Tuesday, January 30, 2007: The Wiffer!

Well, Kristi's friends Merry and Sheri visited today. See the pictures. Kristi also broke wind today. Read below...


From: Brian & Kristi Rogalske [mailto:bkrogalske@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 12:35 AM

Subject: Kristi Update #7: 1-30-07

Hello all,

Once again, great progress. Last night/early morning Kristi got her leg circulation wraps off. That was a huge relief. It was like trying to sleep with your legs tied down. Last night they also took off one IV so she was down to one. Her itching has also stopped. Prayers are being answered every day. Please keep praying!! This morning she went to the bathroom on her own and even washed up a bit. Then her friend came and gave her a pedicure. Ahhh.

The biggest news of the day: this afternoon at about 2:15, she passed her first "wiffer"...and Janna was here to experience it. How exciting. All these years I've been the only one around our house that found true joy in passing gas...now she will join me in sharing this joy. You should have seen the look on her face! She was so excited she rang the nurse call button. This was a big step because now she can start a liquid diet. For dinner she had chicken broth and cranberry juice. Yum. She really enjoyed reading all the cards from Ashley's 3rd grade class. Even the nurses got a thrill out of reading them. Nathan's class did the same thing. Thank you Mrs. Vogelzang and Mrs. Dozeman.

Also this afternoon her other IV came out (which included her pain meds). So now she is only on oral pain killers and is IV-free!. These are some huge steps for her. The doctor said she should be able to come home "probably Thursday". Tomorrow, she will start some solid food. The next big step for her will be to not just pass gas, but also pass...well, you know.

Those were the highlights/praises of the day. The not so good moments of the day included another bad "episode" with some needles - that upset her a great deal...lots of pain. Her wrist is pretty swollen and sore from that. So, 2 steps forward, 1 step back. She is also still having uncontrolled convulsions/twitches. This is normal according to the doctor for someone that has been through what she's been through. It's a little tough to watch but they should wear off soon now that she's off the morphine. Also late tonight she had a little melt down. I know she won’t want me to put this in here and worry everyone, but she needs our prayers. I think everything just caught up to her a bit. Also, tomorrow she has to have a shot in her stomach. That is making her very anxious after today’s episode. So she started thinking of everything she has to go through and the effect on the kids and she just lost it. A friend of mine who’s wife recently also went through a cancer battle gave us some needed advice…one step at a time.

Please pray for:
1) The pain/swelling in her wrist to go away
2) Tomorrow she has to get a shot in her stomach...another needle! She is not looking forward to this.
3) That she is able to pass the food without complications.
4) Continued healing
5) The kids are starting to show a little wear at being shuffled around so much. Mommy will be home soon, so please pray that the kids can make it a couple more days.
6) and most importantly, continued good spirits as each day brings new challenges.

Please please please, pray for strength for Kristi. Please make that pager go off 100 times tomorrow. Attached is a picture that I took this morning. She wants everyone to know she is doing well. Tomorrow she will try typing a message to everyone. So that pretty much wraps up today...stay tuned for an update from Kristi tomorrow (God willing).

Brian