sunny monday

in normal life, chef cory serves up
a hot breakfast 7 days a week.

so when the kids woke up this morning
and found bowls of daddy’s famous cream of wheat,
nathan exclaimed,
“oh, goodie!
we were so tired of
cold cereal.”
(thanks for nothing, bud)

having him on breakfast duty,
seeing him logged on to work,
and generally looking
stronger &
happier today;
it’s a sunny monday in the cates’ house.

stats

(march madness has gotten the better
of you guys; everyone is asking for digits
as measure of cory’s status.
so here’s a (numerically-impoverished)
statistical version of cory’s progress)

pain med – check. yesterday & today.
percocet stayed down & was helpful.

appetite – minimal but present.
he describes his hunger as a sharp,
stabbing pain. nice.

medical attn – dr. attiyeh rang today.
he goes for a visit next wednesday the 2nd
and the ct scan is thursday the 3rd.
(they moved it up from the 7th)

sleep – oh, about 16-20 hrs of the day.
(remember newborn stage?
this brings back memories, in a weird way)

thanks to the kingston’s & harris’
who between them have all 4 of our
kiddos out romping in the sunshine
this morning.

8am saturday morning
quietly playing legos next to a sleeping daddy;
they prefer to be near him and are
(mostly) mindful of not being noisy.
and cory’s druggy sleep is sound;
the entire morning slips by without him moving a muscle.

rotten hot dogs

henry declared his love
for rotten hot dogs today.
‘raw, henry, you mean raw’
nathan corrected him.

it was nice to go through the
day today laughing at the
normal things and not soley thinking
about our sweet cory &
his internal organs.

he looks a little better,
was standing a little more upright,
and even was hungry for some of
karen’s artichoke chicken tonight.

so, hello, normal.
we’re headed in your direction.
well, some sort of ‘normal’, that is.

slow & steady

cory was glad to eat a
bit and therefore enjoy
some pain medicine
consistently today.

mom’s birthday is tomorrow
and she finally gets to go home…
she’s been taking care of
us for a full month now.
t h a n k y o u, Mom.
we love you.
happy birthday.

tues night

8pm, he kept his first round of
pain medicine down since early
yesterday; he is finally resting.

a million thanks for all of
the most delicious meals
you are bringing us daily,
for the trips to toys r us,
the games of kickball,
the playground trips,
the groceries,
the phone calls, the encouragement…
the prayers.

a rainy goodnight,
kj

wed am

q. keeping pain meds down on
an empty stomach?
a.______________?

(fill in the blank, please)

tuesday evening

today has brought some relief for
both of us;
naps & meds,
chipper children,
a saintly grammy.

cory’s next ct is scheduled for
monday the 7th, and then
back again on the 8th for results.

he was on his computer for
the first time today.

hooray

monday evening

i love how the weather can
boost all of our spirits.
this whole town seems happy.

cory – ate cereal & yogurt.
took a walk.
pain is pretty rough today.

i somehow got walking pneumonia.
whoops. have meds, will be fine.

do pray against fear
and for wisdom.

so glad my mom is here, so glad.

love from us,
kj

praying friends

please pray that cory will
be able to eat soon.

the meds he came home on
make food repulsive to his system.
he’s managed a few glasses of
water today and is sleeping now.

nathan’s recovering nicely
from his adenoid surgery yesterday;
boy, are we thankful to have
that done, though seeing two of
my boys in hosp beds on the
same day was a bit much.

as cory reminded me a moment ago,
it’s okay. (deep breath, kj)
the Lord is our provider. (exhale)

i just don’t want to have to send him back.

love,
kj

ps – i’m so glad that cory’s brother, jacob,
came up for the weekend from the naval
academy.
1. he looks like cory, so betsy is in heaven
2. he sounds like cory; the voice cheers me
3. he loves the same things as cory; the boys
will have played more baseball this wknd
than the past few weeks combined,
and he knows a lot of cool
2-player computer games
(not that he’s playing them during
the academic year, surely).

the eagle has landed

9:15am, saturday morning
three weeks to the day that
he was admitted

cory
is
home

we’re filling prescriptions &
getting him settled and
the kids are in h e a v e n
regaling their dad with stories
on end…an answer to many prayers.

