Ready To Pause

Krista's nausea continued today, especially in the morning, but she still managed to have a better day than yesterday. She didn't eat much during the day; a little here, a little there. This evening, though, I'm relieved to see her being hungry.

We're ramping up to do some things we haven't tried before. Krista is going to UCLA tomorrow, but instead of me taking her, my mother is going to take her. I'm a little nervous to let go of being there, just because I've been overseeing everything the whole time. Krista says that she'll do fine, though. I can't be there because I'm going to the men's retreat in Ojai, so I wouldn't have enough time to take her and get back to make it there in time. The kids will be at the Delforno's for a long awaited playdate with Ryan.

Since I'll be away at the retreat, I most likely won't be able to post to the blog over the next few days. So, please continue to pray for Krista -- especially that she would do well enough over the weekend that she won't need any extra medical care.

I lift up my eyes to the hills —
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip —
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you —
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm —
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 121)

Hidden Strength

Last night's nausea didn't go away until 4:30 am. At that point Krista woke up, ate some crackers, and took her dinner medicines that she skipped last night. When I woke up in the morning, she told me what happened with her medicines. I worked out when she should take her medicines today so that they would be evenly spaced out.

The good thing is that Krista seemed to have a little easier time today. She still slept quite a bit, but when she was awake she looked more lively to me. She also said that when she took a bath, she got up without having to go on all fours. That is pretty amazing that she has gotten stronger even laying around that past two weeks. Actually, that's not fair... she's been getting up regularly, and it's probably using similar muscles to getting out of the tub. Tomorrow's another bactrim day, so I don't suspect she'll be feeling any better than today. She's already started to feel worse this evening.

Mom has been such a big help. In addition to helping out with the kids and food and cleaning, she did a bunch of laundry today and changed our sheets. Yesterday, she even swept the ash off our patio. Thanks Mom! Also, thanks to the Suttons for the Lemon Chicken dinner!

The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
(Exodus 15:2)

More Of The Same

There hasn't been any real improvement in Krista's condition since the IV antibiotics stopped. She hasn't been as sleepy, but the pain and nausea are still quite strong. She was taking bactrim today, and that can add to the bad feelings. Tomorrow's regiment is considerably lighter than it has been in a long time. I hope that will help her feel better.

I went into work in the afternoon again while Mom watched Krista and the boys. Linda Kitt brought a lasagna dinner while I was at work. I think Krista was too nauseated to eat, but the rest of us really enjoyed it. Thanks Mom and Linda!

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn your ear to me and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
(Psalm 71:1-3)

Wrap Up

Our kids finished up the semester at Artios Academies, and today they had an end-of-year program which was really neat. All the students demonstrated projects they had worked on -- performing music, drama, speeches. They showed movies they put together and displayed history-influenced artwork. Krista really wanted to be there for it, and even though she wasn't feeling good we all went. Everyone was glad to see her out, and Laura Teel even went out to get her a snack to help settle her stomach. Krista couldn't make it through the whole program, but she really enjoyed what she saw. The kids wanted to stay, so they came home with the Steffens. Thanks for helping us out last minute like that!

My mother came up from Carlsbad today. Traffic was unusually good, so she got here in record time. I'm so glad to have her up again, because it freed me up to take care of some things at work that I couldn't take care of remotely. I went in late, but managed to get it all done -- at least the work for today. Thanks Mom!

Krista had her last IV antibiotic tonight. I can't wait to see her start to improve. That medicine has just wiped her out so bad. I suppose it may take a day or so to adjust out of it -- and tomorrow is another bactrim day, so that might make the change harder to notice. You can all pray for her to feel better and stronger.

Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.
(Psalm 5:1-3)

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! The boys surprised Krista this morning with bunches of flowers that we picked up at Costco yesterday. The trick was trying to conceal it from Krista, which ended up not being so difficult since Krista was so sleepy most of the day. She is taking IV antibiotics for the staph infection, but they make her nauseated so she also takes antinausea medication, and that makes her drowsy. It's not the best condition for her, as it interferes with her ability to exercise regularly. But it's going to be a short-lived condition. Tomorrow should see the last doses of the IV antibiotic.

