prayers for Keagan Alberts

Hello Deqlans prayer army

I was stunned yesterday to get an invitation on facebook to pray for a little guy called Keagan

We actually met Keagan about 4 months into his treatment for leukimia and were thrilled to hear that he was really doing well and in remission

Unfortunately Keagan relapsed and is not doing well at the moment , we need to ask for lots and lots of prayers for him and his family - please see latest update from his facebook page

God Bless and thank you
Love Samm

07/05/09"After more bloodtests, his white bloodcell count has almost doubled, which means that the cancer has spread. His doctor expects that this will normalise after one or two more treatments, but that's all it is: an expectation and not a guarantee. I am hanging on by hope and faith, by God and His promises in the bible. I choose to believe in God's report and not in the doctor's report, or the report of the blood test. Please, pray for little Keagan." I thank you with all my heart.Shireen----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25/05/09"The past 3 weeks have been absolute turmoil and very distressing, yet at the same time we have received strength from our Almighty God to face the challenges, and we received MIRACLES TOO!!!I'll briefly summarise what has happened in the past few weeks: I mentioned earlier that we had decided to try alternate treatment before going ahead with the stemcell transplant, which is our "last chance". The alternate methods were not successful and on Thursday, 7 May (about 3 weeks ago) we almost lost Keagan. We were informed by another doctor that IPT (insulin potentiation therapy) would be the answer and although Keagan could not be cured, the symptoms could be treated in this way. At the same time we were told that if his white blood cells continued to multiply at the rate that they did at that specific stage, Keagan had a week left to live. After hearing this devastating news, the "new" treatment (IPT) was administered. That was on said Thursday morning. Afterward we went home. Keagan was limp and slept on the way home. Once we arrived home he started to cry incessantly about stomach pain and headaches. At times he would drift off to sleep, but when he awoke the crying - and eventually screaming - would start all over again.I phoned friends and family, asking for them to come to our home to pray for our little boy. Keagan had a pungent smell on him from the treatment. Later that evening, and after everybody had come to pray for him, we rushed him to the hospital. He was in a critical state and his paediatrician feared kidney failure. On Friday morning his doctor told me that it was a miracle that Keagan had "made it" through the night and that his kidneys had suffered no damage. At the time I didn't fully understand what the doctor was saying. 2 days later, we had a discussion with the oncologist (we had obviously decided that IPT and "alternate" treatment was NOT the answer) so Keagan was back with his original doctor who had been treating him since he was diagnosed. He told us that Keagan was "busy dying" on that Thursday evening. Kidney failure seemed inevitable then, and the doctors had feared the worst. Only then did the reality really sink into my mind. Also, the cancer had spread to his liver, kidneys, spleen and a lumbar punch would be done to assess whether it had spread to the brain.The miracle is this: KEAGAN LIVED THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT, 7 MAY. I know now that if God had wanted to take our son, He would have done so on that evening. Another miracle is that he suffered NO kidney damage whatsoever. The swelling in his abdomen as a result of enlarged organs (kidney, liver and spleen), has also subsided and doctors say that is a good sign. (These organs become enlarged and painful when the cancer has spread to them). Furthermore, Keagan had 99% blasts (cancer cells) throughout his body. Now, after chemotherapy, the blasts are too few to show up on blood tests. The lumbar punch has also yielded negative results, which means there is no cancer in the spinal fluid / brain. At this moment Keagan is in hospital again. His white blood cell count is very low, as well as his immune system. This is due to the chemo, but is a normal occurrence. An infection is being treated, although I await blood test results to prove what kind of infection it might be. He became feverish this afternoon (Sunday) with a temperature of above 38. He is being treated with antibiotics and is stable. A blood platelet transfusion will be given tomorrow (Monday) during the day.It is expected that Keagan will be in complete remission within the next month or two. After that we will be going to the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town where he will undergo the stemcell transplant. Doctors say he has approximately a 30% success rate. I know and believe that he has 100% chance at success, because he is totally in God's loving hands. He, who loves this little boy more that I ever could.I cannot begin to explain how great our God is. He really listens to our pleas, prayers and He sees our sorrow, pain and tears. It is not His will for these things to happen, but He most definately carries us through the challenging events that happen in our daily lives. So often we pray and plead to God to help us, yet at the same time our thoughts and minds are sometimes distracted by the negativity around us. I have found that the more I pray and try to stay focused on God, the more distractions present themselves. They come in small ways and big ways, but that just makes me pray more fervently, more often, more intensely. Satan will always try to find some way to blind you or to make you loose faith, hope and belief. But he can only do that if you allow him to. I choose to keep my mind, heart and focus on God our creator. He is in control, always has been and always will be. Again I want to thank you all for your continued prayers and thoughts for our son, and also for us as a family. Words cannot express my gratitude. I am so thankful that there are so many kind, loving and caring people who come together in prayer before God, as brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for your e-mails, sms's, phone calls, and so forth. You have no idea how much it means to me, and it makes me realise all the more that we are not alone in this situation. Thank you for sharing our burden, and for being there to comfort us in all the ways that each of you do. A million times: THANK YOU!!May God bless each and every single person out there, may He guide you, protect you and keep you safe in the palm of His hand."With all my loveShireen