Mom did therapy today – sort of. The therapists, while trained professionals in physical therapy, need an advanced degree to outsmart mom. She learned very quickly that resisting therapy was fruitless. Therapists are trained to be persistent. So, mom decided to use a more passive approach. She simply “fell asleep.” Each time the therapist would visit and begin therapy, mom would slip into a narcoleptic slumber. She was so proud of herself tonight when Lisa told on her. She just gave that wry smile that we love so much.
Another therapy assignment was to identify and cross out all of the “H”s on a matrix of letters. Of course mom started by crossing out all of the “H”s in the instructions. She thought the assignment was soooo silly. What a gal.
Mom is preparing for our meeting with the doctors tomorrow. Her fight is slowly coming back.
Please keep praying. Tomorrow, please pray specifically that we will be guided to know the Lord’s will regarding mom’s treatment and recovery.
The Christensens
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
29 July 2007
Without bad days the good days would lose their savor. Today was a hard day for mom. Mom was in a lot of pain in her stomach and bowels today. We hope that this has finally passed as things did get ‘flushed’ out this evening.
Mom and Dad went to church at the hospital today. It was a short sacrament service but they enjoyed it.
We did get together to have Sunday dinner at the hospital. I am certain that the hospital staff is more committed than ever to mom’s speedy recovery in order to avoid a gathering like that again. :-) It was fun to be together though and mom was able to come out of her room and spend about an hour with all of us. (See photos)
Physical therapy starts again tomorrow. The family meeting with the doctors is Tuesday. Treatment may start this week depending on what we learn on Tuesday. This week is critical. We will be making many important decisions and mom will be going through more transition. Your prayers are deeply appreciated and needed.
The Christensens
Mom and Dad went to church at the hospital today. It was a short sacrament service but they enjoyed it.
We did get together to have Sunday dinner at the hospital. I am certain that the hospital staff is more committed than ever to mom’s speedy recovery in order to avoid a gathering like that again. :-) It was fun to be together though and mom was able to come out of her room and spend about an hour with all of us. (See photos)
Physical therapy starts again tomorrow. The family meeting with the doctors is Tuesday. Treatment may start this week depending on what we learn on Tuesday. This week is critical. We will be making many important decisions and mom will be going through more transition. Your prayers are deeply appreciated and needed.
The Christensens
28 July 2007
7/28/07
Today mom made even more progress. Here are a few highlights.
- The Doctor in charge of the Rehab ward is the son of one of mom’s good friends in Alpine. (What are the odds that mom would know his mom and be good friends with her? Rather high actually. Mom cannot visit a new city for one day without making a handful of good friends.) He asked her some questions in order to evaluate her condition. One of the questions he asked was, “If you had 100 pennies and I took 12 of them from you, how many would you have left?” Lisa quickly informed the doctor, “Hold on. You need to understand that mom couldn’t answer that question before this condition. :-) What you need to ask her is this, “If a cute blouse was on sale at Target and it was originally $29.95 but was marked down by 30%, how much money would you be making Herb?” :-) :-) :-)
- Mom met for 2 hours with rehab therapists today. The first was the speech therapist. She said that mom is communicating very well (no tumor could steal that from mom) but that her cognitive functioning needs work. Her short term memory is improving but is still in need of work. The second therapist was her physical therapist. She was amazed at how well mom is doing. She took a 15 minute walk and did stair steppers. Lisa said to mom that the cat is out of the bag. The therapist proved that she can do a lot more than she has been doing.
- Mom wants a family picture! “You have to cherish your family because you never know what will happen.” So tomorrow we are all gathering at the hospital to have a family picture on the patio. We will also eat Sunday dinner together.
- Mom listened to Andre Bocelli today and loved it.
- Mom is completely off of Percocet and OxyContin. She is only taking Tylenol and Ibuprofen. This is a great thing because she is more herself. However, she is still taking steroids to help with her brain swelling. These make her worry and antsy. It will be good to have her off of these too.
