Monday's update...

She's out !
In some pain still... but glad to be home.....

Sunday's update....

Friday was really unpleasant and another emotional blast.....we went for an emergency doctors appointment in the end, and, as expected, the doctor got Karena admitted to hospital. As well as the severe stomach pain, she also had a temperature which is not good following chemo, so they treated her with strong intravenous antibiotics due to possible neutropenia (do I sound like a doctor or wot ??!) and stronger steroids to calm down internal inflammation....and gave her an abdominal X-ray to see what the stomach pains were being caused by.....
...so now it's Sunday and in the words of one of the magnificent songs I sang this morning...."I'm alive to live for You".....our faith is more alive than ever as you might imagine in the midst of all of this turmoil. We both know that God just needs to say one word and it can all come to an end.....but whether He is going to answer our prayers in the way we want, we really have no idea. He is king tho, ultimately reigns and IS in control irrespective of the outcome. Jesus conquered death after all which is our biggest comfort, our greatest confidence and the strongest hope that we have ;-)
I got a txt from the babe during the sermon this morning ....clearly under normal circumstances I wouldn't read it as I am engrossed by the message ;-)....the preacher was magnificent after all.....but in this instance I blanked out the preacher without hesitation to read from Karena "They found nothing on the X-Ray". So that's really fabarooney news !!!
That said, Karena is still in some pain both in her stomach and in her back and the chronic pain that she's been experiencing is indicative that everything isn't right. Consultant will be around tomorrow (Mon) to say what the next step is. We are hoping that she will be able to come out of hospital tomorrow. The back ache may be a reaction to the new chemo drug which she has had....but increasingly in all of this you realise that you just don't really know for sure from one day to the next exactly what is going on.

So....for the pray-ers amongst you....stuff to pray for :-

• That the babe does indeed come out tomorrow (Mon)
• Relief of back ache and stomach pain
• Normal digestive functioning to return
• Good health now on the run up to Christmas (we might possibly defer her next chemo until after Christmas)!
• Miraculous recovery from cancer (please do keep praying this every day!)

PS : For those who have cooked meals for us this week, and for those who are continuing to stand with us in prayer - a GIGANTIC thank-you......your friendship and care is simply outstanding.

Another trip to the hospital...

Chemo seemed to go OK on Monday....as far as you can tell. At least it was a lot quicker than the previous ones.
Unfortunately since then, things have not been so good. For the past 3 days Karena has been increasingly uncomfortable. Putting it mildly, her digestive system seems to be struggling. So she's not been eating much and is in pain and her stomach is very swollen. So much so that as I write (Fri 7am) we are planning on getting the children off to school and then taking her to the hospital to be admitted (probably) so see what they can do for her.
Please please please pray for her.
This is really rubbish ;-(

Sunflowers ?

So we've had confirmation that the first chemo in the new batch will be next Monday (23rd).....

Karena is in some ongoing pain but in good spirits. As I write she is sitting on the sofa making a quilt - her latest hobby.

She has been making sunflowers for it (all hand-sewn) for some days now for her own grand design....tonight however she has completed the first few and realised that on completion of the delicate sewing activity her "sunflowers" actually look more like octopus hand puppets!!!!.....so the theme for the quilt may change to more of an ocean-type thing !! I think she must have missed her true vocation in life. She is enjoying her new activity though but is clearly not a natural quilter.......!

Chemo on Monday will be a different drug to that used previously...so would really value your prayers that it has a radical impact on the cancer and knocks it for 6 (or more preferably!). Would also like your prayers for ongoing good health for the babe.

Thanking you so much for your continued love, support and prayers.....

CKEBO

x

PS : Karena says "Please pray for my quilt making ability!"

The bad news....

...is that Karena has to have more chemos !
We are surprised, shocked, saddened and tearful. ;-(
Consultant is concerned about Karena's stomach/bowel pains; that combined with her blood test result from yesterday revealed that her cancer marker (CA125) has significantly increased - so they are immediately planning to start more chemo's. They were expecting that Karena should be able to have a rest for a few months (as advised by the nurse last week) - and confirmed that the CT scan results are good - ie no significant nodules or growth areas in her abdomin ....but with the blood test indicator and her ongoing stomach pain, they are concerned. So another session of 6 chemo's starting asap; this time they are going to use a different drug which is 'gentler' than the previous one - and see how things go with that.
Told the children......not a good day !
Not sure what more I can say really.....apart from to ask for your ongoing prayers.....we need a breakthrough /miracle really. God is able....and a very present help when in trouble......
Love to you.....

It's been a while....

Long time no blog.....since the last installment, we've had a magnificent half-term holiday in Wales - it was really great to get away for a week of sea, sand, sun (really) & scenary.
We've still not got the official results from the CT scan yet (that's tomorrow), but the preliminary discussions with the onologist specialist nurse sounds positive.
We've been back from holiday for a week now - on the last day of the holiday Karena's stomach started playing up - and it's not been very good since and she has been in some pain with it. She went to the doctor's this morning - and the doc was fabulous - examined her, and prayed with her - which was just what the doctor ordered !!!
So tomorrow we have the appointment with the Consultant to talk through the CT Scan results and also her ongoing stomach problems.
Will definitely appreciate your prayers for that one!