stress lately dealing with my sickness on top of all of the added responsibilities that I used to handle. My first few days home were miserable health-wise, but she doted and cared for me with such thoroughness and thoughtfulness I couldn't thank God or her enough for all the TLC. At the same time, she found a place for us to stay each night (more on that in a bit), made sure our belongings got packed and ready, and took care of the boys. I really don't know how she did it except to say that she truly demonstrated faithful love and proved true Paul's statement in Philippians that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Of course, the Lord also blessed me with great medical care and tons of support from our family. My parents came down to Florida about 4 days ago and rescued us from being homeless vagabonds. They're providing us with free room and board at their home in Virginia for the summer so that we can focus on beating cancer instead of where we're going to sleep each night. We're praying and ask for your prayers for wisdom in knowing how to proceed with my treatments and in returning to Florida to tie up loose ends and say goodbye to our many adopted family members there. Please also pray that the Lord blesses my business during my absence and allows it to continue being a Christ-honoring enterprise in its ability to meet its obligations to its vendors and clients while allowing us to continue saving toward going to school in Scotland this fall.

Thanks to many many generous gifts we have been able to stay current on all of our bills and keep us all well-fed. Due to the nature of my treatment being on the harsh side and the number of surgeries and hospitalizations I've had, we haven't had stable income since May. Knowing that God is faithful to provide and that so many of you have come alongside us with financial help has given us unbelievable peace in the midst of all this. We have even made some real progress in our arrangements for this upcoming year. To all of who have given prayer and/or financial support, we cannot thank you enough. The creativity and selflessness that have been displayed are both humbling and a lifeline of emotional and practical encouragement. At this point we have raised roughly 10% of the funds needed to get us to Scotland or approximately 5% of the total we need to raise for the school year. This has occurred within only the last 2 weeks and does not include any money from the fund-raisers we and others are working on currently. Today we were able to purchase our plane tickets for our entire family. So one way or another we are going to Scotland on September 2nd and we don't have tickets to come back until May 29th. :-)

For those of you who still wish to contribute to our trust fund, the information to do so is contained in my previous post. In an addition to that post, the account was opened in Nevada by our trustee Lesleigh Sisson. Her information is also in the post for those of you who have questions or need assistance in using the Bank of America Trust. Of course, you can support us financially at no cost simply by clicking on the ads in this BLOG too. Any written correspondance should be sent to my parents' home at: 14831 Shorewood Court Midlothian, VA 23112. I know hundreds of you have been with us in your prayers as well and I can't emphasize enough their importance to us. Ultimately, we are tackling obstacles that God has allowed to be in our lives and it is He who will enable us to be "more than conquerors" and to see the day of victory over this cancer.

I will continue to update you all as my health and chemo brain allow. Please forgive me for not mentioning and thanking each person by name. We are blessed with so many dear family and friends that there are literally far too many of you to mention here. May God be with you and faithfully reward your loving support with an unmatched abundance that could only come from him.

We love you and God-willing we'll be in touch again soon.

Jeremy

Elizabeth, Gabriel, and Noah too ;-)

Notes from my folks on joining our team of conquerors

Dear Family and Friends, In May, our oldest son, Jeremy was diagnosed with testicular cancer. You may be familiar with this type of cancer due to Lance Armstrong's battle with the same disease. Some of you have already been cheering us and Jeremy on from both the frontlines and the sidelines, while others of you may be receiving this news for the very first time. You may know us up close and personally, or perhaps you're aquainted with our family and circumstances through a different means. Whatever the connection we believe that God's brought us all together for our good and His glory.

Many of you have asked; "How can we help?" A trust has been set up and contributions can be made at any Bank of America location to the (Jeremy Kleidosty "More than a Conqueror" Trust) Account # 004971955895. Financial support for both short term needs with medical and living expenses during treatment as well as long term needs to attend the University at St.Andrews are areas you can contribute. Support can be pledged on a monthly basis for a one year commitment, or given in a one time donation. But it also can be extended in other ways - sent as a card of encouragement, provided by a meal, received through babysitting, experienced by accompanying Jeremy on a chemo treatment, or simply yet powerfully felt through prayer. However you contribute we pray that the Lord will repay your kindness and multiply His blessings back to you.

Growing in God's grace, The Kleidosty's, Dustin, Melissa & Families

Mail can be sent to Jeremy and Elizabeth C/O Dustin & Melissa Kleidosty 14831 Shorewood Ct. Midlothian, Va. 23112
E-mail to jkleidosty@hotmail.com
Jeremy will be updating his blog at http://www.genyblog.blogspot.com as things progress and his health permits. Below you will find an exerpt from a much more detailed letter posted at this blog which he wrote during his stay at the hospital. This will give you a clearer picture of Jeremys family, circumstances and needs as well his heart and a place for you to post comments.( It's a great read!) When you click on the adds at this site it generates anywhere from .02 to 50 cents per hit. So please click away. Now for an abbreviated word from Jeremy ~ Tuesday, June 14, 2005 More Than a Conqueror "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37) This verse holds the key to unlocking victory when life goes from smooth sailing to stormy seas, when your vow to love "in sickness and in health" becomes an active deed rather than a theoretical promise, when circumstances are stacked against you, when the doctor says "it's cancer." Six weeks ago, as I awoke from surgery that began as a diagnostic and became a therapeutic operation, those words were spoken to me. Just shy of my twenty-sixth birthday I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Shortly after receiving the news that my particular type of cancer, embryonal carcinoma, which is an aggressive form of the disease, had spread to at least one lymph node and that I would probably require at least one more surgery in addition to chemo therapy, I also received a letter by airmail from the University of St. Andrews. (www.st-andrews.ac.uk) -Just below the school crest I read the following greeting: "Dear Mr. Kleidosty We are delighted to inform you..." No further reading was needed to know what this letter was. I had been accepted into the M. Litt Program for International Political Thought at the third-oldest university in the English speaking world! Prince William just graduated with his Bachelor's from this same department. In the midst of this great trial we had been given a great and glorious gift. Not only hope, but a reassurance that there was indeed a plan for my future (Jeremiah 29) and that this plan was good. - Gone were thoughts of survival and getting through. Now my mind was fixed upon this new task and opportunity. Cancer became an obstacle to overcome, not a condition to survive. Mentally, I instantaneously moved from surviving to thriving. Hope unexpectedly reborn is even sweeter than when a dream is first birthed. Needless to say, God is good. The future too looks good despite the painful and difficult experiences it holds. I say this not to be discouraging, but to be real. Since this past friday (June 10) I have been hospitalized for a retroperitoneal lympnode dissection. This is the other operation I mentioned earlier. This has been one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. ~ Please keep us in your prayers as I recover and as Elizabeth takes on several responsibilities that I cannot currently handle. Please remember to lift up our boys as well. For now, please know how phenomenally grateful we are for the cards, calls, e-mails, financial help, baby-sitting, wise counsel, and overwhelming love. I still haven't shed one tear for cancer, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I've shed several for your faithfulness and generosity that so accurately reflect the image of our Risen King. Love, blessing's and peace be with you all! Jeremy Elizabeth, Gabriel and Noah too!!:-) This entire letter can be enjoyed along with other interesting perspectives of Jeremy's by visiting http://www.genyblog.blogspot.com .