In Sickness & Health, For Richer or Poorer

 

The above song is the groom's song played as Billy and his guys walked in to Kristi and Billy's wedding.  Billy didn't know how important and how real that song really would be for him.

 

I take you Kristina Dawn Nay to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer.......till death do us part.  Oh that is easy to say on your wedding day.  You think if that happens you will at least be 80 and then you'll do it...and it won't be hard.  Well, backspace about 44 years to 36 years old and facing for better or worse, in sickness and health...this is our son in law today.  And add to that.......he's a guy that doesn't like doctoring things or dentist things much anyway.   Well, let me say.......he has risen to the occasion!  We are very proud of him and his care of Kristina for these past two plus years of illness and scans and tests and doctors.  It's a road that no one understands when they head down it.  They just step out one foot at a time and hope they don't tumble off a cliff in the darkness of the uncertainty of this journey. 
I quote the first Dr she had that discovered this back in November 2010.  " I am sorry, but this is going to be a long, hard road."  What does that mean, where is this road going to take us, what are we going to go through?  What about our jobs, our children, our finances?  What about our future? Is this painful.........yes!)  But through it all you can endure and lot of people help you.  Thank you Billy for loving her through every step, just like you promised back in '97 in that pretty wedding in the church on the hill on a sunny day in Colorado! You said "I will be here"....and you have been by her side through every step. 

Love, George & Patsy

Thanks for "HOLDING OUR HANDS UP"

Here is a note Kristi wrote on her facebook  this morning:  

Friends, I just took an "alert moment" to catch up on life outside this hospital room. A heartfelt THANK YOU is not enough when seeing the massive amount of support and encouragement you are all coming forward with. I am so grateful for the way people are loving on my kids, my husband, myself and my entire family. What a beautiful thing to watch unfold as God uses his entire church to come together toward one cause. How humbling, but deeply appreciated. May someone pay it forward to you one day as you have been so gracious to us. — at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

I am reminded of a great story in Exodus 17:11-13 as I think of what Kristi has written and the battle she is fighting.  Also, the battle we as her caregivers are fighting to help bring Kristi back to health.  

 Joshua did what Moses ordered in order to fight Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. But Moses’ hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle.

As Kristi said, thank you to our extended family, The Body of Christ in many different communities, for holding our arms up in so many tangible ways!  
You have encouraged us and strengthened us and are helping us to not become defeated by this overwhelming battle!  

We Praise God for You!!  

These are pictures of Kristi getting out of her hospital room.  Mom has taken her upstairs to the observation room to look out over the night lights of downtown Houston, and Dad has taken her on a stroll to see the fish.  Today, they even wheeled her outside for a moment to get some fresh air.  Her wheelchair is kept at the proper angle for her to keep proper blood flow to her organs and to be less painful for all of her incisions.  Today, she walked twice as far as she has before and is learning more self-care.  
Worley and I look forward to seeing how much she has improved as we arrive tomorrow. 

Praise God From Whom ALL Blessings Flow

These were the final words at the end of a text from Kristi today.  We are all Praising God! Today we received the final pathology report.  It came back showing they were able to get clear negative margins on all sides of the cancer.  The smallest negative margin was 7 mm which they consider very good!   The cancer had infiltrated most of the vaginal cuff and had grown into the pelvic wall and tissues between the bladder and rectal wall.  This confirms the necessity of this radical surgery.

The day started out rough!  Dad had stayed the night with Kristi last night and once Kristi was asleep,  he ran quickly downstairs to get some coffee.  When he returned, Kristi had a headache and was feeling light headed and Dad saw blood all over her pillow.  Upon inspection by the nurse, they realized her IV Catheter in her neck had broken and she was losing blood.  It was a frightening moment for them all, but after checking her platelet count, they found that she did not need another blood transfusion.  (We are also glad Dad didn't have to get a bed right beside her because of fainting!! ha ha)

It took the morning for her body to recover from the blood loss, but by afternoon she was able to walk again and went twice as far as yesterday!!  Go Kristi Go!!  She also was able to eat some peach nectar, broth, yogurt and a cracker today so this is great improvement.  She continues to have daily training with the occupational and physical therapists.  Pray that God will gaurd Kristi's heart and mind as she adjusts to her new normal with food and physical limitations.

