WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007 10:36 AM, CST

Dear Friends,
Kristina will be having a CT scan on her abdomen today. I would like to ask each of you to specifically pray that the scans reveal no new cancer in that area. The doctors are checking to see if the cancer has spread to her colon and also to check on the cancer in her liver.
As John stated before, the swelling and fevers must subside before Kristina is able to leave the hospital. Tomorrow will be day 14 of her hospital stay. Please pray for Kristina physically as well as emotionally. Not seeing her girls is very difficult. Kristina's desire has always been to be a godly wife and mother. Let's continue to petition the Great Physician and pray for her complete healing so that she can resume the roles that she longs to fulfill.
Thank you for all of the sweet post and prayers that are being said for the Schlegel and Mason families. May God receive all the glory!
In His love,
Stef

MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007 06:42 PM, CST

The swelling in Kristina's feet and legs has subsided some, but the swelling in her abdomen has not changed.
In order for Kristina to come home or have additional chemo treatments, her abdominal swelling must subside. Please make this a specific prayer request to our Lord.
John

SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2007 11:53 PM, CST

Friday, Jan 26th update:

Kristina is exhausted. I don't know what other procedures they could have left at this point. She had the colonoscopy today. The anasethesia has wiped her out. The swelling/fluid retention is a real issue. She literally has about 25 pounds of excess fluid trapped in her stomach, legs and feet. That simply has to subside before they can even consider releasing her. She is starting to get bed sores so we have really made an effort to keep her out of bed.

Please pray that the doctors can get her swelling under control.

Saturday, Jan 27th update:

Kristina has had a rough morning. She had difficulty breathing this morning and the doctors were concerned that fluid was getting into her lungs. They are treating her for this and have her on oxygen.
They believe this is all "chemo" related and they hope it will pass. The results of her colonoscopy are good. No polymps or signs of cancer. So this is great news.
Please be vigilant in your prayers.
John

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007 01:25 PM, CST

Kristina will be having a colonoscopy today at 2:00 p.m. She is still retaining fluid in her abdomen. Thankfully she is not suffering from any pain currently, but the retained fluid has made her very uncomfortable.
Please continue your prayers for Kristina.
John

TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2007 11:25 PM, CST

Kristina had about five hundred cc's of fluid drawn from her stomach yesterday morning. Seems to have relieved her a little. Let's praise the Lord for this small blessing!

Dr. Spigel told us today that Kristina's cancer has not progressed but it also has not gotten better. This was initially discouraging as we hoped it would have been great news. But it certainly could have been worse.

Dr. Spigel believes that we are receiving some benefit from this chemo and that it makes sense to continue it if Kristina's immediate symptoms subside. So we'll need to take a break for sure but the plan for now is to start it back as soon as she can handle it.

Please pray for Kristina's spirits to be lifted, for healing and for ultimate trust in our Lord.
God Bless,
John

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2007 09:37 AM, CST

Kristina has an enormous amount of discomfort in her stomach now. It is painful for her to even turn in her bed.

Dr. Spigel came by this morning. He had not seen her since Friday morning. He said her stomach was definitely larger today than it was then and that he suspects she has as much as two liters of fluid in there. This means she will definitely have another ultrasound today and will hopefully have much of her discomfort relieved through draining the stomach.

Spigel had still not reviewed the scans. He indicated that the new scans show cancer present in the liver (didn't specify how much), a few small nodules in her left lung and cancer still present in a couple of lymph nodes. He said his best guess is that it's not any worse but he can't say for sure without reviewing the scans sometime today.

Whether the chemo is working or not there is a chance she'll have to come off of this chemo if it becomes apparent that it is the root cause of her fluid retention, gas and neuropathy. We know it's causing the latter.

There will be many hard decisions and difficult conversations to be had in the days to come. But for now we have to get past this first hurdle of Kristina's immediate symptoms improving enough that she can leave the hospital. That means her stomach must go down and she must be able to move around more. If not, she's at risk for blood clots. We now know she'll be here at least through tomorrow
night. Chemo is obviously off for tomorrow.

