Home Sweet Home

Mom was discharged from the hospital last night. After her 6 week stay she is very happy to be in her own surroundings. Ah, the comfort of HOME SWEET HOME!

Please keep praying for her renewed strength and healing.

With hope,

Angie

Keep Praying!

TONIGHT ANOTHER DOCTOR FROM THE SAME OFFICE CAME IN AND SAID SHE WAS NOT READY TO GO HOME.

I TOLD THE DOCTOR TO TELL ALL OF THE OTHER DOCTORS IN THAT OFFICE TO NEVER MENTION THE PHRASE "GOING HOME" UNTIL THEY ARE 100% SURE SHE WILL BE GOING HOME IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW WE BOTH HAVE FELT ALL DAY LONG, SHE SITTING IN THE ROOM, I COME OVER AFTER A LONG WORK DAY OUT OF TOWN WAITING AND WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO COME IN WITH ALL OF THE DISCHARGE PAPERS AND THEN HIT WITH THAT NEWS.

MY PRECIOUS WIFE IS DOING HER BEST TO KEEP HER SPIRITS UP, PLEASE PRAY AGAINST A SPIRIT OF DEPRESSION FOR HER AND FOR ANXIETY FOR ME AS WELL
AS WELL AS A SPIRIT OF ANGER AT THE DOCTORS.

MAY GOD TRULY BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO ARE UPLIFTING US WITH PRAYERS. PLEASE, PLEASE CONTINUE.

WITH CHRISTLY LOVE,

LANCE AND SHARON

Good Spirits

Dear Prayer Warriors

Sharon is in good spirits. Pray for that white blood cell count to go up!!
Everything else is fine, she is not even hooked up all the time
to her machine which we call "shadow" cause it goes where she goes!

Thanks and God Bless

Lance

Let Go and Let God

It has been almost a week since the "Big Fall" in the Target parking lot which ended up being a blessing in disguise.

But then I'm getting ahead of myself...

For background purposes, I'm known in our family as the"accident prone" sister...and I've had several broken bones from silly mishaps like climbing trees, hiking and bicycling to name just a few.

Last week during a hospital visit I noticed that Sharon's Happy Face balloon that I had brought in the day after her diagnosis was almost out of helium and flying low and I said,"We need to get that balloon flying high once again"!

Everyone who knows Sharon will tell you that she LOVES anything with a Happy Face. So I removed the balloon from her room with the intention of getting it blown up again that afternoon. The yellow Happy Face balloon traveled with me in the back seat of the car while I ran errands.

First stop was Target to purchase some new "hospital wear" for dear Sharon and buy groceries. As I opened the back door of the car to load in all the bags, the Happy Face balloon began to float out the back door as if it had new life and began skimming along the ground. I had my hands full so I said to myself..."well, it won't go far...it doesn't have much helium left in it".

Big mistake.

I finished loading my bags into the car and now directed my attention to the balloon.... it was traveling slowly along the parking lot. So I started walking toward the balloon, then walking faster, then I put my 60 plus body in high gear and was doing a full out sprint chasing the balloon across the parking lot.

It actually began lifting higher and higher and when I made my big move to grab it as it took flight into the wild blue yonder, my foot hit a curb and I went "splat" on the concrete!

Feeling completely stupid, bloodied and sore, I picked myself up and limped back to the car.

Thankfully, several hours later, the Urgent Care center doctor told me that I did not break or fracture my arm and knee.

I share this story because it gave me new insight into how we respond to life changing circumstances. The symbolism of chasing the balloon , of letting go, of watching the balloon take flight was no coincidence.
God is at work in every detail of our lives. We only need to trust and let go.

Melanie (Sharon's big sister)

Team Recovery

Team Recovery has been at work!

What's the Good News?

• Sharon has shown significant improvement - she has a little more energy and is able to walk the hallway 2x daily
• White Blood Cell Counts are at .7
• She is done with TPN (IV Nutrition) and is eating some foods
• High Fever's are now intermittent which means her body is healing from infections

I flew to AZ to visit her this past weekend. It was good medicine for her soul. Saturday was 'Sassy Day'. We got her a special scarf for her balding head and put make-up on her. She looked so cute! However, it was just the beginning of Team Recovery at work.