have pinata, will beat it

since we found out the gender of each of
our children at the earliest possible sonogram-
moment (and told you guys the second
we knew ourselves), this is the single moment
of the suspense you’ll get from the cates’…

i know, you’re dying.
how can you even sleep knowing that
i have the pinata in the apt but you don’t know
which one it is?!

too bad,
so sad.

we’ll post a photo of superman
fighting the evil pinata with a
tough-looking whiffle bat tomorrow
and then
You Will Know.

thank you, friends, for walking with us
and upholding us up through the past
three weeks.

with our love and gratitude,
kj & crew

ps – his last dose of iv antibiotics was last night
at 10pm. they wanted to watch him for 24 hrs
past that. so we don’t have any timeframe on
when his release will be tomorrow. (i’ve pegged
it at 3pm, so i will be pleasantly surprised if it’s earlier)

pps – big daniel, you’re killing me. i did look at the
’star’ and ’sun’ pinatas twice tonight to see
if i could morph them into the gallbladder-ish shapes
you suggested but then got sick to my stomach at the idea
and thought how gross you were to even suggest
it. leave it to a med student…

pinata time

it’s almost time to bring cory home from roosevelt.
(or ‘daddy’s bedroom’, as caroline calls it)
saturday morning, perhaps.

the kids have hyped this event up into
Full Party Status.

helium balloons,
a pinata, &
popsicles are on the list
(caroline would prefer the popsicles
went into the pinata)

now, we just have one more day
to decide which pinata is most
appropriate:
nathan = airplane
henry = racecar
caroline = whatever nathan thinks or dora

be still & wait patiently for the Lord.
ps 37:7

drug run thursday

we’re on target for release tomorrow evening
or saturday morning. the drs are evidently in a race
to see how many iv drugs they can pump through
that boy before releasing him.

today, they have octreotide running in his pic line, 20 mg hr for
20 hrs continously. imipenin & vancomycin every 12 hrs.
his last round of imipenin should be tonight at 10pm and
then they’ll watch his blood tomorrow to see what happens.
(funky science experiment)

wed noon- results

ct scan results this morning show that
70% of cory’s pancreas died.

a ‘bit of the head’ and a ‘bit of the tail’
are what remain.

the pancreas has a pseudocyst,
an abcess full of fluid, on it.
because of the pooled fluid,
they deemed it premature
(too dangerous) to remove
the gall bladder right now.

today, they are doing additional
blood work and he will have a
sonogram to see the gb & stones.

the infectious disease dr (AntibioticMan)
will make recommendations about the
drugs he needs to continue at home
(oral would be ideal, though the
pic line allows for iv at home)
and
they plan to release him on friday.

his body will continue to wall-off the
pseudocyst on its own. when the wall
thickens, it will be less dangerous to
drain the fluid.

recap nutshell:
-postponed gall bladder removal
-still on target for release! on friday
-return for gb removal &
pseudocyst drainage in a few weeks

we are very grateful that the Lord has
spared the remaining part of his pancreas.

with love from the 14^th floor,
kj & c

wed am

word on the street
is that we’re on schedule
for surgery tomorrow.

hotdog!

tues night

no news is good news, eh?
that’s what we’re going for tonight.

ct results & white count tomorrow.

barb (cory’s mom) flies in tonight,
my dad arrived today and
my mom was able to extend her stay.
we’re in good hands, for sure.

nathan has a ‘publishing party’ tomorrow at
school where the students present their
most recent writing work. cory is sad to miss it, of course.
but what a treat that he’ll have 3 grand parents,
3 siblings & his mom there to help celebrate his growth.
the Lord certainly provides in unexpected ways.

sleep tight,
kari jo

jason & julie are engaged! congrats, friends

and on the 18th day,

his sense of humor returned.

they put in a pic line yesterday,
a 50 cm catheter from his heart
to the inside of his left upper arm.
they’ll use this for all iv meds and
his only stick should be the morning
blood draw. whew.

ct scan this morning.
and we’ll go from there.

our prayers are with the virginia tech
community.

love,
kj

congrats, julie & charl! baby daniel malan


brother tompkins does his sermon prep

The start of another week

Today’s magic number 8.5 – the first time my white blood cell count has been in the normal range in the last two weeks – a very good sign of progress.

I will go for a CT scan tomorrow, and if the inflammation has not become worse, I should be on track for surgery this week and the potential to be home by the weekend.

I hesitate to say this out loud, since there is always the possibility of further delays or setbacks. But this is the current optimistic outlook.