- Mom will be home from the hospital next Saturday most likely. She is doing very well.
We are eternally grateful to you for your fasting and prayers. We know that the Lord is blessing mom as a result. Please don't let up.
The Christensens
Today mom made even more progress. Here are a few highlights.
- The Doctor in charge of the Rehab ward is the son of one of mom’s good friends in Alpine. (What are the odds that mom would know his mom and be good friends with her? Rather high actually. Mom cannot visit a new city for one day without making a handful of good friends.) He asked her some questions in order to evaluate her condition. One of the questions he asked was, “If you had 100 pennies and I took 12 of them from you, how many would you have left?” Lisa quickly informed the doctor, “Hold on. You need to understand that mom couldn’t answer that question before this condition. :-) What you need to ask her is this, “If a cute blouse was on sale at Target and it was originally $29.95 but was marked down by 30%, how much money would you be making Herb?” :-) :-) :-)
- Mom met for 2 hours with rehab therapists today. The first was the speech therapist. She said that mom is communicating very well (no tumor could steal that from mom) but that her cognitive functioning needs work. Her short term memory is improving but is still in need of work. The second therapist was her physical therapist. She was amazed at how well mom is doing. She took a 15 minute walk and did stair steppers. Lisa said to mom that the cat is out of the bag. The therapist proved that she can do a lot more than she has been doing.
- Mom wants a family picture! “You have to cherish your family because you never know what will happen.” So tomorrow we are all gathering at the hospital to have a family picture on the patio. We will also eat Sunday dinner together.
- Mom listened to Andre Bocelli today and loved it.
- Mom is completely off of Percocet and OxyContin. She is only taking Tylenol and Ibuprofen. This is a great thing because she is more herself. However, she is still taking steroids to help with her brain swelling. These make her worry and antsy. It will be good to have her off of these too.
- Mom will be home from the hospital next Saturday most likely. She is doing very well.
We are eternally grateful to you for your fasting and prayers. We know that the Lord is blessing mom as a result. Please don't let up.
The Christensens
Friday, July 27, 2007
27 July 2007
The blessings of the Lord poured down upon us today. The hospital decided not to discharge mom. Rather, they moved her to the rehab unit. The room and nurses are like staying in the Hilton compared to the neuro critical care unit which was a step up from the surgical ICU.
Mom’s condition is improving steadily as they slowly take her off of her pain medication. She is so sensitive to any type of drug. We used to joke that she would get dizzy if someone opened a bottle of Tylenol in the same room as her. J This morning she was still receiving high strength pain meds but tonight she was given ibuprofen (I think).
This morning mom went for a short walk. Her emotions still move from confused and angry (“Where is Ashterak? What is happening to me?) to quiet and reflective to depression and crying. We can tell that she is searching for her fight and resolve. Please pray that she will find it.
Tonight we spent time with her on the patio outside of the rehab ward. She ate dinner and we sang and she read emails to us and us to her. There were hummingbirds and blue skies and a light breeze and things that mom loves. She has always gleaned strength from nature. I can remember when I was a boy when mom was upset about something, she would go outside and touch the trees. She said that they calmed her.
Thank you for the flowers. She loves them so much. Mom and dad both cried when they saw the flowers from the branch in Ashterak. She feels your love and your prayers.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
26 July 2007
Today was a great day. Mom was more alert and happy. The color is back in her cheeks and Lisa did her hair. Mom ate a big lunch and her bowels began moving again. This is a good thing. Today when we were showing her this website, she started reading one of the messages out loud. This was wonderful to see. She also walked for about 10 minutes. No land speed records were broken but she walked. I have uploaded several new photos and videos for you to see.
We are so grateful for your emails. We have printed them and read them to mom when we visit. Heather made a poster with all of the descriptive words on it so that mom can read them all of the time. Please keep sending your love and support.