Please pray for Kristina's nerves. She REALLY doesn't want to have this fluid drawn but she knows she needs to. Also pray for the Lord to strengthen her trust and complete reliance upon Him.

Thank you all so much for continuing to lift us up.

John

SUNDAY, JANUARY 21, 2007 06:07 PM, CST

Kristina still has no pain but has a very swollen stomach and is fatigued. Both docs came by this morning. Really nothing new except that they both seemed encouraged that her appetite was starting to come back and her color and energy were better. Those are the factors that will determine when she can go home--not the size of her stomach. She will not be having a colonoscopy. There is a
decent chance she will have fluid drained from her stomach either today or tomorrow. I'll keep you posted as I receive more information.
John

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2007 05:31 PM, CST

Kristina's blood transfusion has really started to benefit her today. Her color has returned and she's had a bit more energy.

But for those of you who have seen her lately, you know that's not saying much. She's still quite frail and tires very easily. For that reason we still would prefer no visitors at this time. She is resting very well which is DESPERATELY needed.

Please keep up the prayers. Specifically pray that the enemy might not steal Kristina's joy and her assurance during this time of suffering.

Thank you!

John

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2007 10:28 AM, CST

We just saw Dr. Spigel's oncology partner. He didn't give us a whole lot of additional information. He did confirm that at least some of the source of Kristina's bloating is trapped gas. That does not mean, necessarily, that the liver is not a prominent factor. We just won't know until Dr. Spigel sees the side-by-side scans on Monday.

The GI doctor just left. He said that he does believe that her swelling is likely caused by gas. He does not believe we should do a colonoscopy today. He reviewed the CT scan of her abdomen and indicated that he didn't see an enlarged colon which may rule out certain infections. He's waiting on the results of her stool samples before making a recommendation. The idea of draining what's been deemed a "moderate" amount of fluid from her abdomen is still a possibility for today--partially for relief and partially to analyze it for further infection possibilities.

I wish we had more information. Kristina is feeling a little more perky this morning. At least that's my impression. That means I should have gone to bed MUCH earlier last night!

Thank you all for you prayers.

John

FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2007 10:09 AM, CST

Hi everyone, this is Stephanie, John asked me to post for Kristina and update you on her progress. She will be receiving two pints of blood today over a six hour period. The oncologist came by this morning and said he really wants to keep her tonight to make sure they are on top of whatever caused her fever.
John says that Kristina is resting and feeling better. Please keep Kristina and John in your prayers and also the doctors that they will be given divine wisdom to treat Kristina. We trust and believe that the Lord has Kristina right where He needs her to be to be given the treatment and care that she needs to feel better. We praise God for His grace and His goodness in all things!
Thank you for all of your sweet post. It is such an encouragement to the entire Schlegel family.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007 07:29 PM, CST

This is John. Please pray for Kristina. She has a 103 temp and I'm taking her to Baptist right now.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2007 10:19 PM, CST

This is John. Kristina really struggled today. Her stomach is still very bloated. It has actually increased in size today. It is very uncomfortable and has now started to affect her breathing. She also has a condition related to the chemo called neuropathy. Basically that means that she is unable to really grip anything with her hands because she has no sensation with them. She can't tell when she has a good grip on something or not. The same sensation is happening on her feet. It makes it difficult for her to walk.
Kristina was uplifted this evening when Alan, Randy, Daniel, Lisa and Stef came over to pray with her. It was a much-needed therapy for her that I know made a huge difference. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives who care so much for us.
I want to thank David Filson for all that he is doing for me. What a great friend you have become to me David. I thank God for your presence in my life.
I also want to thank all of the other men that have come alongside me during this time of need and picked me up when I was down. Thank you Corb, Daniel, Matt, Doug Blumhardt, Doug Scott, Hunter, Tommy, Keith, Marvin, Joel, JT, John A., Brian, Fred, Scotty and I'm sure several others that I'm forgetting. I haven't really stopped to thank you before. Your prayers and your friendship are invaluable to me.
Dear friends and family, please continue to lift up Kristina and the rest of our family during this extremely trying time for us. There's no easy way to describe it. She's suffering. Like never before she's suffering. And that means that all of us are. By God's grace we will not only get through this but prayerfully will glorify Him in the process. Please pray for our attitudes and our wills to be in accordance with God's attitude and His will. This is His battle not ours. It is His predetermined outcome not ours. And we can trust that whatever that outcome is is absolutely best for us in the end. It's easier to say that than to live it though.
Thank you all for your love. I'll do my best to keep you posted while Kristina is working through these nasty side effects that make it difficult for her to type.
In Christ,
John

