basic communication by pointing to a board that has common phrases and letters! Thank you God for the many ways you show us grace!This afternoon Krista told me that she remembers coming to the ICU, but didn't know that she had been down here for over a week. She wanted to know what happened, so I filled her in on the simplified version of what she had been through. It must be a strange experience to not remember a week of your life. This blog will be helpful for her when she gets stronger to see the full story.
Linda Kitt and Ken Norby came down today to visit, and got to help try to decode what ended up being a request for apple juice mixed with a cranberry juice cocktail, frozen and broken into small ice chunks. (She couldn't have it yet, but it's a good sign that she's asking for stuff.) Linda gave Krista a nice foot massage while I got a shower, and Ken had a great idea of anointing her with oil and praying for her like James 5:14-15 says to. None of us had real oil, so we used a Vitamin A & D ointment instead, it being the oiliest compound around. The thick ointment made a nice cross on her forehead without dripping, too. Thanks Linda and Ken for coming all that way (and thanks to Ursula for the delicious salad Ken brought for me)!
Krista's platelets are at 10,000, and her white blood stayed at 0.2, so we can't call it grafting yet. She is continuing to get blood plasma transfusions -- 4 pints today -- trying to get the INR value down and the clotting factor back up. Her skin is still jaundiced, though less than it had been. The oncologist clarified for me something about the jaundice today. I remembered that jaundiced infants get put under special lights to break down the bilirubin, so I was wondering why that wasn't something they would do for Krista. He says that in infants, the liver isn't mature enough to break it down (so it has to be done with light through the skin) but once the liver matures it just doesn't stop. So in Krista's case, her liver will take care of the bilirubin in time.
Krista's stomach still has too much residual in it, so even though she's hungry, she's not digesting what she's got. Poor Krista can't even begin to try to eat until she gets the respirator tube out, anyway. That may happen soon, though, now that her mental condition is returning. Let's all pray that her digestive system starts up again soon.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His love for those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him;
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