Tonight we had a family meeting to discuss mom’s recovery strategy. The hospital is ready to discharge her because she has improved and this particular hospital is a trauma hospital. However, she is not yet ready to be home. She needs more therapy and care. So, we have decided to transfer her to a hospital with physical therapy and the ability to treat her medically when needed. She will stay here for about a week and then move on to a therapy and rehabilitation center.
We feel God’s blessings upon us and feel your love and support. Please pray fervently for mom’s speedy recovery.
The Christensens
We are so grateful for your emails. We have printed them and read them to mom when we visit. Heather made a poster with all of the descriptive words on it so that mom can read them all of the time. Please keep sending your love and support.
Tonight we had a family meeting to discuss mom’s recovery strategy. The hospital is ready to discharge her because she has improved and this particular hospital is a trauma hospital. However, she is not yet ready to be home. She needs more therapy and care. So, we have decided to transfer her to a hospital with physical therapy and the ability to treat her medically when needed. She will stay here for about a week and then move on to a therapy and rehabilitation center.
We feel God’s blessings upon us and feel your love and support. Please pray fervently for mom’s speedy recovery.
The Christensens
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
25 July 2007
Mom woke up this morning believing that none of her family had ever visited her. She was feeling very lonely and distraught. Dave and Lisa were enroute at 6:30am to go be with her and she had forgotten the 12+ hours of visits the day before. It is good to know that she is already back to normal. ;-)
During physical therapy, mom walked out of the room and down the hall. The doctors think this was great progress. What they don't know is that she smelled something cooking somewhere ...
Mom was mostly depressed today. She vasilates between feeling deep gratitude to family and friends for the love being shown and a feeling of hoplessness that insists she is going to die. It is painful to see her make these transitions. Please pray that she will be blessed with her positive attitude to return. The unsinkable liz christensen. Never say die.
Dad and Lisa met with Dr. Randy Jensen today and recieved some more infor about radiation and chemo. He also shared some flippant statistics that were without citation. I wish that I had been there to make up a few anecdotal statistical future predictors to match the ones the doctor was sharing. Did you know for example that "98% of all statistics are made up on the spot?" ha BUT, in fairness, Dad said that he liked the doctor and that he seemed like he was very competant.
brad
PS - new hospital pictures are posted.
During physical therapy, mom walked out of the room and down the hall. The doctors think this was great progress. What they don't know is that she smelled something cooking somewhere ...
Mom was mostly depressed today. She vasilates between feeling deep gratitude to family and friends for the love being shown and a feeling of hoplessness that insists she is going to die. It is painful to see her make these transitions. Please pray that she will be blessed with her positive attitude to return. The unsinkable liz christensen. Never say die.
Dad and Lisa met with Dr. Randy Jensen today and recieved some more infor about radiation and chemo. He also shared some flippant statistics that were without citation. I wish that I had been there to make up a few anecdotal statistical future predictors to match the ones the doctor was sharing. Did you know for example that "98% of all statistics are made up on the spot?" ha BUT, in fairness, Dad said that he liked the doctor and that he seemed like he was very competant.
brad
PS - new hospital pictures are posted.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
24 July 2007 11pm
Mom stood up and took two steps today. The physical therapists were very persuasive. It took two of them. Mom finally got to eat today. She dined on turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and fruit. She kept saying that now she knows what it is like to be a starving Armenian. She has been sooo hungry. The meal was fantastic.
Mom keeps asking, “Why is this happening to me?” That is a difficult question to answer indeed. We don’t know the answers many times. But what we do know is that God, her Father, knows her and loves her. He knows her personally. AND, he cares about her and knows what is happening to her. Of that we are sure. Please continue your prayers that ministering angels will be by her side.
It has been 29 hours since the surgery finished and we FINALLY got to meet with the doctor’s resident today at 9:30pm. Here is the report.
There are 3 tumors. The first is in the Occipital lobe. We saw the MRIs and it was big. It penetrated mom’s brain 2.5 inches deep. I was large and was causing swelling and deformation or her brain. I cannot imagine how much pain it must have been causing her. Mom is a fighter. This tumor has caused a “left visual field cut.” The tumor has stolen the vision on the left side of each eye. This will most likely never return.
