“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” Mother Teresa
In their times of greatest need, support came to Steve and Julene in many shapes. It came as gifts, and notes, and visits, and phone calls, and countless acts of kindness – from simple to grand. And they deeply appreciated every single message of encouragement and hope, and every single kindness from family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and complete strangers.
And yet, from the moment of Steve’s diagnosis, they asked for only one thing. They asked for prayers. And their requests were heard. And in every moment of every day they were comforted and strengthened by those prayers.
Prayer means different things to different people, and prayers come in a variety of forms – each with special and unique qualities. The poet storyteller, Marilyn Nelson described prayer in terms of gratitude and love:
I was thinking about methods of prayer, which I’ve found just beautiful and meaningful. One of them is the prayer of just gratitude, just feeling grateful. And one of them is a prayer I found in a book by a nun who lives as a hermit…she offers a kind of prayer which she calls the prayer of the loving gaze. It’s a prayer. Just put your love into your eyes and just look at the world with that gaze and that’s what contemplation is about, really. It’s learning how to find that gaze in yourself and to put it in the world.
Prayers are most often thought of as something expressed through voice or thought or symbolic action or as Nelson described, an attitude or gaze. The healing energy of these prayers flowed to, and in, and through Steve and Julene.
But, prayers can also be presented in tangible artifacts. One such prayer traveled to Steve and Julene in a package, delivered to the Andrews front door by the U.S. Postal Service. Inside the package was a black and gold, handmade shawl. A prayer blanket. The note explained that prayers in Steve’s name had been offered with each stitch in the crafting of the beautiful blanket. The heartfelt gift from a woman named Kathleen, who had heard about Steve’s situation from Julene’s good friend Jodi – but someone that Steve and Julene had never met – carried thousands of prayers which wrapped Steve in a warm embrace.
In the infinity of life where I am,
all is perfect, whole, and complete.
I believe in a power far greater than I am
that flows through me every moment of every day.
I open myself to the wisdom within,
knowing that there is only One Intelligence in this Universe.
Out of this One Intelligence comes all the answers,
all the solutions, all the healings, all the new creations.
I trust this Power and Intelligence,
knowing that whatever I need to know is revealed to me,
and that whatever I need comes to me
in the right time, space, and sequence.
All is well in my world.
Louise Hay
CaringBridge Posts
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By Julene Andrews — May 28, 2014
Hi family and friends, this is Julene. Steve was successful last week in getting TDM1 treatment in Seattle. We ran into several obstacles, so what was suppose to be an overnight trip turned into 3 nights. But treatment went good and the Seattle facility was top notch. The morning of treatment, Steve had some abdominal cramping and diarrhea. After checking his vitals and running blood tests they decided to proceed with treatment. Treatment went fine and we hit the road back towards Boise, staying in Yakima. Next morning he woke with intensified symptoms. We high tailed it to Boise and went straight to the ER.
He was treated Friday night for Acute Colitis and was released. Over the weekend, his symptoms got worse, not better. Tests came back positive for Ecoli. He was admitted yesterday to the hospital and we learned that he has a very rare condition associated with the Ecoli.
He is in good hands and catching up on some much needed rest. He cannot have visitors at this time, and we don’t need a thing, just prayers!! Will post more when I know more. I am very confident our extraordinary X Factor warrior will fight and conquer!
Much love,
Julene and family
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By Julene Andrews — May 29, 2014 5:24pm
Thank you for the outpouring of support. Many have inquired about visiting. Steve does not have the strength right now to visit. He’s sleeping 99 percent of the time, waking for only moments at a time. He doesn’t have the energy to do anything at this point. But the rest is good for him as he’s been fighting hard for a good 19 months.
This rare condition he has has taken a toll on his body. Red blood cells have been destroyed, platelets are very low, kidneys have been severely affected, currently functioning at about 35 percent. Because there is no treatment for this rare strain, they are watching closely and monitoring labs twice per day. We are hoping the body will repair itself. If not, they will consider a plasma exchange where his plasma will be removed and new plasma will be put in his body. At this point, there has been some encouraging improvement.
Although he is weak, his cheerful personality continues to shine through. He always wakes with that infamous smile on his face.
We are grateful to have Karlie home visiting for a few weeks. She has her dad’s cheerful, playful disposition that does wonders to brighten up Steve’s hospital room. And Michael will be home for a vacation in a few weeks. We also feel the love, light, prayers and positive vibes from the almighty X Factor!
God bless you all. Stay healthy!
Julene and family
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By Julene Andrews — May 30, 2014 11:13am
Quick update:
Can you imagine how happy I was when I woke up at 4am and saw Steve-O sitting on the side of the bed eating a bowl of oatmeal w milk?!?! (This after 5 days of nothing, and another 5 days before that of close to nothing). He’s doing better. Some good lab results last night, and again this morning. Dr said it’s going to take time but is still hopeful that recovery will happen w/o plasma exchange. Maybe home Mon or Tues? And then some recovery time at home. Still battling diarrhea and nausea making eating/drinking difficult. But lab numbers are going in the right direction and IV fluid intake/outtake is good – meaning kidneys are starting to do their thing!
