ER Trip/Arkansas

Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.  
--Isaiah 40:30-31

We were all weary and tired before this week started, and yet God has entrusted another tiring and hard week to Kristi and her Care Givers.  We are counting on God's promise in Isaiah and holding onto the fact that God never grows weary or tired and He can sustain us all.   (Isaiah 40:28)  

We "were" having a good week.  Alyssa was baking in her easy bake oven for her Mom and all of us, the kids came in after school and were telling Kristi about their day, and I was organizing all the food those of you have so generously helped provide for the Wright Family.  Then we got the dreaded phone call from the home health nurse.......
"We would like you to go to the Emergency Room"

Kristi had a flare up with her partial blockage in her intestine on Sunday and has continued to produce more fluid from her drain tube  as well as producing evidence of an infection in the fluid.   I called her local Dr first thing yesterday morning to get an appointment, but after the home health nurse came and talked to Kristi's Dr. in Houston and Springdale, it was determined we needed to take her to the Emergency room for cultures and scans.  I knew she feared this happening and being away from her Dr.'s and MD Anderson.  I called the Dr. right away to make sure the ER was the necessary route.  It was!!!  We both wanted to cry!!!  And Kristi did some as the evening progressed.  She had another small loss to grieve.  I prayed with her and we set our minds in the necessary direction. 

Kristi was feeling so rotten, that the thought of even getting out of bed and getting ready to go to the ER sounded daunting.  I called Katy about coming to help me.  We were so grateful that my daughter Elise was with me.   She quickly rose to the occasion and kept her cousins so Katy could help me load her and take her and a neighbor helped with Isaiah and Alyssa until Elise could be home to help them get to bed.  Thank you!!   Billy and Josh left work and met us there to help get her into the hospital with all of her "equipment and loads of pillows" it takes for her to sit or lay comfortably.   Some friends brought us dinner and we said we would sing Happy Birthday to Josh as we ate our food at the kiddie tables in the ER.  He preferred we DID NOT!!! 

We did her CT Scan in the middle of the night and began moving forward with the Infectious Disease Dr.'s orders to start her on 4 antibiotics while we wait for the cultures to determine the exact source and type.  Her white blood cell count should have been high due to the culture from the drain tube, but it was normal.  I initially thought this was a good sign, but they said it isn't because she has an infection somewhere and her body is not showing signs of trying to fight it off.  She hasn't had a fever or elevated blood cell count.  This could mean there is a possible abscess of infection hiding out somewhere. She is very nauseous and uncomfortable and this is also discouraging.  This afternoon, she will have an MRI.  Dad came to stay with her so I could take a nap after being up most of the night.  They are still working to determine the source of the infection.  

Please pray that they will be able to locate the source and treat it here locally.  The thought of transferring her back to MD Anderson for treatment is overwhelming.  She wants to stay home.  The Dr.'s have said they need to be able to treat her in the least invasive manner due to her surgery.  Pray for this as well.  Pray that the blockage in her intestine clears up and allows her to eat.  She has now lost 20 lbs since her surgery (which she isn't really complaining about : )  ......just didn't want to do it this way!

Josh and Katy helped me get Kristi's wheelchair in that could recline so
I could maybe rest a little as we waited for her to drink two of those terrible 
bottles of liquid for her scan.  I really don't know why they bother putting pretty 
pictures of fruit all over the bottle.  It doesn't help AT ALL!!  She could only get down a small
amount due to intestinal pain and nausea, but they did the scan anyway.

Billy came by at 11p.m. after work to see Kristi and Pray for her.  He had to go home to rest for work and get the kids off to school in the morning.

We will keep you posted as we know.  

Week One @ Home

Week One's Caretakers

Week one is Complete! She's been home for seven days and it's been fairly uneventful. We've spent time getting in to a rythym at home. Its taken a number of us to care for her this week as we are trying to find the balance between caring for her and our own homes, lives, and jobs. Billy has been great at taking the night shift after returning home from work around midnight and on through until he leaves again for work the next day at 11am. The rest of us have taken our shifts in and out of the home to provide for her daily needs.

Leona returned for the week to help care for the kids and was a great caretaker assistant to help out when we needed extra hands with Kristi. 