Please pray specifically for her as they took her off of intravenous pain medications today and began to try new medications that can be given orally.  This transition of medications are making her feel restless and causing some other side effects.

I was able to go see Isaiah and Alyssa last night with Josh and Katy before flying home today.   Isaiah proudly showed us his report card and we all celebrated with him.  Alyssa showed me what she got for her birthday and was most excited to show me her fish from her Mom, her candy bouquet (which still does have a little candy on it) and her Easy Bake Oven.   Then Alyssa and Jackson sang and danced for us and did a show on the "fireplace stage" as they always do.  It was good to see them.  They had been able to Skype with Billy and Kristi on Tuesday night and that had helped them tremendously. Technology is a gift in this case.   We are so grateful for Billy's Mom, Leona, for helping keep their lives as stable as possible without their parents.  Josh and Katy and Close Friends have helped get them to basketball and dance and gave the kids a really fun weekend!

Billy returns home tomorrow and they are both excited to see him.  They loaded me up with pictures and letters for me to deliver on Monday when Worley and I return to Houston.  Pray for Billy and all of us as caretakers that we will stay healthy.  We have all gotten ran down some and are fighting off different things.

As I end this update.  I think of the song "I will Praise You in the Storm".  Today we got good news, but it is good news in the middle of a very big storm.  Thank you for strengthening us all as we continue to praise God in this storm of cancer and this rare and life altering surgery.

 Because of HIM,  Danina and the Wright & Nay Families

.http://youtu.be/uHdcyue0bSw

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a far away land there were three little girls running through the green grass and the wildflowers on the hillside.  They were happy and carefree.  They lived in the beauty of the green valley among grazing sheep and cows that sometimes scared them but Dad said not to worry about.   They had a cat they dressed up in doll clothes and usually a dog and two sets of grandparents living nearby and some aunts and uncles and cousins and friends.  Just like so many families. The two older girls watched over their little sister and cared for her and made sure no harm came to her in this green valley.

The picture in the green valley with little girls running around outside playing in the sprinkler or climbing the hillside came to my mind many times this past week as I watched as Kristi's two sisters cared for her in this new and strange environment of endless Dr appointments and tall rising medical buildings, pain meds, oxygen and white coats and tubes and nurses.  The three little girls are all now the same age it seems.  Any one of them could take care of the others and no doubt there will be opportunities to do so.  Kristi struggled through her darkest hour and came out on the other side in a Safe Haven of those who loved her since her very first days.  Mom

Moving Onward....in amazement!

As Danina and I drove into my home town we both noted how odd it feels to go from the MD Anderson world to everday life, it's hard to mesh the two.  Life does not have a pause button and you have to keep up. In this season of my life it seems very rare to have a dull let alone a quiet moment, however, today I find myself at home with a sick boy rather than at bible study.  As I sit here listening to the music of hammers out my window as my brother and the JBU boys hang sheet rock I find it surreal that life has this way of moving onward - yet my heart stays with my sister who lays in her bed and fights for a new normal in life. Fights for Strength to just sit up and walk, to breath at a normal rate....before Danina and I left she said "who knew breathing would be such hard work?!"  She had a rougher day yesterday (2/5) with her pain management and little sleep as she had heavier traffic than normal in her hospital room.  The physical therapist came to bring her a walker and a wheel chair that reclines so she can sit up a little more... this alone is a miracle. The initial treatment for her post surgery was that she would be unable to sit for almost 3 months but due to the fact they they did the incision horizontally versus vertically she is able to have more movement than we had anticipated.  The Occupational therapist also came and made her a compression type belt that wraps around her stomach to give her support and she feels that has made a huge difference in the pain when she is up and moving. Yesterday she walked about 20 feet beyond her hospital door!!  Her ostomy nurse stopped by to assist in the training as well as her regular check ups from the breathing team, the acute pain doctor and her nurses.  Doctor Levenback also came in for a visit.  He told her he tends to always vow to never do one of these surgeries after he's completed one. They are hard surgeries to do and for the patient to recover from but she had the best of the best with the 4 top doctors working on her.  He told her that typically after such a surgery the patient gets depressed and stops trying but he sees that Kristi is a strong girl who has a large support system and a deep faith as he took note of the verse hanging on her wall “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 As many of you know we have faithfully prayed that Kristi's story would be a testimony to all who enter her room and despite her pain and suffering she continues to be a light for Jesus... in my friends words "though her adversity is great she inspires others to question who this Great God in her must be!"  