Progress!!!!!!! Keeping optimistic for a full recovery! :))
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By Julene Andrews — Jun 1, 2014 1:31pm
Well, he can be kicked down but he bounces back up! Today is day 6 in the hospital. The crazy thing is apparently this condition he is fighting has nothing to do with the cancer or treatments. HUS or Hemolytic-uremic Syndrome, is a disease characterized by hemolytic anemia (anemia caused by destruction of red blood cells), acute kidney failure (uremia), and a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). Most cases are preceded by a food borne illness or from a contaminated water supply and caused by E. coli. We have no idea where Steve could have contacted it. There have been other recent cases in Idaho, Washington and Oregon – all of which we have traveled to twice in the past couple weeks for treatment.
The main concern when we arrived here Tuesday was the damage to the kidneys and the blood counts. The kidney specialist came by this morning and said that Steve’s kidneys are back to functioning at close to normal. He said that the strain of diarrhea that caused this is probably the worst known to mankind and that it will take some time for Steve’s digestive system to recover.
Bottom line, the important life threatening issues are resolving and are close to functioning normal. However, still lots of smaller issues to resolve that are wreaking havoc and causing some major discomfort. But they too will be resolved with a little more time.
The care he is receiving here at St Luke’s has been AMAZING. We are so blessed to live in a community with such talented, caring, loving medical professionals. One touching story was when one of our favorite nurses said she remembered Steve from when he was asked to speak at a Palliative Care Conference last fall. She has quite an inspiring story herself – she was pregnant with triplets and on bed rest when she discovered a lump on her breast. She fought breast cancer, delivered 3 beautiful babies (now gorgeous 6 year olds), and went to school to become a nurse, now works on the cancer floor giving back to others. All of the outstanding nurses (at least half of ours have been male) are obviously passionate about what they do.
Hope you all are enjoying the gorgeous weekend. Much love and appreciation from Team Andrews!
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By Julene Andrews — Jun 3, 2014 9:20am
Going HOME!!! Steve just got the great news that he can go home today! Thank you family and friends for believing with us. Believing not only that he would survive, but thrive again!
His kidney function is NORMAL! His platelets and blood counts are still low but improving. He really hasn’t been able to eat anything for about 10 days. It will take quite some time for him to recuperate, get his energy back and digestive tract back in order (but his health coach is on it!). He still does not yet have the energy for visitors.
Even in difficult times, we can’t help but notice all of the beauty that surrounds us – YOU! We are so grateful for the many ways our lives have been blessed by our amazing family and friends. While we haven’t had time to acknowledge and respond to everyone individually, please know that every message you have left us has been so appreciated by our grateful hearts. xo
P.S. The pic is of just a few of the hundreds of flowers that my beloved Pi Phi sisters planted in our yard last night!! We truly are surrounded by beauty!
Update from Steve
By Steve Andrews — Jun 17, 2014 9:53pm
It’s been awhile since I gave you a personal update. Julene did an excellent job keeping you updated during my latest ordeal.
The past three+ weeks have been a roller-coaster. My E-coli diagnosis and recovery was scary. My blood counts were all over the board and my kidneys were attacked. I was a very sick person. I am fortunate to have recovered from a very serious situation.
Immediately our attention turned towards a new medical condition: colitis, or inflammation of the colon. With abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fatigue and diarrhea, colitis is not a lot of fun. There is no cure for colitis. You need to let the disease run its course through the body. I have good days and not so good days.
Just today I got the okay to resume chemo treatments in Seattle. This is will be the second time I’ve received the new drug T-DM1. I’m very hopeful this chemo will be a success. My next scan will be in mid-July.
I’m now on a leave of absence from work. This is frustrating because I’m unable to work due to a non-cancer related illness (colitis). I currently lack the stamina and strength needed to make an impact at work. I look forward to getting healthy and getting back to my colleagues at Simplot.
We enjoyed having Karlie home for a month before she started a Marketing and Project Management Internship at Deckers Outdoor Corp in Flagstaff. The Company owns shoe brands such as Ugg and Teva.
Next week Michael will be home to spend a week with us. It will be great to catch up.
God willing, we have a family trip planned in mid-July to Napa Valley. Michael is competing in a half ironman that weekend and we have reserved a house. It will be fun to have the entire Andrews clan together for a few days.
The support I’ve been receiving from everyone has been amazing. Thank you for all your prayers, good wishes, positive thoughts and CaringBridge posts.
God, Jesus and the Bible continue to give me much needed strength and courage. One verse I’ve been quoting a lot lately is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” I continue to believe that there is a purpose for my difficulties. God continues to watch over me and I’m at peace with His plan for me.
God Bless you,
Steve
