Wednesday, February 27, 2013

"One Day at a Time"

Better get a cup of tea....I'm updating for a few days so will be long....................
Last week my Mother in Law sent me the words to the song "One Day at a Time". 

Today, my Mom wrote on her Facebook, "My daughters are passing in the air....Danina coming in and Katy going out in Houston! I am so proud of my family for giving selflessly of their time to help our "Kristi" get better. And my honey has been steadfast in Houston keeping up with all that is required. " You can do it Kristi, one step and then the next and then breath, take one step and then the next and breath. "....... One day at a time. Lord give her the strength to do every day what she has to do!"

Then today's devotional from Jesus Calling said, "Your gravest danger is worrying about tomorrow.  If you try to carry tomorrow's burdens today, you will stagger under the load and eventually fall flat.  You must discipline yourself to live within the boundaries of today.  It is in the present moment that I walk close to you, helping you carry your burdens.  
Keep your focus on MY Presence IN THE PRESENT!" 

We have needed this perspective.  All of us!   

Kristi, because she is feeling bad much of the time right now,  and the thought of a year's recovery sounds unbearable in some moments.  She continues to say, "This already feels soooo long!"  Her pain, fatigue, no appetite, and constant battle with nausea leave her in a place where she doesn't feel good enough to read, converse much, write, color,  do word puzzles, or sometimes even watch a movie or listen to music.  This makes the days go by very slow.  

As caretakers, we need this perspective because we are tired.  Physically tired from all the travel and covering the basis at home. Physically tired because care has required little sleep for numerous reasons.   Mentally and Emotionally tired from walking with Kristi through much suffering.  We have needed this perspective as we have made plans to care for Kristi, and then it seems everything changes.  Delays!  I personally needed this perspective as I drove in from Arkansas on Sunday and was supposed to leave Tuesday to fly to Houston.  Instead, God gave me two days of rest as our home was hit with a huge blizzard and my flight was cancelled.  While I enjoyed being "snowed in" and resting, I was worried about getting to Houston.   I needed to arrive in time to offer the 2nd set of hands that are needed to move Kristi,  and to be the female present as Katy was flying out this morning.   God worked out the details and I was able to get on a 6:00a.m. flight this morning and my taxi was pulling up to MD Anderson for Kristi's Dr.'s appointments within 30 minutes of Katy's shuttle taking her to the airport.  Katy needed this perspective as she was grieving as she left Kristi in pain at her CT Scan and returned to her normal life of caring for her two little boys!   John and Aunt Amy have been taking turns caring for Jackson and Caden.  


As I pulled into MD Anderson today I thought about the two worlds we are all living in and even how the weather and creation reminds us of that!!

Leaving the Winter of West Texas
Arriving to the Summer Blooms of Houston Texas
 It was an early morning for all.  I got up at 3:45a.m. and Dad, Katy and Kristi were up at 4:30 a.m.  They left for the May's Clinic at MD Anderson this morning at 5:40am. for Kristi to begin the long process of having her CT Scan.  It was a rough process being nauseous and needing to drink the barium sulfate for the scan.  It was a painful process having to lay on the hard table for the scan. Katy left Kristi during this process and had to give herself a pep talk to leave Kristi while she was struggling.  I arrived just as they were leaving the scan and heading to see Dr. Levenback.

Kristi's CT Scan showed that she has a partial obstruction in her small intestines.  Because it is not a complete obstruction, they want to wait and give it time to resolve itself.  They said in most cases, this will occur apart from surgery.  Please PRAY for this specifically.  It is making her very miserable and sick.  They think that this may be what is causing her nausea and would explain the reason for her nausea becoming worse at night due to more food being trapped.  We are to put her on liquid and low fiber diet to let the intestine rest.

