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Send emails to Carissa in care of Sharon at Sharon1992@aol.com. No new update indicates that Carissa is
doing well and Wednesday, November 30, 2005 Today, in the transplant clinic, Dr. Kareem asked Carissa how she felt about not transplanting her liver. She has never had a negative liver biopsy and her liver looked good when he examined it during surgery. The high blood work counts could be due to her meds. Dr. Kareem assured us that if he does a transplant without the liver that the liver can be transplanted later. A person can’t live without a liver, so there would be another wait involved. However, a transplant of four organs, rather than five, is easier on the patient. After discussing the options, he said, “Let’s let God make the choice.” If a transplant becomes available with a liver, he will do it all. If everything but the liver becomes available and if he has a good gut feeling about the organs being donated, he will transplant without the liver. Dr. Kareem said that he has been mulling over the question for the past couple of weeks. It seems that Carissa at the top of his list. He is pleased that she is gaining strength in spite of no weight gain. Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Psalm 107 summarizes the past year for our family. The three verses below are woven repeatedly through the chapter: 1"O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is
good: for His mercy endureth for ever." We have identified with the children of Israel in the reoccurring peaks of praise and valleys of trouble, and can testify of the Lord's goodness and of His wonderful works in our lives. Carissa continues to do well! Friends at the Family House, as
well as doctors, comment on the progress they see. She is so much
stronger and is enjoying eating so much more than has in years.
With no intestines where food can obstruct and with a Faith (Carissa's sister), Ben, and kids will be coming to Pittsburgh (Hicksburgh, as Katrina says) tonight to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Wayne (Dad) is also on his way. Celeste and John visited us last week, so we feel truly blessed. We also praise the Lord for His goodness to Karis. She has been back in the hospital for a week with sepsis and multiple infections. Doctors decided that they had to remove her mediport, but seriously feared that they might not be able to place another IV line for feeding because her veins are all obstructed. They were able to place a Broviak successfully yesterday! 43 "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD." We pray that we will be wise through the ups and downs yet to come, and that we will be able to see God's loving hand through it all. Wednesday, November 16, 2005 Carissa saw Dr. Kareem in the pre-transplant clinic this morning. Nothing was changed about her care. She continues to take two antifungal medicines, Ambisome and Voriconazole, and one antibiotic, Vancomycin, and one and a half liters of fluid daily by IV, plus TPN (nutritional formula). Dr. Kareem was pleased with her bloodwork results overall, but he studied her chart with great care. He quizzed us regarding the level of her strength, and we reassured him that it is improving. Her weight hasn't changed. We were blessed with a surprise visit from John and Celeste (Carissa's youngest sister and her husband) this week. They arrived late Monday night and stayed through mid-afternoon today. It's always such a joy to have family with us, and it was a special joy to learn more about John's home stomping grounds in the Pittsburgh area. Carissa was tired after our Saturday outing, and we were out a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, as well, but she mustered the energy to go shopping with us this afternoon. She enjoyed it in spite of having taken Benadryl as a pre-med (to prevent an allergic reaction) for Ambisome, which is infused through a pressure sensitive system that looks like a baby bottle with a balloon in it. (It's great for shopping!) Even after arriving back at the Family House, Carissa stayed alert until about 10 p.m. when she took Benadryl again as a pre-med for Vancomycin. She'll probably sleep for a couple of days now, but it was worth it. We are thrilled with her new found strength. Please pray for our friend, Karis. She is back in the hospital and is fighting fungal and bacterial infections again, and her doctors are facing the dilemma of whether or not to take out her mediport and place a new one. Her heart rate has also been extremely low (30s and 40s) and they don't know why. Here is a link to her site if you would like more information: http://www.aup.org/Karis/latest_update.htm We have so much for which to be thankful. We counted our blessings once again last night as we heard that the home and workplace of a fellow Family House resident burnt to the ground. Our hearts are crushed for her and her family. We pray that the Lord will draw them to Himself through this experience. November 12, 2005 Carissa seems more energetic than she has in a long time. She spent several hours working on G-PACT on Thursday and today she wanted to have a burglar alarm installed on her Blue Lightning Jeep. We enjoyed the ride to Monroeville (it was a gorgeous warm and sunny day) to have it installed. We did some Christmas shopping at a Sears nearby while we waited. This is the first time she has shopped in a store for Christmas gifts in years. Last year she picked them out herself, but she ordered them from online. What a treat! To cap it off, Carissa decided she could walk from Sears to Circuit City to pick up her Jeep. It took me approximately ten minutes to walk by myself earlier. It took us a little longer together, but she held onto my arm and walked steadily. November 9, 2005 Dr. Kareem's first words to Carissa today were, "You're looking good, honey. I think you're ready." A few minutes later the transplant coordinator commented to Carissa, "He's so ready to do you." On his way out of the examination room, Dr. Kareem stopped and looked directly at Carissa and said, "I think you will do real well, honey. We've finally got everything under control." Carissa and Mom left the clinic with smiles from ear to ear (yes, there was a little whooping and hollering). The phones have been on the hooks for the last few months in hopes of a call, but it may really happen now. We won't be home for Christmas, but there is a possibility that Carissa could be out of the hospital with a transplant by then. We're thankful for new signs of hope. We are blessed with friends Carissa's age right now. Eimy is back at the Family House (was home for three weeks) and is doing well. Jessica (four organ transplant patient) is across the hall from us and is going through the ups and downs that are common in the early post-transplant days. Gary is back in town, but we haven't gotten to see him yet. Thanks to his mom, Carissa's g-tube site is remarkably better. We have a new picture of Jenna and Carissa that's awesome. And we always enjoy being with Karis. These are some of the "gifts" along the way. November 6, 2005 Eleven months ago today Carissa began the transplant evaluation process. We (Carissa and mom) were home for the last two weeks of December and have been in Pittsburgh since. We appreciate the fact that God doesn't allow us to know what lies ahead. We might not have had the courage to face it. The wait has grown long and discouragement threatens to overtake us, at times. But we were reminded that if we wait on the Lord, He will give us new strength. Isaiah 40:27-31
The Lord worked on my perspective tonight when I met a lady in the
kitchen of the Family House McKee whose twenty-one year old son's
heart is failing. There was no warning of heart problems and his
condition is already too severe for him to be a candidate for a
heart transplant. She said, "At least you have hope. I have days."
I count my blessings as I say that Carissa continues to do well.
She makes her way to the kitchen occasionally and she has no signs
of a new infection. She is taking three antibiotics by IV, but
they seem to be working. Thank you, Lord. November 2, 2005 Carissa saw Dr. Bond in clinic this afternoon. Although she has a bacterial infection in her line, Carissa isn't experiencing symptoms. Everything is basically stable, which is wonderful. Dr. Bond reduced Vancomycin to one dose a day, which makes it a little easier on mom and gives Carissa a little more freedom. Carissa came back from the weekend a little more motivated. She has gone to the kitchen several times and is tending to a few more tasks on her own. It's good to see her feeling a little better. Thank you for your many emails. I am printing the ones to Carissa for her to read. Though you may not hear from her, she enjoys hearing from you.
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Life on a Feeding Tube |