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2007 09:31 PM, CST

This is John. Kristina was able to have her chemotherapy today. Her blood counts are down quite a bit so please pray that they won't go too low. Kristina was extremely tired tonight as well and has been in bed for a little over an hour.
Please pray for Kristina's peace in addition to her healing. Your prayers are precious to us.
In Christ,
John

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2007 09:01 AM, CST

Hey, it's me. I'm off to have a treatment. I'll post when I get home.
Blessings,
Kristina

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2007 08:36 PM, CST

This is John. I'm sitting next to Kristina now and she's asked me to journal. Today has been a better day except for her stomach. It is still quite bloated. Her energy level is not great but it's certainly been worse in the past. She was able to get more food down today than she has in the past few days which was great!
Thank you Kim for taking Emily tonight. She was so excited to get to spend time with Macy. Thank you Miss Dean for all you're doing. We are so fortunate to have you. Thank you Jonathan for all of the time you spend with the girls. They love you as do we. Thank you to my mom and dad for being there for us. Emily is looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Thank you church family for your continued prayers and encouragement. Thank you Marvin Cropsey for praying for me specifically. You have humbled me with your intense dedication. I'm so thankful to all of the men and women who have specifically told me that they keep us in their prayers daily. It really is humbling.
Please keep your prayers and encouragement coming. We are so thankful to all of you for the love you've displayed during this time.
In Christ,
John

TUESDAY, JANUARY 09, 2007 09:54 PM, CST

Let me start off by saying THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Keith for taking me for my treatment today. What a long day.
I had a tough night last night. I started feeling a lot better yesterday. I spent a lot of time with the girls. I lifted Abby a lot and I pulled a muscle in my back. I was in a lot of pain most of the night. This morning was really hard getting ready. I was able to take some meds and it took the the edge off.
We got to Sara Cannon at 10:30. They called me back and started the IV. The nurse couldn't get it to work and had to pull it out. It was really painful. I started crying. I think I'm just over it. They brought another nurse over and she was able to get it the first time. We then headed downstairs. We met with Dr. Spigel's nurse practitioner. My red blood cells are really low. They gave me a shot to help boost my red blood cells. I will get that shot every three weeks. The shot really burns going in. The nurse was really sensitive to that. Praise God for good nurses.
My feet and legs started swelling yesterday. The swelling is not from the cancer. Praise God! I was also given a muscle relaxer to help with my back pain. I've learned my lesson. I'm not strong enough yet to tote Abby around. That is really hard. I know this is temporary.
I didn't get to start chemo until after 3:00. We left there at 4:35. The day actually went by pretty quickly. Keith and I just talked a ton and made the most of it.
Enough about all of that. I'm sorry for all of the complaining. Please continue to pray this chemo is working. This has been rough.
I hope everyone is having a good week. I miss everyone. Keep posting. I love them. Oh, I'm going to beat you Mel....just kidding.
Blessings,
Kristina

