The Start Of A Long Wait

There has not been a lot of changes with Krista today. She's in a long-term light sleep, which is sort of like a coma except that her eyes still react to light and she makes small body movements (possibly in reaction to internal pain). The sleep is generally peaceful now, and that's a good way for her to be as it looks like this is going to take a long time to recover from, on the scale of a month or so.

On that note, there was an encouraging story her oncologist told me today. Three rooms down from her in the ICU, one of his patients was discharged today after having gone through a similar ordeal. His mental facilities were fully restored, as is typical in cases like these. He said that it took a very long time to heal, so we just need to remain calm and patient.

I'm feeling much better about the situation since she's been sleeping; her outward appearance has become much more stable. It's difficult to be constantly on guard, and I feel better about taking breaks while she's like this. My mother came up today and I was able to get a long nap at our friend's house nearby. Gene and Jeannie have been so kind to make that available for me and my family -- and they even bought me a delicious Greek dinner to bring back with me.

There are still surprises that pop up with Krista's condition, but they are getting to be fewer and further between. One surprise happened as I was writing this: she began having a period. I call that a surprise because we had been told that she would be infertile as a result of all the radiation and chemo. Apparently, even if she is infertile she can still have periods, at least that is what the nurse tells me. The period must have come as something of a surprise to her as well, though. I think her reaction had to do with a concern over Krista's platelets being low; they are checking to make sure that this is in fact a period and not some kind of hemorrhaging. So far it doesn't look like hemorrhaging.

Earlier today, they decided to slow down the nutrition drip since there was residual in her stomach. She also hasn't had a bowel movement today, so the digestive tract seems to have taken a rest again. They're giving her a laxative to stimulate it. It's important for her digestive stystem to keep going so she can process the Lactulose and get rid of the ammonia in her body that is still too high.

As I mentioned, her platelet count is still low: 14,000 this morning. They found and gave her some HLA-matched platelets today which brought her up to 25,000, which is better but still low. They are going to give her some more HLA-matched platelets tonight because of the period.

The big picture of her condition isn't likely to improve drastically any time in the near future (unless God does something miraculous, which I would definitely let everyone know about ASAP). I just want to remind all of you that though she's not out of the weeds yet, she is making progress even though it is very slow. This is most likely the start of a very long waiting process, so hang in there with me and I'll continue to keep you updated. And I just realized that I haven't let people know where to send notes now that she's in the ICU. The address is:

Krista English (Room #4423)
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
757 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
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."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him,
to the one who seeks Him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
(Lamentations 3:21-26)