April 14th - a week at home

Kristi has completed her first week at home after spending 24 days in the hospital.  We've noticed a number of differences since she was ushered away to a local hospital a little over a month ago

• she's able to get in and out of her bed all by herself and has gone to the kitchen to get her own drink just needs someone to carry it back to her room for her.
• she no longer uses the wheel chair around the house
• she's able to make 3 laps around the inner circle of her home where before she barely walked to her kitchen and back - she's even caught herself taking off walking without her walker a few times - although her PT told her to keep it close!
• she no longer has a need for a home health nurse and is more independant in taking care of her personal needs
• she's more alert, sleeps less and even reads once in awhile
• she is off her pain medication
• she's has no food restrictions on her diet - she still rarely feels like eating due to the continued nausea
• she had a couple days this week she didn't even take a nap

She has certainly enjoyed being back in her own home.  Another praise this week has been her PT.  He was very dedicated to hearing her story and understanding what her needs/goals are.  Some things she's going to be working toward is the ability to sit at the kitchen table while her family eats and being able to stand up for five minutes (at MD Anderson they had her stand for 2 minutes and that felt very hard)   This would allow her to stand at her sink to do her hair and bursh her teeth etc. Kristi's muscles have atrophied greatly in size and length and due to shrinking in length this makes it hard for her to sit very long or be able to lay flat in her bed.  These are goals she will begin to train her body to do again as well.  However if she does not keep enough nutrients in her body all the physical therapy in the world will not help her because her body will not have what it needs to recover.  Nausea continues to be a battle due to the high powered antibiotics that she is on.  She has also battled significant restlessness all week due to the side effects of one of the anti-nausea meds. Her home health nurse referred to her as a jitter bug! We are hopeful that tomorrow we will hear back from MDA about another anti-nausea medication, by alleviating the one to help with the restlessness it is not enough to keep the nausea at bay and her from getting sick by the days end. The hardest part of her day is between 6-9pm - the restlessness and nausea rare their ugly heads the worst during this time frame and she ends up throwing up. At times the nausea scares her as this was the indicator before that the infection was back - the difference we see this time around is that overall she feels good where as before her whole body felt bad.

Prayer requests as we enter week two at home:

• A new anti-nausea medication that works without making her super sleepy or restless
• the ability to get all the nutrients she needs to help her body heal
• peace of mind - that she would take captive any thought that leads to fear/worry
• pray against the return of any infection
• pray against discouragment at how long the recovery feels already for her whole family
• Alyssa caught a nasty stomach bug this weekend - pray it does not spread throughout the rest of the family - pray for Kristi's mommy heart that grieves when she can't take care of her kids
• keep Billy in your prayers as he leads his family and feels stretched in many directions
• pray for the caretakers as we manage our own homes and assist Kristi in her recovery and caring for her home

We would also like you to pray for our new little 8 year old friend we made at MDA - we mentioned her in a previous blog but Julia (who is loving called JuCan) was told a little over a week ago she was cancer free only to discover that her cancer may have returned in her knee.  Tomorrow she will undergo a biopsy that will reveal whether it is an infection in the bone or if ewings sarcoma has rared its ugly head in her little body again.  The battle against cancer is wearisome - Julia's grandmother has also been re-admitted this last week to MDA due to her own cancer.  You can read her story at www.JuCan.cc  We know we are not alone as we walk this cancer journey - God has called many of you to walk it too.  We are praying for each of you and for a cure for cancer.  Another young mom from our home town, Toni, fights for life and the chance to be mom to her children. She currently is seeking a second opinion and asking others to pray for a miracle.  Please join us in praying for these two families. 

Grateful we can join together as one and cover each other in prayer. Tonight I will close with a Psalm where David waits on God and encourages others to put their trust in Him rather than in their own human strength.  

Find Rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from Him. 

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to Him,

for God is our Refuge!

Ps. 62:5-8

Tonight whether you're like Kristi and waiting on the healing process or JuCan who waits for another diagnosis or Toni who waits on a miracle may you find strength for today and hope for tomorrow through Jesus alone.    ~Amy