Home Tomorrow?

Christen has done well through this last round of chemo treatment, which they administered on Friday. She is still in the hospital, though we are hopeful that she will be able to come home sometime tomorrow. Tomorrow morning will make 2 weeks straight that she and Debbie have been in the hospital. If Christen is able to come home tomorrow then we will have 3 full days together as a family before she goes back in for her next chemo (methotrexate) on Friday. We have 3 birthdays to celebrate (Isaac, Hannah, and Jordan) and an egg-hunt, which was missed over Easter, to fit in. Should be fun! :-)

April will be a big month for Christen. The tentative date for the knee surgery (in which the tumor will be removed and an endoprosthesis will be put in her leg) is April 15th. We will be in Philadelphia for probably 7 days. She will also go back for another round of the cisplatin, which is the "difficult" (they are all difficult, but some more so than others) chemo treatment. After the April cisplatin treatment she will have only one more of those left. The other chemo drugs she has received are difficult but not nearly so as the cisplatin, so we hope that the worst will be over once the cisplatin is completed.

Her tumor will be evaluated after the surgery to determine how much of it was killed by the chemo treatments. We are hoping that more than 90% of the tumor will have been killed since that is considered a good response, and indicates a much better long-term prognosis. The tumor response will also potentially determine how much more chemo she will receive after the surgery, and what kinds of chemo drugs they will administer.

So many folks have given us encouragement and support. Please know that we are so very thankful for all of it, and God has indeed used it to encourage us. He has shown Himself (and often through you guys) to be the ever-present and loving God through these days of trial and tears. They haven't been easy, but He has never forsaken us, or left us alone. We certainly have deserved to be forsaken, but His grace through Jesus is greater still than all our sin. What an amazing foundation we can rest on.

Steve & Debbie

PICC Line

Christen will be staying in the hospital to start her next round of chemotherapy on Friday. This means that she will in the hospital until at least this Sunday, and likely Monday.

She is doing well, all things considered. She had a PICC line inserted today in preparation for the next round of chemo since they had to remove her central line. The doctors are being very careful with bacteria, so they actually plan to remove the PICC line before she goes up to Philadelphia for the knee surgery. She slept most of the day as a result of the sedation they gave her for PICC line insertion procedure.

Please continue to pray for Christen and the family. This is the longest time we have all be separated, and there isn't much easy about this. We are so thankful, however, for the wonderful support we have received throughout.


Thanks!
Steve & Debbie

Easter

Thanks for the continued prayer for Christen. She is still in the hospital, hoping to come home Wednesday, but with the very real possibility that she will go right back on Thursday, depending on how her liver is doing. If her liver hasn't recovered enough then she could go on our church retreat this weekend, but on the other hand that would put another week delay in getting the chemo finished. Having said that, she REALLY REALLY would love to go on the retreat.

We had a very nice visit today as a family in Christen's hospital room. Everyone was there which I believe is the first time that we have all visited Christen at the same time. Louie(18), William(6), and Jordan(7) all traded punches with one another in their arms for a little entertainment. I felt bad for Louie since William's fist is so small and he was putting everything he had into the punch. :-) I think Louie will be OK though.

Please pray for Christen's spirits this evening. It is very hard for someone in her situation not to be discouraged.


Steve & Debbie for the family

Better

Christen is finally feeling better. She had her central line removed on Friday which they think was the source of the infection. She is on strong antibiotics and we hope they will re-place the line later this coming week. The bone pain is thankfully gone. It is simply incredible the number of side-effects that Christen has to fight with between the chemo drugs themselves, and all the other drugs they give her to fight the side-effects of the chemo.

We are so very thankful for God's presence with us, and for all the ways that He has encouraged us through your prayers and support. We can't begin to tell you how much it means to us.


Tomorrow the kids and I will go to see Christen and Debbie in the hospital tomorrow after church.

Steve for the family

Out of ICU, but not the Woods

Thankfully Christen is out of the ICU this evening and into a regular room. However she is really struggling with severe bone pain (a side effect of the medicine they are giving her to bring up her white blood cell count), and she is running another fever. :-(

Tomorrow they will remove her central line as they suspect that is the source of the recent infections. She will be in the hospital through at least Thursday of next week, and probably longer than that. :-(

Please pray for her. These are tall mountains for her to climb.

Steve & Debbie for the family

Still in ICU

Christen is still in the ICU this evening. They will hopefully let her go out onto the "floor" sometime tomorrow if her potassium level comes up. She will likely be in the hospital for the rest of this week. She is anxious to get out of ICU and to a normal room where she can have visitors. They thought for a while that she may have the flu but thankfully that turned out not to be the case. She has had wonderful nursing care in the ICU, for we which we are all thankful.

Please continue to be in prayer for her emotions and spirit as well as the physical issues. It is very hard to be in the hospital.

Thanks!
Steve & Debbie for the family

Oxygen

Christen was so much better today. Her temperature and blood pressure have returned to normal and she was able to eat a little food. She is still in the ICU and will remain there until at least tomorrow. Unfortunately she just this evening started having trouble with her oxygen level and a cough. They did an x-ray of her chest almost immediately, and it came back clear. So please pray that the doctors will be able to figure out what is causing this new difficulty. She just had a CT scan this evening so it might an allergic to the contrast.


Steve & Debbie for the family

In Christ Alone

"In Christ Alone my hope is found..."

Debbie and I went downstairs to eat dinner together and when we returned we were standing outside of Christen's room talking with a Dr. and we could hear some singing inside the room. When we walked in we found that it was Christen's new night nurse, Agnes, from South Africa, singing to her and with her the song "In Christ Alone." What an amazing joy and reminder that was to us of God's love, kindness, and presence with us every step of the way. She is a beautiful, sweet believer in Christ.

