Day Sixteen: Carry the Fire

It's all Cesa tonight folks, I'm done tuckered out. My only contribution tonight will be to the title, inspired by The Road. No one said this was going to be easy, but what burns brightest inside will see us through. Enough of my waxing poetic, time to turn you over to Cess.

Apparently Colorado isn't the only place with unpredicatable weather. Seems as though the storm we were supposed to get blew over us. Yesterday evening they were already sand bagging the doors and prepping for what we thought was going to be high winds and lots of rain. To our delight, we woke up to clearer skies and no wind and we made it in time to see all the beautiful faces from all over the world at breakfast. I guess I should have remembered to tell you sooner that there are people here from London, other parts of England, Australia, and many other great US states. On the menu this morning, much to my surprise, was egg in the hole! I thought that was only an "American" thing, but apparently lots of things make they're way across the border, just like Peter Piper Pizza.

While the nurses were getting Krissy set up on her IV treatments, I decided to take a walk and get to know the 3rd floor a little better. I also have a hard time with needles and blood and they were having to fight Krissy's arms to find a good vein. She has tiny veins and they were not cooperating with the nurses. As I was walking around, I noticed an article posted on the wall about Donald Factor, the son of the very famous makekup artist Max Factor. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1986 and after virtually no options for treatment in England, he came to Oasis of Hope. When you hear a diagnosis of liver cancer, one automatically assumes "terminal" because our liver is the laboratory of our bodies and is one of the main powerhouses to complete the functions of our organs. Donald Factor underwent this surgery to create a port that delivered the medication directly to the liver. Long story short, he survived through the miraculous efforts of Dr. Contreras and his team here at Oasis. As I read this, I couldn't help think to myself that if only Josh's dad Garry would have known of this place, maybe he too could be here today to tell his story. Everything in life happens for a reason though, and we have to believe that there is a beautiful world we will enter into after this life, and some are just meant to go before us to prepare for our arrival.

Marcia left this morning and I wish we would have had her for one more day because we got some pretty upsetting news. The results from the scan came back and it seems as though the tumor by Krissy's pancreas and intestine has grown slightly and the one in the lining of her stomach has increased a little as well. That was a blow initially, but the powers that be, sent us comfort in the form of Laura and Ron. As we were walking down the stairs to lunch, they greeted us with a smile and saw that it was not returned so easily. Immediately Laura asked how the scan went and we both started crying. She hugged Krissy tightly and said, "It's ok, Ron's scans were different all the time and not always good, but he's here today cancer free and that's all that matters." Everyone here is not given the same protocol, they are very similar, but they're all tweaked to find the perfect regimen. Krissy's will now probably need to be readjusted, and tonight we will pray for the guidance and direction we will need to go in tomorrow.

With this much needed sunny, warmer, weather, Krissy and I got to venture out again. This time it was to find the Church, our place of solice, but the doors were locked when we got there. So we headed back and I attended the relaxation workshop led by Dr. Lety Wong, the psychologist here. I was the only one in the class, so I got to meditate all by myself. It was very relaxing and I came back to the room with a much clearer head. Earlier in the day I had attended Dr. McCarty's seminar on nutrition and as Frank told us in the blog from the first round....we eat TERRIBLLY BAD in the US. Looks like its going to be the Mediterranean diet for me. First I need to have a slice of pizza, because that's what I am craving so badly, but after that....I'm restructuring my meals.

For dinner we decided enough with the plethora of fruits and veggies and off to El Yogurt we went. Krissy's protein levels are low, so she needs to start eating more fish, chicken and adding the vegetable proteins, so all the more reason to eat out at the hospital approved restaurant. I had chicken enchiladas and Krissy had a chicken burrito and for dessert, raspberry frozen yogurt with lots of sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts. Healing service was at 7 and that was just what we needed before retiring to bed. We prayed for Krissy and Casey. Casey is a young father from Atlanta. He has been battling colo-rectal cancer for quite some time and it has advanced to his lungs. He has two little boys, ages 3 & 5, who bring a light to his eyes when he speaks of them. After several rounds of chemo and it not working, he was sent hopeless from Atlanta to the light of Oasis.

Today didn't go exactly how we would have planned, but there's always renewal by hearing someone else's journey and we never forget the promise of tomorrow! We're 1/2 way there.....God Bless!