The road home

We are still at the hospital with Kelsey. She seems to be standing at the doorway of this life and the next. Seems strangely appropriate to be writing this post on Independence Day. I am not sure how soon it will be, but without a miracle, Kelsey will be declaring her independence, through the blood of Jesus Christ. Her independence of sin, sickness, sorrow and death. From the first biopsy results we learned this was a nasty cancer, now, Kelsey has the opportunity to be completely cancer free. No worries of recurrence, no lingering pain from nerve damage, no reduced functionality in her right arm, no pain in her hips from some crazy alignment issues (probably due to a combination of the stereotactic treatment as well as favoring her right leg when the tumor was growing there), no trouble breathing, no more fluid on her lungs, no more confusion about where she is or what day it is. And, oh, the rapture of being in the presence of Jesus and hearing “well done, my good and faithful servant.”


Here is Kelsey with her armor on. Yesterday morning (July 3), she decided it was time to put her shirt on. As she was putting it on, she stated that anyone who wore the shirt would need to be ready to share about the love of Christ with others. Several nurses who have worked with us either have, or will soon have, their own shirt to wear. A lot has changed since that time. Yesterday she was still very coherent, continuing to encourage people who came to visit her and thanking her nurses. Yesterday evening, her speech began to slip a bit. I had the impossible task of talking with Alexa about the reality of the situation. Unless God does a miracle, the next time we go to our house, Mommy is not going to ever walk through the door again. No more cheerful Kelsey smile, no more new touches around the house, no more beautiful outfits picked out by mommy, no more fun adventures with mommy, the list continues. Telling your daughter who is four years old the one who is the dearest to her on earth is going to be with Jesus is heartbreaking. This world is not our home and I feel that more acutely than ever. I do not want pity, I do not want those knowing glances, I do not say this for any other reason than I continue to covet your prayers.

The battle is not over, but the end appears to be drawing nearer. After the most recent nurse shift change at 7:00 this morning (when she once again thanked her nurse for all her help), she has not really spoken or even attempted to speak. She has rarely opened her eyes and even when she does, I am not sure that she is seeing this world each time – in the times of clarity, it has been a privilege to read the encouraging testimonies of how Kelsey has touched so many lives on the Praying for Kelsey Facebook group. Whether God takes Kelsey home, or heals her, we will figure out a way to get all of the posts together. It will either be a start to the book, or perhaps the main content of her book should God choose to take her home. Another example of Kelsey still being Kelsey, last night she offered to pay our nurse to stay with her throughout the whole night. Kelsey loves Brenda – one of the many special nurses we have had during this stay at the hospital. We told her that Brenda’s other patients may not appreciate not having a nurse to help them out throughout the night. Now, we are listening to songs playing on Kelsey’s Pandora station – which she seeded with Chris Rice.

Prayer requests

-- Pray that Kelsey would have no fear, but would be filled with the knowledge of the deep love of her Savior, and that He will either heal her or call her home. Pray we will be able to manage her pain, so that she is not needlessly suffering.

-- Please pray for my sweet daughter, Alexa. Pray this will be a chapter in her book which will make her a strong follower of you. Please pray for protection against this being used by the evil one to keep Alexa from being everything she can be for the kingdom. Please pray that she will come to know Christ soon, perhaps even out of this painful time.

For those of you who may not be in the Praying for Kelsey Facebook group, but are following the blog, here is a slightly modified version of the prayer I posted there:

Now, Lord, if her work on earth is done, please take her quickly (but not before she has brought You the maximum amount of glory she can bring by being present here on earth). What a joy to know that she will be able to fully use her hand (I anticipate her enjoying shooting a perfected jump shot and throwing an even more perfect spiral than she threw before surgery), she will have no more pain or tears, she can dance with you in heaven, she can hold our two dear children who we never got to hold in this life, and will be able to speak with You and praise You clearly! If her work is not yet done, and You choose to let her tarry awhile longer in her hospital bed, fill her with a real sense of your presence and love and cast out any fears or doubts that may assail her. While the opportunity is there, I do continue to petition your throne for your total, complete earthly healing! Thank you for all of your saints who have come around us and thank you Jesus that you ARE so much greater and more powerful than cancer! Amen