She is not liking the V8 juice

Doing Mini Squats, not her favorite exercise

Home health  and PT came once this week to do an evaluation on how to care for Kristi.  This is a prayer need that her insurance will cover all that she needs and that the home health service we've chosen will be a good fit for her.   - Another challenge this week has been getting enough nutrients in her. She is good to drink her ensure and glycerna drinks to get the nutrients its just that her intake is very minimal maybe drinking one a day over a period of time. She was able to talk to Dr. Levenback on Friday who said we will not know if her small intestine has come un-kinked so she can begin to add others foods in and see how she does.  When I left her today she was battling some pain and nausea and she truly didn't add much back in so that feels a little discouraging.  Other areas of concern this week has been that her pelvic drain has changed in color and consistency as well as volume.  The doctors had hoped that it would begin to drop to about 10ml and we would be able to remove it but nsteaid of decreasing it is increasing by quite a bit.  She will try to see a local Gynecology Oncologist this week to see if we can get some answers to that.  Please pray with us that she'll be able to get in soon and that the drive there will not be a set back for her. 

Katy experienced  an adrenaline rush giving her first shot!  Joshua was glad she agreed to do it since neither one of them like needles!  Katy decided she might like to do that more often!  Do to the stinky pevlic drain we have all decided to done our pretty nursing masks when taking care of some of Kristi's needs! They are our latest fashion statement. 

As the week progressed on Kristi was able to leave her bed some and sit at the couch for an hour   and last Thursday when it was so beautiful she chose to sit outside and watch dad and Isaiah shoot baskets.

Danina and Elise arrived last night to take Week Two shift!       

At Home

Kristi and I on the plane

Yesterday I (Amy) had the Honor of escorting Kristi home. As Danina mentioned the day started off with an array of emtions for all of us.  As I awoke I felt the overwhelming sense  of joy at getting to board a plane that God had provided just two days ago, yet I also had an irrational fear of this plane crashing! I certainly recognized this as Satans tactic to rob me of my joy and asked my husband to pray with me and over me. At the conclusion of our prayer Rory Hosteter the pilot called to tell me we needed to take the smaller plane!  Oh MY! I told myself  "Here we Go Jesus!" You, me and Rory, and a good dose of Dramamine due to the fact that turbulence has a way of making me nauseous real quickly!  Rory himself was a gift to me as I know he and his wife personally, and have had the privilege of flying with him in the past - God knows about all things because two days earlier when we were attempting to connect with an Angel Flight pilot a sequence of events and phone calls led us to Rory and he was available.  Thank you Jesus for that gift to me and to our Family - I found myself from here on out being Grateful!
Grateful for the honor to fly with Kristi on her trip back home, grateful for a small plane that worked far better than even the bigger one in getting Kristi in and out of the plane with ease, grateful for sunny skies, grateful for a mainly smooth flight and for dramamine when it was turbulent, grateful that all my fears vanished after the gift of prayer with my husband. Grateful that God cares about all details.  He took care of the right plane, the right pilot, sleep for Kristi on the flight home, and even a hug for my mom! That morning my mom was struggeling being at home and not apart of either end of this trip with Kristi and told dad she needed a hug and he wished he could give it to her.  He prayed before leaving the apartment that God would show his love to her on that day.  That morning at church a young man came and gave mom a giant Hug and told her he felt she needed a Hug today!  God cares about all the details!

at her own sink

We arrived back in Arkansas safely! and I had the joy of escorting Kristi through her first night and day at home. We were nervous about how this day would unfold since it took her a couple days to recover from her day long visit last Wednesday to MD Anderson for follow up appointments. What we've all found along the way is that when we are with Kristi there is a sense of Peace that comes with that and it feels very natural to work alongside her to care for her needs.  We rolled into the normal rythym of taking care of her night time needs and we both crawled into bed being grateful that we were "home"! Today she awoke with antsy legs and tendon pain, all things we feel are due to the medication she is on, but she also awoke with a smile.... something all of us have come to appreciate through this journey with her.  Pain and trials can rob us of a lot of things, but it doesn't have to have the power to rob us of our smile or the inner peace that comes from Christ alone. We moved on through the day at a comfortable pace of taking care of drains, medicine, baths, walking, phone calls to home health care, rubbing legs and applying ice packs. It felt right to see Kristi standing at her own sink today.  This was her exercise for the morning to walk to the sink to brush her teeth and wash her face. Something she has not done for five weeks since leaving home. Just getting to brush your teeth at the sink and not in cup at your bed is a gift.  So many things we take for granted that she is gaining a whole new perspective about, as are we, as we walk beside her. All in all today was a Good Day to be at Home, physically and emotionally.  To be at rest in this place and at this time on the road to recovery.