My mother is also coming back up here tomorrow. That will be be very helpful as it has been difficult with Krista's sleepiness to be able to make it into work. Now that many of the mandatory evacuation areas have been downgraded, my office should be reopened. I've already heard from some friends that they are back in their houses. The fire is supposed to be 65% contained tonight, with full containment expected Wednesday if all goes well. May God grant the firefighters more favor, as the weather forecasters are expecting temperatures and wind to increase and humidity to decrease starting tomorrow.

Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble I will call to You,
for You will answer me.
Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
no deeds can compare with Yours.
All the nations You have made
will come and worship before You, O Lord;
they will bring glory to Your name.
For You are great and do marvelous deeds;
You alone are God.
(Psalm 86:6-10)

Smoke Down

There was not much to report today, thankfully. Krista slept most of the day. I took the kids out to do some grocery shopping.

While we were out, we saw some friends who were surprised that we were still in town with all the smoke. Krista is very sensitive to chemical smells and smoke, and we probably would have evacuated under other circumstances just to get out of the smoke. But we have kept the house closed up and ran our air filter constantly to remove any smoke that made it in the house. The house did get pretty warm, but not unbearable -- especially with a fan blowing on us.

Today was a much cooler day than it had been. There's been a good marine layer that came in that has helped the firefighters get up to 40% containment. Tomorrow is expected to be similar. The news has been saying that Mother Nature has been helping the effort, but I think it would be more correct to say that Father God has answered the prayers of His people.

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
(1 Corinthians 8:5-6)

100

Today was Krista's 100th day after the transplant, and we had a surprise to help us celebrate it quite appropriately. Cheryl Giordani brought a Fourth-of-July styled barbeque meal -- burgers, baked beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob, watermelon, and cookies -- and a bag full of cards and goodies that she had collected from our friends. All of it had a 100 theme: cards with 100 miniature butterfly cutouts, 100 M&M's, 100 almonds for each of us, 100 Hershey's Kisses, and more -- all of it wonderfully encouraging. Thank you all for the very kind thoughts!

Krista managed to surprise me, also. Without my knowing it, she arranged for my mother to come up next weekend so that I could go to the men's retreat with our church. I couldn't imagine going otherwise since I have been on duty for the longest time -- and Friday she is supposed to go to UCLA for her regularly scheduled office visit. But Mom said that she would take her there -- and the church is giving me a scholarship for the retreat. I just can't believe it. What will I do without responsibilities?

The anniversary marks a new phase of sorts for Krista's recovery as well. It means the end of certain medicines, in Krista's case that means IVIG. She also is done with Medrol which has been ramping down since she began taking it to stop the Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) rash. If it returns after this point, it would be much more likely to be a long-term battle. There has been no sign of the GVHD rash returning so far, and now it will be up to the non-steroidal immunosuppressants to keep it at bay.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Loa Wintz helped us out watching the kids while Krista had her urology appointment yesterday. It was rather short notice for us to call her, but it happened to be a good time for her. The kids enjoyed playing legos and cards with her. Thanks for the help Loa! By the way, we haven't heard any news about the sample the urologist took. No news is good news in this case.

The TV news has been busy all day reporting on the Jesusita fire, which is still going pretty much out of control with only 10% containment. They were predicting another nightly sundowner, but there hasn't been much sign of one; it was only 57 degrees in Santa Barbara at 10 pm. That is hopefully good news as it is still spreading west toward Goleta and east toward Monticito (where it is still 71 degrees), and there were fears that it might crest the peak and start heading out toward Santa Ynez. It was snowing ash at our house most of the day. Krista said it was like living in a snow globe that had been shaken. We are still not in any of the danger areas, but so many of our friends are now in the mandatory evacuation zone or the warning zone -- and some may have lost their dwellings.

Who is like the LORD our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people.
He settles the barren woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD.
(Psalm 113:5-9)