An Update from Cana

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on how our EvanMarie is doing.

First, some very good news! Her fever finally broke. In fact, the first normal thermometer reading we saw in five days came just hours after we last asked you, our community, to pray for it. It truly felt miraculous. While it did spike briefly again later that night, it has not returned since, and she has now been fever free for more than 48 hours. Glory to God!

The CT scan that was originally expected was delayed by a day, but when it finally happened it brought reassuring news. There is no sign of infection. Instead, it confirmed what the doctors suspected, severe inflammation that, while intense, is still within the range of what is expected after the very high doses of chemotherapy she received to destroy her bone marrow before transplant.

Even knowing that, this stage has been incredibly hard.

EvanMarie continues to suffer from severe mucositis, which is affecting her entire digestive tract, from her mouth and throat all the way through her intestines. When she is resting, she gets enough relief to sleep, but when she is awake the pain can be excruciating. She doesn’t talk much right now, and she isn’t eating or drinking because it hurts too much. Instead she communicates mostly by pointing or small shakes of her head, and she receives her nutrition through IV.

I have been staying very close to her side. Right now, her mama is her greatest comfort, and it feels almost impossible to leave her when she is hurting like this. I miss my husband and our other children terribly. Ennie comes as often as he can, and our big kids are being so brave. But for now my place is here with her.

Even in the midst of all this suffering, though, EvanMarie is still EvanMarie. Her courage, her quiet sense of humor, and her deep love for her family continue to shine through in small moments that feel like little lights in a very dark place.

Right now we are waiting for engraftment, the moment when the bone marrow stem cells that were returned to her body more than a week ago begin to take root and start doing their work. Once that happens, the doctors tell us her body should begin to recover quickly and the healing process will really begin.

So this is where we are asking you to please keep praying.

Pray that engraftment begins IMMEDIATELY.
Please pray that her pain is eased and that her healing comes quickly.

We know that in God’s economy no suffering is wasted, but as her parents we are also begging Him , very simply and very honestly, to ease our daughter’s suffering and bring relief to her little body as quickly as possible.

Thank you for continuing to pray for our girl and for us.