Jonathan's Leukemia Bills

Hello, friends. I am asking for prayer for my brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Amanda. This weekend, Jonathan was diagnosed very suddenly with leukemia. As of Monday morning, January 15, we are hopeful that it is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), which is usually managable with medication. Final test results should be in early this week, and at that point, we will have a more long-term prognosis.

Please pray for them, especially as they prepare for the arrival of their first baby within the next few weeks.
Pray that they would grow and trust the Lord through this, and that God would use them as a testimony of His grace in their lives. 

I created this GoFundMe to help them with their medical expenses. They have a medical bill sharing program that thankfully should cover the bulk of expenses, but they need $5,000 immediately to meet their deductible. Also, Jonathan is missing work at this time, which will affect their finances. We are hopeful that the medication treatments will be covered through their bill sharing program, but if not, they could use help to get started with that as well. 
Please consider giving to them as they try to adjust to this new phase of life. Mostly though, please pray for them.

Below, I am posting what Amanda wrote on Facebook on January 14, telling exactly what has happened so far. 

Thank you all so much for your love and prayers!
- Elizabeth Norris



AMANDA:
My husband and I are expecting our first baby (only the Lord knows the gender!) due in 3 1/2 weeks! I've been placed on moderate bed-rest due to hypertension and my midwives are helping monitor me and the baby as we finish the pregnancy.

My husband woke up a week ago with a new large dark floater in his eye. This usually wouldn't be a big deal for him but it distracted him so much that he asked me to make an appointment with the optometrist. 
When he saw the optometrist last Wednesday ago, he was told that his eyes both had hemorrhaging inside them and to seek the help of a primary care physician right away.
The next day the primary care physician ordered bloodwork to be drawn and that he see a retinal specialist. 
The next day his retinal specialist said he had diabetes and he would need laser surgery soon to quill the hemorrhaging. 
The next day, yesterday, as we were about to start purging the kitchen of foods he could no longer have, he received a call from his primary care physician saying his white blood cell count was extremely high and he needed to go to the ER immediately. So we rushed to the ER where they confirmed that his white count was so high and because of it they were suspecting leukemia. We were admitted last night and today we received a few preliminary answers.
The doctors do believe that he has leukemia (no diabetes), it looks most like it is chronic myeloid leukemia, which is the "best" to have of all the types found in adults. He's 27, a healthy man, and no family history that would cause concern resulting to this, and had no odd feelings physically, so this was quite unexpected. We are still in the hospital and will be for the rest of the week as tomorrow he will have a bone marrow biopsy and sonogram to confirm these findings and the results will take a few days to come back.

Now that we have a some preliminary answers it's a bit easier to not fear. We're also very thankful for God having given him this floater you get his attention and put him in the path of finding this early and that we're going through this now and not after the baby comes! I might not have been able to be here with him so much had this been even one week into the future! The Lord is so good and has given us both surprising strength for this and continues to amaze us with His faithfulness and sovereignty! I ask for continued prayer for a few things:
1. For the tomorrow's tests to go smoothly, that his discomfort and pain from the biopsy will be minimal and short-lived, and that the results will be clear to the doctors caring for him.
2. That the Lord will allow our baby to wait till until we leave the hospital to arrive. This is a loaded request, that the baby and I will stay healthy together as long as possible, that the hypertension will be divinely withheld from progressing, and that we can deliver at our birthing center instead of the hospital as previously planned and prepared for. 
3. That the Lord will provide the $5000 to meet the deductible for this hospital stay. We are members of a bill-sharing ministry that will most likely cover this growing bill but the first $5000 is our responsibility, which will be very difficult now that we're a single-income family, he's missing work, and the baby is so close to arriving.
4. That my husband's workplace will allow him to move to a more accommodating position within the company once he's released from the hospital.
5. That I as his wife will be patient, gracious, and encouraging as we go through the coming days of tests, treatments, bills, birth, baby care, etc. I just want to honor Christ with my thoughts, words, deeds, especially toward the man God gave to me.
6. That Jonathan will continue to be encouraged. Being in the hospital is no fun for anyone, and this is the first time he's ever been admitted, it can be easy to fall into despair, but so far that has not happened thanks to God for His many blessings He's already shown us.

May God receive all the glory for His work in us and may we walk through these trials with joy, fixing our gaze on Christ! He is still good!