Today (2/6) is a new day with new hope and new beginnings!
Lamentations 3:22-24
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

She has already taken a walk this morning for about 150ft and had a shower! They are hopeful they can remove the tube draining her stomach today.... if not they will need to begin to feed her intravenously. Kristi would love to get that tube out of her nose so pray her stomach gets to moving and can handle the fluids in it without making her nauseous. 

As always grateful for all your prayers and support!  Kristi is a strong girl who's stubborness pays off :)  She's bound and determined to win this battle and she does it with a smile!   Amy

'..Dare to be Amazing'...This is our new theme.  She will be amazing from Here to Eternity.  As she was today taking lessons on a new way of life and she will be tomorrow as she pushes through all that needs done to move on through this month.  This is not a "walk in the park" as they say, but we will be walking a path of determination and she will reach the finish line! 

Sunday, February 3rd - Day 3

Today was an emotional parting as Amy and I left Houston for Arkansas. It was sooooo hard to leave Kristi, as well as, Dad and Mom and Billy.  We prayed and thanked God for His Faithfulness and His "Daily" sufficient grace.  It has been good for us all to be there and help carry the weight.  Wow is it tiring to sit in the hospital for 10-12 hours a day.  We have a new understanding and compassion. 

 Kristi has had a hard day.   Overall,  Kristi is still doing so well considering all she has been through and the trauma to her body.  The blood flow to the reconstruction is looking good and  overall her body is healing little by little.  Much of the swelling throughout her body is going down each day.  She is strong physically and is a fighter.  Spiritually and mentally she stays clear minded and positive. 

However, the complications tied to her pain management are not keeping her as comfortable as all of her caretakers would like.  She has 4 types of pain medication.  Her epidural has been disconnected due to it being ineffective.  Her greatest pain is tied to the contractions in the abdominal wall.  A muscle relaxant was added and gives her great relief, but it causes her to go to sleep and her breathing becomes too shallow and at times her blood pressure gets too low.  This is very frustrating to her and to the nurses and pain team.  When the pain is manageable, the side effects become too serious for her.  Continue to pray for wisdom for the acute pain team, and for Kristi as she endures the physical pain.  It has been hard on all of us to watch her suffer and know we are helpless to comfort her.  She is still only able to have fluids through the IV and nothing to drink or eat until her bowels are alive and working again.  We were starting to see signs of this occurring today. 

Praise:  Her infection has cleared up with the antibiotics.  Continue to pray protection over infections.  Her hemoglobin was low again so she was given 2 pints of blood today.  This usually helps her feel much better.  She was able to sit up in a chair for about 20 minutes today which will help her lungs and get her body working.  They wanted her to walk from her old room to a new room, but she was not feeling well enough to do this today.  They moved her next door where there is a murphy bed in the wall for whoever stays the night.  Billy stayed last night and let Mom get a good night's sleep.  There was little sleep due to her shallow breathing setting the machines off all night. 

Kristi's day has ended better than it began with her sitting up in a chair for about 20 minutes and with Julia and her family (She has 3 siblings) coming to visit her.  Julia prayed for Kristi. Her parents told us that she will often go up to people and ask if she can have a word of prayer with them.   Remember to pray for Julia and check out her story!  http://jucan.cc

  

Tomorrow will be a busy day with several Dr.'s seeing her and some training will begin for ostomy care.  Pray Kristi can get up and move around tomorrow, and for continued healing. 

Her room number and mailing address has been added to the top right of this blog.  Once again, we feel  the strength and peace from your prayers and have been impacted by your care.  What a hard journey full of lots of blessings!!

 We have placed pictures in front of her to keep her motivated! 

 Thank you Danielle May and Family for the purple pictures for us 

to decorate her room with!   Danielle also has set up the facebook page  Team Kristi Prayer Warriors .

This glowing green pain med button makes Kristi so happy!  

She can only push it when it glows!  : )  She sure would like it to glow 

more often sometimes!