Please pray.

From Anna:

On Sunday, my mom was brought to the emergency room because she was having abdominal pain and could not keep any food down. Her oncologist suspected some kind of bowel obstruction and sent her to the hospital. The doctors did another CT scan and an ultrasound but did not find the cause of the obstruction. My mom is in pain and is uncomfortable. She has been unable to take anything in. Tuesday, doctors deliberated on the next step and there was some disagreement concerning whether to perform an endoscopy (which is a scope of the digestive tract from the top). The oncologist wanted the procedure done and the gastroenterologist felt that the procedure was unnecessary. The oncologist prevailed and yesterday my mom had the endoscopy which did reveal what they believe to be the cause of the blockage. There appears to be a tumor or piece of scar tissue on the duodenem which connects the stomach to the rest of the small intestine. They were able to take some biopsies although they are not sure they actually biopsied the right tissue. Biopsy results take time and none have come back yet. Today, my mom did a barium swallow with a goal of tracking the path of the barium through a series of x-ray images. Unfortunately, this test was inconclusive because as her bowel system is obstructed, the barium did not move and has settled in her stomach.

Please pray for the doctors to gain some conclusive insight into what this obstruction is and to quickly determine a treatment plan. Pray that my mom would be a strong advocate for herself and that the communication between the doctors would be clear. Also, pray that the pain would be managed. My mom has not been able to eat, so please also pray that her system would not become too depleted and that she would be strong for the next step. Pray too for my dad as he cares for Elizabeth and my grandmother.

Thank you for your continued love and support. We appreciate the supply through the members of the Body.

Feel free to contact me with any questions: ms.annaharris@gmail.com

Anna