The Good, The Bad and The Really, Really Ugly

So 3 days ago my little sister was stable, sitting in a chair next to her hospital bed, wearing her glasses, with fresh "Katniss" (Hunger Games) braids she had me do in her hair, eating dinner and laughing at a Friends episode with me and Wes. {the good}

Yesterday into this morning (July 4) my sister has had quite a bit of head pain, tailbone pain, dizziness and vomiting. It was difficult to watch, not having any way to help her feel relief. {the bad}

And tonight, or I guess, this morning, sitting here in a waiting room at 1:30am, my baby sister is back in Neuro ICU. There is no way to make this sound any better than it is, so here goes...

Her brain is swelling and she has bleeding in her brain. She also still has the brain clotting and APL (leukemia), however treatment for those have been put on hold to address the swelling and bleeding. So at 8am (California time) my sister will have brain surgery to relieve the pressure. {the really, really, UGLY}

I understand hearing (reading) this may be overwhelming. To hear it out loud from a dozen doctors and nurses to suddenly swarm her room wasn't easy either. And wrapping your mind around her status right now (especially as she insists every time I tell her I love her that she's "fine") is not an easy task (personally I went outside the hospital to scream/ugly cry/cuss/hyperventilate). You may be there too. And that's understandable.

BUT here's what I cling to:

*She's in the best hospital in the nation for what she has
*Now back in ICU, she has 24 hour one-to-one nurse and teams of specialists on her case
*She still has a sense of humor, and cognitive awareness is still there (including the sass)
*She has an army of people, like you, praying for her and thinking of her

AND

(an excerpt from one of my devotionals today, Streams in the Desert)

(God) is watching in the hard places and will not allow one trial too many; He will let the dross be consumed, and then He will come gloriously to your help. Do not grieve Him by doubting his love. Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on the way to you, and you will be abundantly rewarded for the delay which has tried your faith. 

The vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. Habakkuk 2:3

We will wait, and we will pray. And like many of you, our prayers come through our hearts when our words fail. We are thankful for all of you. Keep spreading the link, and let others know to do the same. There are many of us together, praying together. And in that there's HOPE.

God Bless,

~The Big Sister




I figured I should weigh in here. I second everything Brittany said. I'm not sure what else to say except thanks for all the prayers and support from across the spectrum. From close friends and family to friends of friends of friends, it has really been touching. I am comforted knowing that so many people out there who love Ashley (and me) are keeping us in their thoughts and praying diligently for her swift recovery and her medical team's wise care. Please keep it up. As they say, squeaky wheels get the grease. Let's all squeak loud and see Ashley through this together!

~The Husband