May 23, 2009

This evening we attended a session in the Draper Temple with the stake presidency and our wives. It was a great place to feel the peace of the Lord. Today I have been reflecting a lot on my favorite scripture in Proverbs 3:5 - "Trust in the Lord with all of thy heart and lean not to thine own understanding." I really do trust in the Lord but I focused on the word "all." It is quite the concept to consider.

We were encouraged today when Bryce was able to walk about 30 feet with a walker. This was significantly better than yesterday. He also sat in a chair two different times. He told Jerica that he wanted to get back to bed by himself. She insisted that he allow the nurse to help him. We were also encouraged that Bryce was able to handle conventional dialysis (3-4 hours at a higher rate) versus continuous dialysis (12 - 24 hours).

Unfortunately Bryce was in a lot of pain and appeared to be really suffering. He had a hard time getting comfortable.

Today Bryce received the second round of chemotherapy - this time they used all four drugs where last time they only used three. They still did not give him a full-dose because his liver function is still not where it should be.

The oncologist told us that it is a miracle that Bryce has survived the last three weeks and an even greater miracle that his condition has improved - off blood pressure medications, off the ventilator, labs have improved, etc.

This morning Kendra went into Bryce's room and saw his bamboo plant and was greatly touched when in her mind she saw an analogy to Bryce's current condition. One stem of his plant was very yellow and shriveled - analogous to Bryce who is very jaundiced and is only skin and bones, but there was one small green shoot in the middle of this yellow stem that shows that it still has life. Another stem is green and continually growing, which is likened to Bryce's spirit. The other cool thing is that several months ago Kendra purchased a little guy holding a thumbs up symbol. This is one thing that has been impressive with Bryce - is that he will often give us or the medical staff a thumbs up signal to let them know he is hanging in there! (We put pictures below)

We greatly appreciate your continual love and support.