Standing on a Mountaintop

Howdy gang! I have been meaning to update but have been busy with school and preparing for this weekend. WHAT A WEEKEND!! I served on the team for Walk to Emmaus #1272 and am still standing on the top of the mountain. What an awesome experience - to spend three days with Jesus and about 90 of my sisters-in-Christ! I agreed to serve last summer before I knew about my cancer and I was a little concerned about how I was going to hold up. Saturdays and Sundays are my worst days because I am usually so tired, so I started praying about this a month ago. When I went to my doctor last Wednesday before chemo, he suggested I get a shot to boost my red blood cell count to increase my energy - I didn't even say anything about it. I was still concerned on Friday - I didn't do very well - but Saturday and Sunday I felt GREAT! Thank GOD!

During the walk, some of my new sisters laid their hands on me and prayed over me in the chapel (lots of crying). I won't be surprised if the doctor tells me I am healed next time I go...speaking of which, I don't go back to MD Anderson until the end of February for another scan to see if this chemo is working..or if God has been working!

The newest treatment story is that I have to go get a shot every Monday to boost my white blood cell count because my levels got too low and chemo would have to be postponed if I didn't get the levels back up. Anyway, the shot itself hurts, but not nearly as much as my bones hurt the next day - thank God it only lasted for about 36 hours. The doctor and nurses say the pain is normal and hopefully will lessen with each shot.

Major news...my precious brother is counting the hours until he starts home from Iraq. Please pray for a safe trip for him over the next several days. I will let everyone know when he gets home - he is supposed to call me when he sets foot on US soil (after kissing his family).

My soccer team lost their first scrimmage, but they won their second one, and I meant to have a picture of the celebration, but I forgot my camera. Maybe next time.

Much love to all of you, and if any of my new sisters are reading this...God Bless you and I love you! Thank you for letting me see Jesus in YOU! I really needed you all at this time in my life, so thanks for saying "Yes, Lord! Yes, Lord! Yes! Yes, Lord!" and not "No Lord, you've got the wrong guy!" De Colores! Kelli

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!

On the Monday after we got out for the Christmas Holidays, my hair started falling out. I had been hopeful that this time around I might get to keep my hair...but no such luck. Every time I took a shower, blew my hair dry, brushed my hair, or even just ran my fingers through it...there it went! Poor Faron always had blond hair all over him. I hated to go anywhere because of the trail of hair I left behind - disgusting! Losing my hair was just too depressing, so Papa agreed to cut it off (after he and Connor got back from deer hunting).


I went to see my buddy Kevin who normally cuts my hair and we looked at some wigs, but I am kinda thinking I might just go bald. I have been wearing hats and have discovered that my head gets hot, then cold, then hot...and I can adjust easily by wearing different hats. Connor is horrified by the idea of me being seen in public with no hair. He's worried about how the kids will treat me tomorrow - first day back at school. The last time I went through this I would hear stories from other teachers about my students defending me, sometimes a little too enthusiastically, when someone who didn't know my situation made fun of me. However, the GP campus is small enough that I think everyone knows what's up. We'll see tomorrow!

My last chemo went very well with the new medi-port. The nurse cleaned the area well and then stuck a needle right into the site...piece of cake! The nurse told me it might hurt a little bit, but it was nothing compared to getting the IV in my hand. When I got the chemo in my hand, the cool liquid would contract my veins (while forcing extra fluid through them) and it HURT. The only problem I am really having with the medi-port is psychological...I can feel the tube running from the port just under my skin and up my neck and can feel the "knot"in my neck where the tube goes into my vein. It doesn't hurt, it just makes me feel a little like the bionic woman with fake body parts.

My brother has served his last mission in Iraq - PRAISE THE LORD- and he is packing up, working out, and playing video games. They have to take classes before they return to make the transition back into family life easier. I told him I would pray for him until he called me from his home telephone - then he is on is own! If you are reading this, say a little prayer for a safe trip home for my brother, Kyle.

For my friend, Terri, who is searching, I'll close with Matthew 18:3 "...I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Little children believe first and ask questions later. One day I decided to act "as if" I were a christian and it changed my life - saved my life. Faron looked at me one morning a few days ago and told me if he has to live without me for a while, he knows it's only temporary (although, of course, no fun)...compared to eternity, all of our lives are short. We are comforted by the promise of God through Jesus. In fact, I have noticed that the people who are most able to laugh with me are my Christian friends because they get it - none of this is serious. My non-Christian friends are the ones who are having the hardest time dealing with my cancer - they stare at me a lot like they are looking for some way to make sense of it all. They are mad at the injustice and do not understand why I am not. My next blog will be about some amazing women of faith - I am doing my research to get my facts right. Until then, pray for those who seek and do not yet find, and especially for those who do not seek at all. Much love and great blessings to you all, Kelli