The second tumor is in the Temporal lobe. It is deep inside the brain so therefore could not be operated on. It is about the size of a marble.
The third tumor is in the cerebellum and is smallest.
The cancer is definitely Glioma. However, until the pathology report arrives (late this week) we will not know if it is stage III or stage IV. There are many more things that we will learn about the cancer once this report arrives. The prognosis is very discouraging but until we know the extent of the pathology report we can only guess at what lies ahead.
The MRI today showed mom’s brain returning to normal. The large tumor was mostly gone – we have asked that it be burned, encased in titanium and sent to the bottom of the ocean to rot.
Mom has been moved from the Surgical ICU to the Neural Critical Care Unit. She made the move well. There is a possibility that she will be home by the end of the week.
Please, please pray fervently for dad as well as mom. He is aching inside at the thought of losing mom. He needs your prayers. Thank you for all of your emails to pray4liz@hotmail.com . We read them all to mom each day.
More tomorrow,
The Christensens
Mom keeps asking, “Why is this happening to me?” That is a difficult question to answer indeed. We don’t know the answers many times. But what we do know is that God, her Father, knows her and loves her. He knows her personally. AND, he cares about her and knows what is happening to her. Of that we are sure. Please continue your prayers that ministering angels will be by her side.
It has been 29 hours since the surgery finished and we FINALLY got to meet with the doctor’s resident today at 9:30pm. Here is the report.
There are 3 tumors. The first is in the Occipital lobe. We saw the MRIs and it was big. It penetrated mom’s brain 2.5 inches deep. I was large and was causing swelling and deformation or her brain. I cannot imagine how much pain it must have been causing her. Mom is a fighter. This tumor has caused a “left visual field cut.” The tumor has stolen the vision on the left side of each eye. This will most likely never return.
The second tumor is in the Temporal lobe. It is deep inside the brain so therefore could not be operated on. It is about the size of a marble.
The third tumor is in the cerebellum and is smallest.
The cancer is definitely Glioma. However, until the pathology report arrives (late this week) we will not know if it is stage III or stage IV. There are many more things that we will learn about the cancer once this report arrives. The prognosis is very discouraging but until we know the extent of the pathology report we can only guess at what lies ahead.
The MRI today showed mom’s brain returning to normal. The large tumor was mostly gone – we have asked that it be burned, encased in titanium and sent to the bottom of the ocean to rot.
Mom has been moved from the Surgical ICU to the Neural Critical Care Unit. She made the move well. There is a possibility that she will be home by the end of the week.
Please, please pray fervently for dad as well as mom. He is aching inside at the thought of losing mom. He needs your prayers. Thank you for all of your emails to pray4liz@hotmail.com . We read them all to mom each day.
More tomorrow,
The Christensens
Monday, July 23, 2007
23 July 2007 11PM
Mom's surgery was completed today at 4:30pm. The surgery went well. The doctor was able to remove the majority of the large tumor in the back of mom's head. The good news is, they identified the tumor as a Glioma and it has not spread to rest of her body. The tumor has tentacles so, there were two other small lesions. They will perform a biopsy on the mass and do a full body scan. As soon as possible they will use aggressive methods of chemo and/or radiation. She still has sense of humor and is in high spirits. She is responding and is more lucid now than before the surgery. Releasing the pressure on her brain made a significant difference in her demeanor.
The whole family has been visiting all night long. Mom has been singing and laughing and flirting with the male RN that she says looks like Dr. Spike Nichols. Please keep praying for her speedy recovery. Your prayers are being answered by attending angels.
When talking to her sister Carol mom said, "Some peoples voices are like church bells. They ring and bring back memories and comfort to your soul. They are food to your mind ... My mind is hungry! She liked her quote so much that she asked Carol to write it down :-)
We love you.
