Update on Chris 01/01/07

Update on Chris 1-1-07

I can never think of words big enough to tell you all how much your prayers, love and encouragement has meant to me and the rest of our family during this time. Thank you. I will try to keep this short. As most of you know, Chris is in the hospital at Baylor Dallas. He has bacterial pneumonia. They tell us that this is very treatable, just harder for Chris because his body is already so weak from chemo. He has struggled to breath for several days and has been on a CPAP machine to assist his breathing. He had several panic attacks, as the feeling of not being able to breathe was overwhelming and his breathing was still very labored with the machine. After many efforts to make adjustments and try to make the CPAP machine work enough, it was determined that a ventilator tube would be the best way for Chris to relax, rest and give his body time to heal. He is under full sedation while on the tube and the tube will remain until the pneumonia clears up and the doctor feels he is ready to breathe on his own. They removed fluid from his lung and may have to remove more if it continues to fill up. At this time, the pneumonia is only in his left lung. He is being treated with IV antibiotics and fluids, as well as the sedative. There has not been any estimate of how long it will take him to heal.

I’m not gonna pretend to be strong and tell you that everything is fine, cause the truth is, I am scared. A lot of my fears were calmed by asking the nurse and doctor a lot of questions. I am counting on your prayers to bring peace during this time. Thank you for being there. Many of you have asked what you can do to help. There are a few things…

One day at a time… I would like to try to be at the hospital to sit with him during the daytime and come home to be with the kids at night and get them to school in the morning. I will need rides to and from the hospital, if any one is able. I would be free to go at about 8:45 in the mornings and would like to stay until around 6:00 in the evening. Baylor Dallas is near downtown. This means a lot to me. Please e-mail me if this is something you can help with and let me know when you’re available and will take it one day at a time.

Visitors are welcome anytime and VERY much appreciated, as it makes the time go by faster and is sometimes hard to be alone. No visitors are allowed between 6-8 am and 6-8 pm, due to nurse shift change. Since I will be going home in the evenings, if any one wants to go see him, pray for him and check on him after 8:00, that is great., I would be comforted to hear from you and know that you were there with him and any update you have while you’re there. The nurses have encouraged us to talk to him, even though he can’t respond.

This one is hard to ask, cause it’s such a big deal to us. If any one would like to bring a meal to our house here and there, that would help. My mom will be caring for the kids during the day and I will be coming straight from the hospital. Having some meals would help us to focus on other things. Also, our oven is broken right now, so we are a little limited on meal options. As for the oven, we have been working with some one to determine a plan of action to repair or replace it.

My mom will have Allison during the days that the boys are in school. I’m sure she would be thrilled to get out of the house for an hour or two for a playdate or something like that. You can call me and I will let my mom know.

It’s very hard to ask for these things, but we really could use the help. I hope this gives you some ideas to help with, but only if you can. Just know that every little thing you do, means more than you can ever imagine and we will never forget.

Praying Chris home soon.

Love,

Mandy

P.S. If I am unable to email updates, my mom will keep the blog updated, so you can check that www.prayforchris.blogspot.com