SUNDAY, JANUARY 07, 2007 05:49 PM, CST

The past couple of days have been tough. The medicine isn't helping with my stomach. I hate that...I had to have that shot and it hurt pretty bad. I'm not sure what they're going to do. This is keeping me at home all the time. I go back Tuesday to have a treatment and I meet with Dr. Spigel. Please pray that God will give them the wisdom to find something to help with my stomach. This is really taking a toll on my body.
I'm slowly starting to wean myself off of some of my pain medicine. My stomach is really swollen and very uncomfortable. Dr. Spigel doesn't feel like it's the cancer, but maybe all the pain medicine. My pain has gotten a lot better. Please pray I can get off of some of these meds. I can't stand my stomach like this.
I sure miss everyone. I'm ready to be "normal" again.
Thanks to the ladies that are so devoted to praying for me. I love you guys. Claire, no crying! I'm kidding....I do my share of crying too. I miss you girl.
Heather, I'm sorry. I will be praying for you.
I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for the posts. They're just what I need. I feel like I'm on an island at times.
I'll keep everyone posted on how I'm doing. Keep posting.
Blessings,
Kristina

FRIDAY, JANUARY 05, 2007 09:40 PM, CST

Today ended up pretty good. It didn't start out that way. My stomach was upset when I woke up and I thought it was going to be one of those days. John took me to see Dr. Spigel and things started looking up from there.
We didn't get any great news but we didn't get any bad news either. He said that the bloating in my stomach isn't really a sign of the cancer being worse. He said it's more likely that it has to do with the pain medication I've been taking. Since my pain has not really been that bad since starting this new chemo, I'm going to try to slowly stop taking the medication. The bloating is definitely uncomfortable but at least it doesn't hurt.
I was prescribed Ridilan to help with my fatigue. Apparently it gives adults a boost in energy while it calms down children. I have noticed quite a bit more energy since taking the first dose so I'm praying that it helps me to be more active, or at least to stay awake more.
Thank you to all of you who have continued to pray for me and ask about me. I so wish I could talk with all of you like I used to. By God's grace I'll be able to again soon.
Please keep your encouraging posts coming. I hope to see my church family this Sunday.
Blessings,
Kristina

TUESDAY, JANUARY 02, 2007 08:00 PM, CST

Today has been pretty good. John took me to do lab work. All of my levels are coming back up. This is probably why I'm feeling a little better. I go back Friday to meet with the doctor. We have a ton of questions for him.
John's parents had Em and my mom had Abby. This made for a nice nap for me today. John, Mom, Jonathan, Abby and I went out for dinner tonight. It was so nice to just get out.
We just got back from getting Emily from John's parents. I think she was ready to come home. I can't believe it....she has it made over there. Gary and Nancy, thank you for taking such good care of her.
Claire, it was nice talking to you today. I'm sorry that I did most of the talking. It was nice to have a friend on the phone and be physically able to talk. Thanks for always making me feel normal about things I'm thinking or doing. I love that about you.
John is going back to work from the holidays tomorrow. We're going to miss him terribly. He does so much around here. He has really stepped up as an AWESOME daddy.
Please continue to pray that this chemo is working. I'm not trusting in the doctors, but it's hard to hear that if this doesn't work...you have months. I'm praying for a miracle. I know God can heal me if He so chooses. My hope is in Him.
I hope everyone is having a good week. Where are the posts?
Blessings,
Kristina

MONDAY, JANUARY 01, 2007 01:06 PM, CST

Happy New Year! I didn't get to see the New Year roll in. I slept right through all the fireworks. Thanks Claire and Kyle for having John over. I'm sorry I couldn't make it over.
What did everyone do for New Year's?
I'm feeling a lot better today. I have to go have more Lab work tomorrow. I pray all my levels are in normal range.
Jenni, thank you for spending the day with Emily. She had a great time.
Mel, we're glad you're back. We missed you. I haven't seen anyone. I haven't been out of this house in forever. Girls night out is going to happen.
Please pray that I will continue to feel better. This has been tough. I pray God is using this chemo to kick my cancer's bootie. I just wish the side effects weren't so hard on me. I will endure whatever. I just want to live.
I'm not putting my trust in the doctors. I'm only trusting God. I think this is where God has wanted me to be for a long time.
Keep posting!
Blessings,
Kristina