As always thank you for your prayers and support – both for me, and for Kari Jo and the children.

–Cory

sunday

he clocked in at 11.9, baby.
ct scan tomorrow.

wear your galoshes.

sat night

today was a better day.

pain = managed
veins in his arms/hands = still blowing every 18 hrs, on cue
(bummer, but not a deal breaker.
maybe a pic line soon?
those antibiotics deliver quite a punch to weary veins)
appetite = present-ish. now, that’s a nice change.
humor = a bit
weight = down 25+ but i think he’s holding steady.
encouragement from around the globe =
you guys have outdone yourselves.
the scene at 255 w 70 = the kids are sleeping
with smiles on their faces & visions of a happy saturday
dancing in their dreams. thank you, Mom, and all of her helpers.
wise counsel =
please know that it is a great relief to me
that while cory, my rock & perspective-giver,
is physically compromised this community
is helping to bear my burdens in every area.

specifically, thank you for your wisdom, research,
perspective, creativity and generosity in offering
your resources & brain-power in helping me
sort out where we need to go from here and if/what
changes in cory’s care need to be made.
i am not alone and you are careful to remind me
of that throughout these long days so that my heart
doesn’t deceive me into despairing.
His grace is sufficient, on that alone we rest.

words fail me; thank you.
kj

Let the morning bring me word
of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
ps 143:8

saturday afternoon

cory’s white blood
count came in at a sexy-low
15 today.

everything i know about
statistical trends (which isn’t
a whole lot) has just gone out
the window.

gratefully waiting,
kj & crew

fri midnight

-white blood count, 21
-ct scan shows same swelling & general
’smoldering’ aftermath of his pancreas
trying to heal
-fluid around the pancreas in pockets

‘be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.’
psalm 37:7

friday afternoon

something has changed.
cory’s first question to me this morning was,
‘what is different about today?”
i can’t put my finger on it, but he’s right.
gaunt & in pain, he looks like he did last week,
not like the healthy progression we’ve seen this week.

they regressed his diet back to liquids &
doubled his pain med.
he’s getting the ct scan now.

the Lord is his shepherd.
the Lord is our shepherd.

two weeks

two weeks ago today, cory thought
maybe a pack of tums would help
settle down his ’stomach’.
if only.

cory’s pain spiked last night.
sharp and continuing this morning.

the dr’s are still concerned about
the possibility of infection settling
in on the now-dead part of his pancreas,
hoping this white blood count isn’t
indicating that.

white count is consistent at 17.
ct scan is still on for today with hopes
of surgery on monday. but it sounds like
they won’t operate if his white count is
above 10 and the pneumonia persists.

thank you, ellie, for the tea tree oil mouthwash
to help flush the thrush; so thoughtful &
cheerfully spearminty. that’s a minty-happy
part in his otherwise sterile day.
love,
kj

easter, uploaded

in first person

First, I want to thank everyone for your continual support and encouragement.
I am thankful for the visits and prayers.
I am especially thankful for all of you who are helping Kari Jo and Betty Lou
keep the kids’ lives running full steam ahead;
freeing KJ to come to the hospital often.
This embrace is a major part of community in the church which is difficult to describe to others who have not experienced it;
thank you for making the church a tangible, practical body by giving so sacrificially to our family.

Slightly positive news today from the Drs:
my white blood cell count has dropped after being flat for three days (went from 21 to 17) – the three days set back when I could have my gall bladder removed by about the same amount of time – so the optimistic timeline would be for a positive CT scan on Friday
and surgery on Monday so that I could go home
on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Numbers I really don’t want to hear about
(the sooner the better):

• White Blood Count
• cc’s of, um, ‘output’ I am producing
• what number I would use to describe the pain
• the volume of air I can suck in on the spirit-o-meter

My fascination of the morning:
I keep staring at the backs of my hands – my knuckles look super wrinkly, almost like I spent too long in the bath tub – all of the fat in my hands has disappeared (I never knew there was that much to be honest) and now there is extra skin wrapping my hands which looks funny. (I’m down 25 pounds and counting)

Gratefully,
Cory

superman

we were encouraged this morning
when dr. attiyeh, our kind surgeon,
mentioned the possibility of
surgery on thursday & going home
on friday or saturday.

what we are praying for so that
timeline could work:
-white blood count to drop (remains at 21)
-things to even out a bit (internal swelling,
thrush, pneumonia, etc)

at 18 lbs leaner than his entry-weight,
darryle (owens) said cory looks like
a young clark kent.