(Brian, Sharon, Angie in her hospital room - we removed the masks and held our breath for the picture!)

(Brian and 'Nun' walking the hallway)Team Recovery also put together silly video's to induce some laughter. It worked! Here is a video of Melanie, Angie and Angela doing a 'well-rehearsed dance' celebrating her counts going up. Counts Up! Counts Up!

(Angie, Melanie, Angela, Brian on a mountain nearby the hospital - this was where we shot the videos!)

We Love you Mom!

Angie (also for Team Recovery)

Slow Recovery

Sharon is having a very difficult time. She does not feel well and is having a psychological reaction to her condition, particularly with her slow recovery.
Her white blood cell count went up from .2 to .4 and needs to be above 4.0 before she is released from the hospital. Normal range is 4.8-12.something (x1000). She also needs to be able to eat as she is still being fed through an IV.

I am leaving on a flight tomorrow morning to be with her.

In His Grip,

Angela

Encouragement Needed

During this difficult time of treatment and recovery Sharon needs daily encouragement. You can send cards to:

Arrowhead Hospital
Sharon Hurley
18701 N. 67th Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85308

Please do not send flowers as she is unable to have them in her room.

Today Sharon felt more encouraged because her White Blood Cell count has gone up (slightly). This is very positive!

Angie

Up-date

Here is a quick up-date on Sharon's progress.

• Sharon's pneumonia is showing improvement
• She was able to drink chicken broth yesterday and today. Not only did she keep it down but it actually tasted good! She's hasn't eaten anything but ice chips for 2 weeks so this is a step in the right direction.
• She is still fighting an infectious disease which has caused her significant stomach pain. Now when entering her hospital room visitors must wear a throw away gown in addition to a face mask.
• Her white blood cell count which had barely increased has now decreased to .1 - the very bottom. This means that she remains in a weak state and is very susceptible to infections.
• Sharon is feeling claustrophobic. Imagine yourself trapped in a small hospital room unable to leave your confines under any circumstances (its been 2 weeks now). Wouldn't you be a bit stir crazy?

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Angie

Infectious Disease

I just got home from the hospital. Today in Sharon's words was a "good day."

She said this in spite of the fact that she now has an infectious disease. Anyone going
in the room in addition to wearing a mask now has to wear a throw away gown to protect
their clothing, et cetera.

Visits continue to be limited to immediate family members only. While we appreciate
all of your calls please understand why they may not be returned. God bless you, there are so
many. Sharon needs to conserve her strength as much as possible.

She continues to be in pain, she will be in pain for at least five more days according to the
Doctor. Her white cell count is still zero, which means new white cells have not yet been
forming. At the moment the Doctor is not concerned, should start going up "any day".

The spot on her lung is no longer a concern, and a chest x ray was negative. It appears
that we are taking two steps foward and one step back, but overall we are progressing.

It is all in God's hands. Please, please, please do not feel you need to respond each time I send an email. Sharon continues to be blessed by all the cards. One nurse said she had never seen a patient get so many cards.

As always we appreciate your concerns and prayers.

Lance

Link to Angie's Blog

I've been sharing my personal feelings and up-dates about mom and her progress on my blog. You can link to it by clicking here:

http://www.thekintnerclan.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading,
Angie (Sharon's daughter)

Pneumonia

The good news is that the bone marrow test showed no bad white cells. We are grateful for that.

Sharon has a spot on her lung and is now being treated for pneumonia. She is very very weak. Sharon needs to conserve as much energy as she can and that is why she can not return phone calls. Her voice is very low and is labored when she talks.

For the time being, only immediate family members are being allowed to visit her.

Our God can overcome anything and these next three days are very critical.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement. Please understand why I cannot reply to your heartfelt, greatly appreciated e-mails of encouragement.

You will never know how much they mean to Sharon, me and the rest of our
family. Thank you, thank you, Thank you.

Gratefully,
Lance