Here is the most recent of the prayer letters. Please keep praying. I may give my own blog post soon when I have something to say!
This one is going to be titled "Who thought this one up?"
I was planning on sending out an update last week. We were scheduled to end the last phase of Melanie's radiation treatment. We had just finished the treatment on her lower back. Melanie is tolerating the oral chemotherapy well and we were within two days of finishing on her upper back when the latest crisis started.
We were looking forward to stopping the shuffling between doctors offices, radiation treatment and start on the road to recovery and rest when Melanie started to have stomach pains. We spend a couple of weeks telling the doctors that when she ate her stomach hurt. They recommended several over the counter drugs to ease the pain and they seemed to work for a time. The doctors then thought that it might be an ulcer and ordered an x-ray of her stomach. The results were inconclusive and we were waiting for what they were going to do next when Melanie needed to go to the emergency room. She has been in the hospital since last Tues, July 7th, They ordered scans from the top (to look at the stomach) and from the bottom (to look at the bowel). The results of the tests showed that there was nothing visible that was the cause of her pain. So they emptied her out and started out on a clear liquid diet and she did fine, they went to full liquid (cream soup, yogurt etc) and she did fine. We had got her all the way to full diet and she was doing fine until the first night of the full diet when the pain was back. So start over with clear liquid and antibiotic's because they now thing there is an inflammation of her small intestines that cannot be seen with a scan.
So today she is on full liquids and is looking forward to eating something other than clear broth. The doctors have changed her antibiotic's and are hoping that she will be able to eat with out pain. If she can continue to eat with out pain she should be home on Monday. This will allow the doctors some options as to the type of tests that are not available here in our town, We may have to go to the big city for additional tests.
We are at a loss as to what happened or how it happened - what we do know is that we will win this one. What we also know is that this has nothing to do with the cancer or the chemotherapy she was taking. Melanie's spirits are good - she is very tired, no real food and pain do not make for a lot of energy. Right now the pain management is as big as the cancer. We are battling we really appreciate all of your support and prayers. We are sustained by them and by the knowledge that we still live in the palm of His hand and are covered by the shadow of the wing of the Most High God.
Thank you for praying please continue to do so. I will update you all next week hopefully while Melanie is upstairs in her own bed and I am not either going or coming from the hospital.
Thank you we love you all.
Many blessings over each and every one of you and your families.
Serving a Big God,
Dennis, Melanie, Autumn & Jake & Jet and Monica