The Christensen's
The whole family has been visiting all night long. Mom has been singing and laughing and flirting with the male RN that she says looks like Dr. Spike Nichols. Please keep praying for her speedy recovery. Your prayers are being answered by attending angels.
When talking to her sister Carol mom said, "Some peoples voices are like church bells. They ring and bring back memories and comfort to your soul. They are food to your mind ... My mind is hungry! She liked her quote so much that she asked Carol to write it down :-)
We love you.
The Christensen's
22 July 2007
Dearest Friends and Family,
Mom and Dad arrived home from Armenia late last night. We had a joyous reunion in the airport and happy feelings being at home and together again. They have served faithfully and we are so proud of them. The branch members and other missionaries loved them and are sad to see them leave. They brought light, leadership and hope (not to mention full bellies) to that part of the world.
As you must know by now, mom is not doing very well. Her sense of humor and wit are intact but she is suffering severe pain in her head and has lost her sense of balance. Last night during the night she fell on her way to the bathroom and cut her head. Because of this and because of her ever increasing pain, we decided to take her to the hospital today rather than waiting for her appointment with the neuro-surgeon tomorrow. This was a good decision.
After a CT scan and an MRI, it has been determined that mom has 3 tumors in her brain. The first is about the size of a plum and is in the back of her head. This one is operable. The second is about the size of a marble and is located behind the eye and near the temple. The third is smaller yet. The cancer has metastasized. The primary site has not yet been determined. This is of course bad news. The doctor says that the cancer is aggressive and must be treated immediately.
So, tomorrow mom will be operated on. The surgeon will remove the first tumor only. This will relieve the pressure on her brain and should reduce the pain. The other two tumors will most likely be treated with radiation and chemotherapy. However, this information is sketchy at best. After the surgery is completed and mom is recovering, we will do a complete CAT scan to attempt to find the primary site of the cancer.
Mom is medicated and is sleeping finally so that is great news. The pain was taking a toll on her. She understands what is happening and is ready to meet the challenges ahead.
We ask for your thoughts and prayers to be with her tomorrow and in the weeks to come. We will be fasting as a family tomorrow and would greatly appreciate you joining us in this effort. We feel confident that a full recovery is possible with God's help. Please join us in pleading with Him to bring this blessing to us.
The Christensens
Dearest Friends and Family,
Mom and Dad arrived home from Armenia late last night. We had a joyous reunion in the airport and happy feelings being at home and together again. They have served faithfully and we are so proud of them. The branch members and other missionaries loved them and are sad to see them leave. They brought light, leadership and hope (not to mention full bellies) to that part of the world.
As you must know by now, mom is not doing very well. Her sense of humor and wit are intact but she is suffering severe pain in her head and has lost her sense of balance. Last night during the night she fell on her way to the bathroom and cut her head. Because of this and because of her ever increasing pain, we decided to take her to the hospital today rather than waiting for her appointment with the neuro-surgeon tomorrow. This was a good decision.
After a CT scan and an MRI, it has been determined that mom has 3 tumors in her brain. The first is about the size of a plum and is in the back of her head. This one is operable. The second is about the size of a marble and is located behind the eye and near the temple. The third is smaller yet. The cancer has metastasized. The primary site has not yet been determined. This is of course bad news. The doctor says that the cancer is aggressive and must be treated immediately.
So, tomorrow mom will be operated on. The surgeon will remove the first tumor only. This will relieve the pressure on her brain and should reduce the pain. The other two tumors will most likely be treated with radiation and chemotherapy. However, this information is sketchy at best. After the surgery is completed and mom is recovering, we will do a complete CAT scan to attempt to find the primary site of the cancer.
Mom is medicated and is sleeping finally so that is great news. The pain was taking a toll on her. She understands what is happening and is ready to meet the challenges ahead.
We ask for your thoughts and prayers to be with her tomorrow and in the weeks to come. We will be fasting as a family tomorrow and would greatly appreciate you joining us in this effort. We feel confident that a full recovery is possible with God's help. Please join us in pleading with Him to bring this blessing to us.
The Christensens
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