Christen will be here in the ICU for probably another couple of days. She will be receiving blood this evening. They think she has blood infection, which is actually very serious. Thankfully she is in good hands and has been in very good spirits. Please pray that she will recover quickly.

Since Christen has a serious infection and the ICU is fairly difficult to get into it would be best if visitors could wait until she gets out of the ICU and into a regular hospital room.


Steve & Debbie

Fever

Christen awoke today with a fever which necessitated a trip to the hospital. She is actually in the ICU now at UVA and will be here until at least tomorrow. This infection seems severe enough that they want to keep a close eye on her. She is running a high fever right now, so she really could use your prayers.

Thanks!

Steve & Debbie

Better Today

Christen is doing better today. Thank you for the prayers. She seems to have turned a corner today, so we are all very thankful for that. She came out and lounged/slept on the couch most of the afternoon and evening. It was good to see her in the living room with the rest of the family when I got home from work. She still isn't feeling great by any means, but the progress is heartening. Thank you for your cards and words of encouragement.

We received some pictures today of our friends Mallory and Stephanie from their weekend visit in Atlanta. We are so glad that those two got to meet! Thank you Susan for the pictures. For those who don't know, Mallory (1o years old) recently finished treatment for Ewing's sarcoma (similar to Christen's cancer), and Stephanie had Ewing's as a child, and just recently had heart surgery. (Stephanie is now a wife and mother, and a Pediatric Oncology Nurse Practioner.) Please pray for Mallory's full body scan next Tuesday to be cancer-free. Also continue to pray for Stephanie as she adjusts to her new sodium-free diet and low activity level and that she would not need a heart transplant.

We praise God that now we appreciate much more each day that we have together. Each day is a gift from God.

Steve & Debbie

Low Days

Christen is feeling very sick (though we are thankful that she hasn't actually thrown up) and is very tired of it. She said this evening, "I just want to be able to eat what I want when I want." Imagine not being able to enjoy food for days and days on end, with seemingly no end in sight. She is feeling very low. She spends most of the day sleeping. Her blood count numbers will start the drop over the next few days and should reach a low point on or about the 18th, so we all have to be careful about not exposing her to infections. We know that God is at work in her (and in us) through these days of suffering. Please pray that we all will look to Jesus with eyes of faith and see that "behind a frowning providence there hides a smiling face."

Steve & Debbie for the family

IV Pumps

IV pumps are great! We are so thankful to be able to give Christen extra needed fluids at home through IV, as she doesn't feel well enough to drink the amount her body needs. We are also thankful that the new medicine has worked thus far and although she feels awful, she hasn't thrown up. This is a tough, long ordeal, but God is able to give the strength we need to persevere.

Please know that each of you all out there are treasures to us, and you are often in my thoughts and prayers.

Debbie, for all

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

Christen feels like she could sleep for years. She was telling us this evening that chemo is "very strange." It just completely wipes her out. I think it must be something that only those who have experienced it could understand. Praise God, she has not thrown up even once this time, though she has felt like sometimes. She actually ate some Chinese food this evening. What a wonderful difference this time has been so far compared with last time.

She and Debbie arrived home today about 5 PM. Each time she comes home it is difficult because she still isn't done the process. She knows she will have to go back. We are grateful, though, that she has wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff taking care of her at UVA. Our experience there has been very good (though the cancer treatments are very tough).

We can see the hand of God at work in so many ways. It is wonderful to be able to know and trust Him. He knows what He is doing.

Thank you for holding us up in your prayers and support during this time. He is certainly answering and blessing.

Steve & Debbie

Staying the Night

Thankfully Christen has done considerable better this time around, though we are not out of the woods yet. She is very tired this evening and has been sleeping all day, and hasn't felt well enough to do facebook, read, or watch TV. She is feeling nauseated this evening as well. Please pray that she will turn the corner and be able to come home tomorrow.

We are so thankful for all that God has done for us through the support we received from all of you. Please continue to lift Christen and the family up in your prayers.

Steve & Debbie

Doing Well

Christen is doing amazingly well in the hospital this time. She is on a new anti-nausea medication which seems to be working very well. She actually ate a Chipotle burrito last night! Thank you so much for the prayers. Please continue to lift her up. She will have another dose of cisplatin this afternoon.

Thanks!
Steve & Debbie

Difficult Chemo Starts Tomorrow

Christen and Debbie drive back to UVA in the morning to start Christen's next chemo treatment. She will likely be in the hospital at least through Sunday, we expect, though we are learning not to set our expectations too high about when things will actually take place. :-) This chemo will likely be more strenuous than the last two because she will be receiving cisplatin. Please pray that God will give Christen (and the rest of us as well) peace as she faces this. She has had this drug once before so she well knows what it means.

Steve & Debbie for the family

We're Home!!!

Christen and Debbie returned home at 3 PM today with much joy. It was so wonderful to be at home as a family this evening! Thank you for the prayers. We can attest to the fact that He does answer them. We got to meet some new friends this evening, Bob and Ann D., pictured here with Christen. Cancer is no doubt a truly awful thing to have but the Lord has a way of providing many new joys along the way, and one of the biggest ones we have had is meeting so many new friends. Thanks Bob and Ann for your ministry to us this evening in Jesus' name.

Please be praying for a few days of rest for Christen and the rest of us before we start the next chemo treatment on this coming Thursday.

Steve & Debbie for the family