As I left today I passed the baton of care to Terrie, a friend of Kristi's from the cancer posse. Thank you Terrie for filling the gap between myself and Katy, Josh and Dad as they arrive this evening to do their part of taking care of Kristi while Billy is gone to work.   I sure find myself often counting my blessings for this large team of care takers and that mom and dad decided years ago to birth themselves a basketball team worth of kids and to teach us the importance of making assists to one another in the game of life.



The Trip Home...March 3, 2013

We were not prepared for the contradictory emotions
that hit all of us yesterday with this transition......
Joy and Sorrow
Excitement and Anxiety
and all mixed with a deep Gratefulness!

Kristi was having a rough morning the day of her 
trip home.  She had a restless night due to pain
and side effects to medication. 
 Having her family all back together
and leaving cancer behind in Houston
kept her moving. 

The 20 min car ride to the airport confirmed how much we needed a plane ride to Arkansas!

Amy flew from Siloam with Rory to meet Dad and Danina to help
Kristi fly home to her family and friends!  She was
already in pain from the short road trip and had a rough start
to the plane ride, but then was able to go to sleep.  

Dad went back to finish loading the car up and started
his drive back to Arkansas.  He left a card of encouragement
for the next people and prayed for them as they start
their visit to Houston for Medical reasons.  As you can see...
there would not have been room for Kristi to drive home anyway!!  : )

Two very happy Children and Mom
to see each other when her plane landed.   It was a happy, but quiet reunion as the reality of the situation was a lot to take in for the kids and Kristi was exhausted and not feeling well.  

 Joshua is a handy brother to have around!  He built
this to help her move while in bed and get in and out more easily.  

Settled at home!  Thank you LORD!!  
Continue asking God with us to protect
Kristi from any further complications and to guard against infection.  Praying her obstruction in the small intestine resolves itself and that the fluid in her abdomen will continue to decrease.  Praying she can rest and heal and feel well enough to eat and hydrate as needed.  

We have a schedule for the month of March for Care Taking Organized.  Kristi says she is like taking care of a newborn baby around the clock...and that really is a little of what it is like!  I'm sure glad she can communicate and tell us what she needs ....unlike a newborn!!
  I told her yesterday as I was getting her ready to go to the plane that she was such a good patient.  She always remains kind and appreciative even when in great pain and misery.  

Prayer Requests for Travel Day

We have been busy packing up the apartment and getting Kristi ready to go home today.  She is anxious about the travel and the transition away from her Dr.'s and this controlled environment, but also looking forward to it.  Seeing her children and having her family back together will help in her recovery!

Pray for smooth and safe travel today.   It can be painful for her to go over a little bump in her wheelchair!  We are soooooo grateful for the flight home to make this travel and transition so much quicker.  However, there has been a small complication this morning, but we are praying God knows best what plane Kristi needs to be on.  (Amy posted on Team Kristi Prayer Warrior Facebook Page)

Dad was singing yesterday, "One "Moment" at a Time" because everything all day kept changing quickly with her home health care and travel.  Amy is now flying down with the pilot and we will meet her at the plane to get Kristi settled at Houston Hobby.  She will fly back with Kristi and I will get on a plane at 2:30 at Houston Hobby to return home. God provided for me a flight home on short notice through a cancer survivor friend of Kristi's.  Thank you!!!   Dad will start driving after he is finishes loading the car.  Pray for safety for all of us in travel as we are tired and there are a few unknowns...as always these days!!

Pray also for Kristi with her medication.  She has been having some very uncomfortable side effects from medication and we are trying to change some of that, but change also brings other side effects.

Isaiah and Alyssa are  extremely excited!  Pray Kristi feels well and has the energy after her travel to interact and enjoy them.  She is usually not in great shape after she has been upright and moving for a long period of time. Thanks to those of you who have the house clean and disinfected and her specific food needs all in place as she returns!  You are AWESOME!!  Thank you to the Elders of her church and the many others that are specifically praying today.  Thank you for trading cars with Billy so Kristi's travel can be easier once in Arkansas.  So many little details and God cares about each one...and so do you..... her cherished family, friends and prayer warriors.

Pray God will take all of her anxious thoughts captive!!  

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."  Isaiah 26:3

Celebrating......by faith!!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21

We are Praising God here in Houston for going before Kristi in incredible ways and for using many giving and wonderful people!! Kristi continues to say how humbled she is by all of the love and support. 