The scan also revealed that there is still fluid in the abdomen where she was treated last week for the blood clot and infection.  There were no signs of another blood clot.  It is much less fluid, but still concerning so they will leave the drain tube in her abdomen and keep her on the antibiotic until the drain tube is removed.  We are to continue to monitor the amount of fluid.  They were also able to remove two stints that were in her kidneys today that they believe may be the root cause of her back pain.  There are some slight complications with her reconstruction, but they also believe that will heal itself as the fluid is removed.  Please pray for the fluid to continue to diminish, for healing and against infection.  

Over the past two days, 4 Dr.'s have examined Kristi and have discussed all of this.  Today, while waiting in the room while they were talking, we prayed that God would unify them in their decision regarding her returning to Arkansas.  Kristi is anxious to return home, but fearful to return too soon because no one there would understand or know how to treat her.  The Dr.'s feel some concern as well, but also feel that returning home will help her with her overall recovery.  Please pray with us that over the next two days God will clearly reveal what we need to do (Psalm 32:8) The Dr.'s suggested we watch her over the next couple of days on a new diet and see if we see improvement or see her get worse.  If she is the same, or improved, we can take Kristi home on Saturday.  Pray also as we are looking into an Angel flight for cancer patients because Kristi is too weak, sick, and in too much pain to drive.  If we can arrange this, I would fly home with her, and Dad would drive the car.

Pray she can drink a lot of fluids to combat the antibiotics and many other medications she is taking! 



Today was a 10 hour day with probing and prodding from the techs doing the CT Scan, and visits and exams with 3 Dr.'s, an ostomy nurse, a social worker, and a psychologist.  The picture below perfectly illustrates the impact of this day!!   I left Dad and Kristi waiting on her prescriptions in the pharmacy and went to make her next Dr. Appointment, and when I returned I found them BOTH sound asleep!
"The Patient and The Care Giver"

It is good to see how God goes before Kristi.  Today, as we were sitting in the waiting room, a woman about 60 years old came over to Kristi and said, "I think we have the same thing".  She then proceeded to tell us she was seeing Dr. Levenback and he had told her that he had someone coming today who was only a month out of the Full Pelvic Extenuation.  She told Dr. L that  she was going to find her.....and she did.  She told Kristi how rough the recovery is, but that she is 3 years out now and is full of life again.  She encouraged Kristi that she will feel better again, and she will adjust to her new normal.  Ten minutes later,  another woman around 35 gave Kristi her name to contact as well.  She was 11/2 years out and said to contact her.  Amidst feeling so bad, it was an encouragement to see them both walking and having energy since Kristi sits in a wheelchair and only walks with a walker.  They did not have all that Kristi has had done in the same manner, but its the closest Kristi has found to having someone who has gone before her to talk with.  
Praise God for this picture of recovery for Kristi on a day she felt discouraged! 



"
One day at a time, sweet Jesus,"
 That's all I'm asking from You

Give me the strength to do everything that I have to do!


Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus--And tomorrow may never be mine.

Help me today,  Show me the way--
"One day at a time"

Living "One Day at a Time" in God's Grace and Strength......
Kristi and her Care Givers! 



4 comments:

  1. What do I say? Tears are streaming down my face knowing the pain, exhaustion, frustration, and anxiety Kristi is experiencing and you are living beside her. Yes, take it one day at a time. Take refuge in Him. Take strength from Him. Take peace from Him.

    Much love and prayers,
    Brian Hyde

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  2. The picture of George and Krist, brought tears to my eyes, that is a bone deep exhaustion... We remember to pray everyday for you all!!!! Melanie

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  3. Praying for all of these requests and trusting the Lord to meet even your greatest needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. And praising Him for the encouragement of others in the waiting room today--He is faithful in all circumstances, even as our hearts break for Kristi and the pain and suffering she is enduring. You are all in our prayers! We love you, Kristi!

    Love,
    Marissa

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  4. So much pain and weariness. So overwhelming. We are so thankful God has given today, a timely devotion and a song and brought seasoned travelers to share encouragement and hope. God is faithful and full of mercy. Our hearts are heavy with concern as we pray and wish we could do more. We love you all so much!! Blessings and Hugs, Leon and Jeanie

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