30 October 2007 8:00 am

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven;
A time to be born, and a time to die;

This morning, Elizabeth Ann Katsitsaro’roks Cook Christensen took a shallow breath and died.

The hole her departure has left in all of us will never be filled. She has been the kind of mother that books are written about. She has been the kind of wife that we pray our sons will receive. She has been a friend to so many; even to those who where difficult to love at times. She was an energetic and faithful missionary.

Our mother could not feel hate. She saw in others their goodness. She saw all people through God’s eyes and therefore saw their grandness and Godly potential.

Only God can give us the strength to live on with the hole her departure has left in us. It will never be filled – not until we embrace again in our next life.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 3^rd at 10:00 am (viewing) and 11:30 am (services).

98 E Canyon Crest Rd
ALPINE , UT 84004

Map and Driving Directions

Please feel free to stay with any of us. We would be so happy to have you in our homes.

The Christensens

23 October 2007

Mom slept all night last night. From 10pm to 9am. She didn't even move. Dad kept checking her because she wasn’t stirring. When she woke up she drank half a cup of Postum with honey in it! This is a huge blessing. She also ate a little bit of chicken noodle soup for lunch and drank about 8 oz of water. Mom said to dad today, “I've changed my mind. I don't want to die.”

God is smiling down upon us truly.

The Christensens

23 October 2007

Mom came home from the hospital yesterday. Her WBC count was 1.0 on Thursday, 3.3 on Friday, 5.7 on Saturday, 10 on Sunday, and 5.0 on Monday. This is good news as she is now able to fight infection on her own. And, those numbers got her permission to leave the hospital. This is the good news.

The bad news is that mom has been severely nauseated for the past two weeks. This may be due to the fact that she has been taking extraordinarily high doses of Neupogen, a cancer drug designed to increase WBC production. Or not. Or maybe. Who knows? Does anyone know a doctor?

This nausea has kept her from eating much of anything at all. The truth is that she has had nothing at all to eat in the past 5 days and a pittance to eat the 9 days before that.

So, imagine how lethargic and emotionally drained you are after 20 hours of fasting each month. Now, multiply that by 10 times. Then add to that the stress of knowing that there is/was a monster in your head eating your brain. And add to that the aches that come from being in bed for months on end. Well, all of that adds up to a despair that is larger than most of us can imagine. That is where mom is right now.

So, that is the news. Mom spends all day in bed. She doesn’t do very much talking. She doesn’t do any eating. She is deep in despair.

However, today the hospice nurse gave mom morphine (administered under her tongue since she is DONE with needles and refuses to swallow). She also gave mom some anti nausea medication that is administered as a balm to her arm. This has helped her mood some. She has been more talkative.

As for the rest of us … I suppose that we all fall somewhere on a continuum between resigned to mom’s death to hopeful that she will recover. And, I suppose that each of our locations on this continuum changes from day to day.

Seeing someone who is a loving and generous and righteous and caring and wonderful person suffer is an agonizing thing. It is especially difficult when that person is your mom. She has been our world. She is the president of our fan club, our counselor through grief, our advocate in times of sorrow and self doubt, our partner in joy and success, our mirror to our self perception, and our introduction to God and His ways. No life could be more successful than hers.

Could God want her back so soon? Isn’t there time for just a few more joyous years together? Only time will tell. This Friday is mom’s first MRI since Poosh and Koosh began. I suppose we will know more about the future then.

Your prayers and thoughts are received with gladness.

The Christensens