KRISTI HAS A PLANE RIDE HOME this Sunday!!!!  

BIG Thanks to Todd Simmons of Simmons Foods, Rory Hostetter for serving as the pilot, and Tammy Engle and Amy for all of their work coordinating!!! Thanks also to many of you who took the time to contact us with names and options and assist us in making this happen.  It is very hard to leave the security of being near MD Anderson so pray for Billy and Kristi as they make this jump of faith!  Maybe God knew we had to be "Kicked Out" of our security (i.e. our apartment being rented out to someone else on Monday and the Dr.'s believing that her going home and seeing her children will help her recovery in spite of the unknown with the complications).   

Kristi had the best time doing facetime with her kids today and telling them she would see them on Sunday.  Isaiah said,  "Mom, We have been praying for a plane to come get you so we could see you!"  They were both so excited! 

Kristi worked for Simmons Foods several years ago and they have blessed Billy and Kristi and their family in numerous ways through her employment, house fire, and again in this trial.  One person heard this news and said, "I will never buy anything but Simmon's Chicken from here on out!!" 

Kristi is doing better during the day, but is having a hard time in the evenings and is still unable to eat much without it affecting her.  She was able to see the Physical Therapist today and take a little walk and ride outside.  This is improvement, but sure wears her out!  

Kristi felt good enough to have the Physical Therapist
work with her today!  Doesn't she look so pretty today!! : )

And... Enjoy a little ride in the fresh air!

Home It Is..........Ready or Not!!!

According to Kristi, Wednesday was by far one of her roughest recovery days.  She was so sick and in a tremendous amount of pain when we got home from her long day of check-up appointments.   Thank you for your prayers.  God answered them!!  After midnight, we were able to give her medication with a protein drink and she was able to keep her medication down and get some relief from the discomfort tied to the partial obstruction in her small intestine.  She was able to sleep for a couple hours at a time without too much pain and nausea.

Yesterday morning when we got her up from the bed to try and help her shower for the home health nurse,  her entire body hurt and she felt so weak that she could not even stand for long.  This brought some tears of discouragement and fear.  As we settled  her back into bed, Dad and I felt helpless. We could not remove her physical misery and we understood her need to grieve. We have prayed for discernment regarding her symptoms, but did not know what to do.   As you have noticed from other posts by my siblings, it seems we all start rubbing her back or feet or legs when we feel helpless. : )   To keep up with tradition, Dad started rubbing her back and legs while I stood there wanting to cry.  Instead, I turned and grabbed two small pieces of paper out of her "Cup of Thoughts" a friend from her Cancer Posse had sent with her.  As I started to read these, Kristi stopped crying and a peaceful look covered her face and she even had a small smile by the end.  Thank you God for the Peace that comes only from Your Word!!!

The first was written as if from Jesus.  It said, "Do not let any set of circumstances intimidate you.  The more challenging your day, the more of MY POWER I place at your disposal. The degree to which I strengthen you on a given day is based mainly on two variables; the difficulty of your circumstances and your willingness to depend on Me for help. Try to view challenging days as opportunities to receive more of My POWER than usual.  Look to Me for all that you need, and watch to see what I will do.  As your day, so shall your strength be. " (Eph 1-18-20, Psalm 105, Deut 33:25)  (I told her this was going to be a day of amazing strength because her needs were HUGE!!)

The second note was entitled "Afraid" and held promises from God's word that became very true and personal to Kristi after their house burned down several years ago and God protected them.   It said, "Surely, You are my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  You are with me; You are my helper.  You will never leave me or forsake me.  You have called me by name.  When I pass through the waters, you will be with me.  They will not sweep over me. I can walk through fire and not be burned for I am precious and honored in your sight because you love me.  God, you are my refuge and strength; an ever present help in trouble.  Therefore, I will not fear, though the earth give way and mountains fall into the sea." (Ps. 118:6,7, Heb. 13:5, Isa 43:1-5, Ps. 46:1-2)

Kristi and Billy were concerned.  Our family has been concerned.  The Dr.'s released her to go home to Arkansas in spite of the partial obstruction and in spite of her fatigue, weakness, nausea, some vomiting, and fluid still draining from abdomen.  We had prayed they would be unified in their decision, and they were.  They felt that her "overall recovery" would occur best at home.  They know the piece of this that has to do with the mental and emotion are huge in recovery.  Going Home....Seeing her Children....will help.   They also know that in many cases these issues resolve themselves and this misery is part of the recovery.  They are concerned about her being far away from them, but also don't want her just waiting in Houston..."in case".