superman is glad for visitors;
helps pass the time as the antibiotics
slowly drip. esp if they come with a fresca
or gatorade in hand.

love,
kj

ps – someone looked me right in the eye
today and asked how i was doing. i was
truthful in saying that i couldn’t feel discouraged
if i wanted to; i can feel the Lord’s presence,
the results of your praying are tangible in my
heart and mind. thank you.

pps – he was relieved to attempt a bit of solid
food today, but alas, about 5 tiny bites in to
the deliciousness before him, he had to hold off.
we’ll have a go at it tomorrow.

Easter

skeletal hospital staff today, as expected.
we look forward to seeing where we stand
tomorrow morning when the doctors round.

it melted my heart standing around our
table this afternoon with 15 fg friends,
hand in hand, thanking the Lord for
his salvation and his continued work in
our lives (way delicious meal, guys),
then walking to church together &
celebrating the risen Savior.

mom & i then took the children to
cory’s room to celebrate with him.
(i’ll upload the bedside family photo)
he’s listening to the sermon now…

He is risen, indeed; Halleluijah.

saturday

a steady day.

friends,
prayers,
laughs & winces,
cream of wheat.

white blood ct up to 26,
fever gone.
ct scan didn’t show any diminishing of
the pancreatic swelling.

ready for a bit of easter worship
tomorrow
in room 14-75.

the healing prayer of
the elders today (thank you)
+
the vision of a rod’s clutch slam
clinching the win over the orioles
=
surely some healing is going on.

(now that’s some karijomath cory might agree with)

love you guys,
kj

fri pm

strong day today.

pain = controlled
ct scan this evening = results tomorrow morning
white blood count = rising, 20
temp = persistent, 101ish
sense of humor = present & accounted for
clear liquids = can you say ‘raspberry sorbet?’
visitors = thanks a million & hello to the plasma guys.
255 w 70 = these kids are so happy & having
so much fun with you all; thanks for all of the
attention, playing, outings, babysitting, meals,
help for my mom, etc.

with love,
kj

friday am

we’re moving in the right direction!

white blood count is still elevated (17)
and fever persists (101+)
but
he started clear liquids yesterday,
they took him off constant fluids this morning
(will just use the iv for meds)
and they hope to start
him on additional nutrition this afternoon.

his private room has been an immeasurable boon,
a quiet, dark, beautiful, peaceful place to heal.

and you won’t believe how excited
he was when i read him the
‘clear liquids menu’ yesterday.

i couldn’t keep a straight face as
i read it to him,
“chicken or beef consumme,
assorted jellos,
tea,
herbal water,
apple, grape or cranberry juice,
poland spring water,
sprite, etc”

and he looked at me like the rabid dog on
tom & jerry and quickly rattled off
7 things from the list he wanted.
seriously.
so i called the kind lady & ordered
the 7 ImportantClearLiquids
which were promptly delivered by
a genteel uniformed man on a
rolling table covered in a starchly-
pressed white tablecloth.

a cloth napkin,
a silver spoon and
jello.

a feast for that boy.
a feast.

happy good friday, friends.
thank you , thank you.
love,
kj

Before they call,
I will answer;
while they are yet speaking,
I will hear

Isaiah 65:24

wed pm

a private room
that rivals a hotel;
my boy is sitting pretty tonight.
thank you, friends.
14th fl, rm 75

thank you to those of you who
gathered at james & kara’s for
prayer tonight.
thank you to the friends & elders who came today.
thank you to the host of you who are
meeting our needs in ways i don’t even
know of right now.

what i understand as of tonight:
gallstone pancreatitis

(i know, i know, you guys are the experts
now that you’ve all memorized webmd.com -
i’m so impressed with you, but i’m just
now piecing it all together. bear with me)

the gallstones made the pancreas angry when
they passed through & now we’re letting the
smoke clear, letting the pancreas cool down,
so we can assess the damage.

hydration, nothing to eat or drink, pain control &
eventually nutrition (central line tomorrow, perhaps)
- the 4 steps for now.

then:
1. recovery from the pancreatitis,
2. gall bladder removal (seems minor),
3. general recovery from the whole shebang
1+2+3 = voila, the old cory will return.

