Roller Coaster of a ride!

Easter 2012

Sweetly Broken, Wholly Surrendered was the title of a post Kristi wrote a little less than a year ago. It's hard to believe all that's taken place in this last year.  As we approched Easter again I was taken back to last Easter Dinner when the Wrights were trying to decide if they wanted to come because they didn't want the whole dinner conversation to be over the fact that her cancer was back.... they were tired of the dark cloud hanging over all holiday celebrations and eating away at their day to day life as well.  Kristi remembers sitting in the family worship service that morning CHOOSING to celebrate our risen Lord despite the heart breaking news she had recieved previously that week.  Now a year later we look back at our Miracle in June when they found no invasive cancer and called off the surgery to God bringing her full circle and the cancer rearing its ugly head again and her needing to do the full Pelvic Exenteration this January.  As she lays in her hospital bed today at MD Anderson seeking prayer for strength and endurance because this road to recovery is feeling Soooo long, she still CHOOSES to Worship her Risen King.  Yesterday (Easter Morning) she recorded an Easter message and texted it to us, Her family,... and sang Because He lives I can Face Tomorrow - So very True for all of us.  We do not know what tomorrow holds but we do know WHO holds our hand.

Kristi's " anonymous surprise" tangible encouragement for Easter
that you all had prayed for with us! 

Dad and Kristi's Easter Feast 2013

Dad and Kristi had a very Non-traditional Easter Celebration in the hospital room - How grateful I am God is not limited to the walls of our church buildings, He meets us where we are! Dad had hospital fine dining of spinach and parmesan stuffed leg of lamb with lemon and carrots, along with roasted root vegetable salad with goat cheese and balsalmic vinegar and a roll. For dessert he had a chocolate bowl filled with light lemon cream filling with berries on the top!  Kristi had peppered cottage cheese with a side of grape popcicle and freshly brewed iced tea!  An Easter celebration they will neither one forget. We all felt the miles between us but continue to have much to be thankful for as we recall all the ways the Jesus has shown himself to each and everyone of us over the past year. We may not always understand Him but we are strengthend by His presence in the midst of these circumstances.

Like the last year this day has been a roller coaster.  When dad arrived this morning to make sure all was a go and that each doctor was sure to get what they needed from the CT Scan they discovered via Dr. King (Dr. Levenbacks fellow) that Kristi would not have a CT scan today. She said that after looking at the white blood cell count, the drain output, no bacteria in the new cultures and no fever they did not see a reason clinically to do another scan. Although this is some what a sigh of relief there is still that underlying fear that we do not know what is causing the infection to start with. Dad expressed his concern that the infectious disease Doctor had felt on friday that Kristi would need to do another scan and Dr. King agreed to discuss it with Dr. L. The day moved on with a visit from her PT  whom we lovingly call chatty cathy :)  She gave Kristi a work out doing a performance test and what they told us was a bird balance - I personally am excited to see Kristi do the bird balance - tomorrow she is planning to take Kristi to the gym so Kristi has been pushed and is moving right along with her PT.   She also had a visit from the dietician today who was alarmed at Kristi's malnourishment and told her she needs to be eating 1400 caleries a day or they will begin to feed her via a tube.  Dad says she ate more in one meal after that visit than she's eaten in three days! The afternoon concluded with a quick visit from Dr. L who is feeling rushed for time after being out all last week and said he'd be back to see her tomorrow.  The infectious disease doctor came back by and in fact said YES he does need a CT scan to check the infectious pockets and to make sure drain is in the right location and perhaps if she needs more drains to determine the right location for them.  He said he would order the scan for tomrrow. Dad headed back to the hotel to wash clothes for he and Kristi only to get notified that they'd come back in and told Kristi her CT scan was scheduled for tonight at 9:30.   As of now she has drank 3/4 of her first bottle and feeling very nauseaous as she's trying to sip the rest of it away. 

MD Anderson is wanting to make sure that when they send Kristi home it is to her home and not back to the Arkansas Hospital for long term care.  We are ALL in agreement for that. They do feel like the antibiotic they put her on after she first arrived worked as her drain has dropped to only having 10ml of fluid. This is huge as it was producing between 80-100ml at one point. Also as they did a new culture it did not grow the bacterias as it had here.  She took the last of that antibiotic (or as Kristi called it Poison) on Friday night and she has felt better since then.

In the Grip of His Grace,  Amy (for us all)