Because we were the ones with her when she was so terrible sick, I started asking God to please make it VERY clear if we were to leave Houston or stay.  We are ALL anxious about going so far away from her Dr.'s.  Yesterday, God answered this prayer and  gave us some CLEAR answers.

1.  Kristi improved as the day went on.  We were able to shower her late afternoon, she was able to eat and drink some without getting sick, and there was some passage through the intestine.

2.  I helped Kristi to email Dr. Levenbach and ask him to make contact with the original GYN Oncologist Kristi started with in Arkansas so that someone in Arkansas would understand what the situation was so Kristi would feel she had a local Dr.  By mid afternoon, Kristi received a call and he had already called him, mailed her medical records and gave Dr. Ivy his personal cell phone number to call.  (This was amazing when we know how busy Dr. L is and that is was taken care of so promptly and personally)  This gave Kristi and Billy...and the rest of us...much peace.

3.  The last CLEAR, answer to my prayer came when Dad got a phone call from the apartment manager and because they had not heard anything from us on Wednesday, they had rented our apartment to someone else.  They were to move in SUNDAY!  YIKES!!!  Dad calmly explained we had been at MD Anderson for 10 hours Tuesday and had a rough day and had not even thought about making contact.  He asked if we could pay for the other people to stay in a Hotel for the weekend.  The new people moving in for medical treatment agreed to come on Monday.

So...... We feel God has certainly and specifically and clearly answered this prayer, and also find comfort in God going before Kristi with the contact between Dr. Levenback and Dr. Ivy.

Prayer Requests:
Our next hurdle has been to find a private flight for Kristi home.  There is no way she can return home via ground transportation in her current condition.  Even if we took 3 days and did it slowly, getting in and out of the Tahoe every 1 1/2 hours to protect against blood clots would exhaust her and cause more pain and nausea.  Amy has been working on securing this flight via Angel Flights or other connections.  Please pray God will provide a flight by Sunday and for the finances for this flight.  (We are saving her one flight paid for by insurance for an emergency flight back to MD Anderson.  The Dr. said she will have to get here immediately if there is complete blockage or other complications that would require surgery.  No one else is to open her back up).

I will plan to fly with her, and Dad will make the 10 hour trip in the car if we are able to make these arrangements.

Continue to pray that her intestine obstruction goes away on its own and that there is no scar tissue causing this that would require surgery.

Pray for her strength of heart, mind and body, and that she will continue to be able to hydrate and get enough nourishment from her very limited diet right now.

Pray that the fluid continues to drain from her abdomen and against further infection.

Pray for Isaiah and Alyssa:  Billy is trying to prepare them for the wheelchair and walker and her being bed ridden and little energy to interact a lot.  We know they will probably expect her to be "herself" since she is getting to come home from the hospital because that is what they have experienced in the past.

Visitors at Home
We know many of you will be so excited to see Kristi and want to encourage her.  We are working to figure out what this will look like because of her fatigue and having to protect agains germs and infection.  We will try and post on this blog and the facebook page who the contact person for the week will be so you can call if you want to come visit.  We are going to ask that no children come initially and will need to monitor the timing of the adult visits around the many daily steps to Kristi's care and her rest.

Also, many of you are offering to be a care giver and Kristi is so honored and encouraged by your offers.  Much of her care at this point is very personal in nature so there will be family and a limited few that will be giving care to her directly.  However, my Arkansas sisters (Amy & Katy, along with Danielle May and Billy and Kristi's Community Group from church)  are making arrangements for many other opportunities for care in the home, with the children, etc..   We are trying to get organized.  Please be patient with us as we work out the best plan and as we have been told to be restrictive about visits for the first 2-3 months.  I'm sure it will continue to evolve as Kristi becomes more independent and will include more of you.  A year is a LONG Recovery and there will be time for many of you to help.

We do know that the travel home itself is going to exhaust her and experience has shown us that it will take a minimum of two days for her to rest and recover.  As stated earlier, we will post on the blog and facebook page the contact for the week, and will also post when she is ready to receive visitors.

Blessings to you all for your willingness to walk with the Wrights, and for the many ways you have sustained each of us on this journey.

Danina Kennedy