(karijomath, as cory calls my calculation skills,
doesn’t always add up)

now, here’s where my smart friend, cade, can step in.
here’s his assessment as of tonight:
“Bill, Dan and I met with Mr. Cates earlier this evening (Cory was sleeping).

This is a quick-and-dirty summary of what Mr. Cates said:

CT scan yesterday showed more necrosis in the pancreas than previously suspected from the CT scan on Sunday. This is not good.

There was a significant amt of fluid sequestered in the stomach. Edema/swelling. Distended abdomen. Lots of pain.

The problematic gallstone appears to have passed, but there are other gallstones. Would be very problematic if they moved down and caused blockage.

Right now they are waiting for the abdominal swelling/edema to resolve, which they hope occurs soon.

He’s now on a diff’t medication (antibiotics) and is sleeping better.

Decision will need to be made tomorrow (perhaps) as to whether/when to start feeding him intravenously (lipids, proteins etc.). risk is stress to the pancreas before it resolves. Has been 5 days without nutrition.

Mr. Cates said that, barring a huge answer to prayer, Cory will be in the hospital at least another week.

Prayer requests:

1. That there will be no infection in the pancreas. Infection would be a serious problem. And that there be minimal necrosis.

2. That gallstones would not cause further blockage.

3. That the abdomen/edema etc. would resolve and they could do the gallbladder surgery soon.

4. That the Drs and family have wisdom regarding decisions in the coming day or so about nutrition/ intravenous feeding.

5. That there would be no long-term problems related to the pancreatitis.”

thank you, cade.

wed am

he stayed the same last night; good news.
waiting on lab results.

ps – cory would want me to include a
bit of humor at some point. he’s twisting
my arm. (or maybe i’m twisted to include
humor at this point) indulge me.

pps – daddy is flying in tonight. caroline’s running through the apt yelling,
“papa’s coming! papa’s coming!” and that’s exactly how i feel inside.

tues pm

again, i can’t tell you how grateful i
am for your encouragement & prayers.

we need some things tonight:
-pain to stay the same or decrease
-fever, same
-nothing to come up out of his stomach
-for even a bit of sustained sleep (20 min)
-encouragement in his heart, perseverance,
endurance, reminders of God’s faithfulness and
presence now as he’s sitting in the chair
for the rest of the night & morning
(laying down is unbearable to him)

they’re checking him hourly looking
toward moving him back to icu.

tues am

difficult night.

pain
no sleep
short breaths
loud & unhappy things around him

(someone should
put that into haiku
form for me)

nathan reading in church on palm sunday

mon pm

cory said those three words
every girl longs to hear…

they
found
gallstones

hooray!
oh, hooray.

it feels like a relief to have a cause.

the timeline prediction:
(why not, probably will be wrong, but
it’s always fun to guess the future)
1. 2-3 days for pancreatic swelling
to diminish & be ready to handle
the surgery
2. surgery to remove gb
3. x-days recovery @ roosevelt
and then he’ll come h o m e.

thank you, praying friends.

ps – congrats, newton & jane!

mon afternoon

they moved cory from icu to
the surgical floor. 10th fl, rm 29

jehovah rophe

the Lord who heals.

mon am:
.cory is still in icu,
.fever & high white blood count are
concerns today (unless one of you doctors
correct me, that’s what i’m hearing)
.sonogram this morning

please pray:
.healing
.for nathan & henry (the girls are
sweetly oblivious) who miss dad and
need endurance & grace to obey and
carry on in honoring ways today.
.for grace & wisdom for mom and i as
we care for nathan, henry, caroline & betsy.
that we will be gentle with them even though i feel
a bit overrun myself. (that’s a prayer for me,
my mom is cheerful, gentle, merciful, can i
say how grateful i am she’s here?! very.)

of course:
.the Lord’s comfort is tangible;
his Presence is near.
worship yesterday was a balm.
nathan read scripture in church,
which couldn’t have been more timely
and precious to my heart.
so good to worship the Lord together
.the elders presence in his hospital room
6 of you dear men have come. thank you.
.the community, you are so kind.
.saadi, massive thanks for your counsel
and for sending marcus. he has been our best
source of information so far.
thank you.

today’s outlook:
.everyone is bathed, happy & carrying
on as usual on a rainy new york monday.
.we look forward to the Lord’s continued
guidance in cory’s body & in his spirit.
.cory’s dad flies in this morning.

love you guys very much,
kj