Thursday, May 18th.

Karen had the “Upper GI” Endoscopic procedure done today. After some delay in the process, arrival 10:30 they took her back at 12:30, everything went smoothly. All veins in the esophagus appear to be healed over and there doesn’t seem to be any other complications! Just the fact that she awoke quickly after the procedure is another indicator that her liver is functioning properly! Her gastroenterologist, Dr. Levert, said everything looked normal and he doesn’t need to see Karen again unless she has complications.

As mentioned in the last update, Karen has stopped taking diuretics. She has gained about five pounds in five days. She’s not concerned with the weight gain or “water weight” as it’s called but we are watching for swelling, some of which she is experiencing in her fingers, legs and ankles. For those of you that saw her this time last year you may recall she looked many months pregnant due to the liver and overall abdomen swelling. Dr. Levert feels Karen should try going without the assistance of any diuretics for another week to see if her body can catch up and begin to control fluid retention naturally. This is what we hope for as well. Karen is delighted to remove more medication from her daily regimen. Please pray that her kidney function will improve and that she will not have any of the swelling she had in the past without the medication.

Looking back over the last year floods my mind with many, many thoughts and emotions. Next week, Lord willing, will mark one year since Karen was diagnosed; one year since the “go home and get your affairs in order as your wife has terminal breast cancer” talk outside Karen’s hospital room at Emory. God has Karen’s days numbered, not man! Not even the smartest ones amongst us!

I’ve been asked if we are going to celebrate and the answer is YES! However, Karen and I have learned over the past year that everyday is a reason to celebrate. Some days it just takes looking a little harder and deeper to find the reason. Beginning with next weeks update, we are going to begin a “because of” series with each update. I’ll explain more next week. Until then thanks for stopping by to check on Karen.