Week 10: Great Week in California & Good Visit to Doctor

Great day at the Sacramento Temple:)

Katie & McKenzie ready for Savannah's sealing

Here is the update on McKenzie for this week:

She had a wonderful time in California. She loved staying with the Jensen family, who took such good care of her. They made sure she took all her medications and got plenty of rest:) They also made sure she had plenty of fun:) She was able to go to Savannah Argyle's wedding at the Sacramento Temple as well as see some of Old Sacramento and of course they had to do some shopping:) One of the greatest things was getting to see Elder Oaks at Stake Conference on Sunday and being able to shake his hand.  The only sad thing was that the sun did not come out very much:(

Shopping???

We were a little worried about how McKenzie's health would be on the trip, but she did very well. She had three small headaches during the week, which is not bad for where she has been in the past.  Then on Sunday night she got a big headache which then continued on thru Monday. She was pretty worn out by the time she got home from her trip Monday night.

Yesterday we saw the doctor, who did a lot of retesting to see how McKenzie's body is doing. She said that the parasites have been working hard to reproduce and that now they are 65% gone. We were a little discouraged about that, since last time she was tested they were 90% gone. Parasites are pesky and difficult and they like to move around when they are being attacked. The doctor changed up a few things that McKenzie is taking and she will be getting footbaths once a week for the next month. The doctor feels like it will take about two months to get totally rid of the parasites and she feels that McKenzie will be headache free by then:)

Oxidizing Footbath:  Detoxifying her liver:)

The positive part of all of this is that we are starting to see our old McKenzie reappear. Her laughter, sense of humor and her fun personality are coming back. This has definitely been a rough few months. She mentioned that she is starting to feel like herself again. We are so grateful. She continues to work on the emotional/mental part of all of this and is making some good progress!!!

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support!!! You keep us all going.

Week 9: A Little Recuperation in California

McKenzie & Katie relaxing in California:)

Here's a little update on what is happening with McKenzie this week.  Last week was pretty good. McKenzie feels like she is about 75% herself physically. She seems to be getting a little better every week:) We are so grateful for her progress.

The hardest thing for her right now is dealing with the emotional part of all that has happened. She went from being in full-time service to the Lord in Bosnia and feeling like she was making a difference in people's lives as she was doing the Lord's will, to  having to come home from her mission and be taken care of by others. It is hard for her to feel like she is doing anything that matters right now. We continue to try to fill our days with good things, but it is still hard for her not to know what is next and not to feel good enough to make any decisions yet. She is definitely getting closer and I think once she is feeling 100% she will be able to make the decisions she needs to with the Lord's help. Then she can move forward feeling at peace.

Luckily for McKenzie she has a dad who is a psychologist, so working on helping her emotionally is something he is good at. Each week we (dad, mom and McKenzie) have a little meeting together to discuss what is happening with her physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially. As I have said before, we set goals in each of these areas each week so she can see progress. This week her dad asked her to answer three questions in writing each day. This assignment helps her to think through things that are going on with her:)
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One nice thing that happened this week is that McKenzie got the chance to go with her friend Katie Jensen Hall to California and stay with her family for a week. We thought a little rest, relaxation and fun in the sun could be helpful to her recovery. Katie and her family have been so good to take care of McKenzie while she has been there. Thanks so much Jensen family!!!

McKenzie and the Jensen family:)

We continue to see the Lord's hand in all our lives. We are grateful for all of you:)

Week 8: Lots of Love & Support As McKenzie Continues to Get Better;)

Letter that arrived today that McKenzie sent from Croatia two months ago:)

Missionaries in the Adriatic North Mission

Just another little update on how McKenzie is doing this week:)

She had another pretty good week. As we have been discussing how things are changing with her health, she mentioned that she only had her headache 50% of the time last week. This is great progress. When she got home she had it 100% of the time. This progress has taken a while, but we are grateful that there is progress. Also this week her energy level has been much better. She continues to set goals for herself and try to move forward each week.

Her struggles right now are more emotional. Going through so much in the last several months has been hard on her. She tries to keep her head up and keep smiling, but there are definitely some hard times and hard days emotionally. We are all so grateful for the Lord who is taking good care of her and for so many of you who are helping her to get through this hard time.

There have been some really sweet tender mercies this last week for her. Here are just a few:

1- On Monday she got into her email and had over 50 emails from all the missionaries in her mission. They shared their love and encouragement with her and were so excited to hear that she was doing better. Thank you Adriatic North Missionaries!!!!

2-A sweet friend from BYU's Vocal Point gave McKenzie tickets to their concert last week. It was so fun for her to get to go to the concert and then hang out with the Vocal Point guys afterwards.  Thanks Adam!!!

 On a funny note, McKenzie heard from several friends who had received letters from her in the mail today. She sent them two months ago from Croatia!!! haha. Who knew it could take so long??? Apparently they must of gotten lost in the mail:) So if she told any of you that she had sent you a letter and you didn't get it yet, it could still be coming:) haha.

We can never thank you all enough for loving and supporting McKenzie and us through this trial. We really appreciate all the phone calls, messages, prayers and thoughts:) You are amazing!!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Week 7: Best Week Yet!!!

McKenzie working a few hours in Dad's office:)

Well we hardly dare say it, but this last week has been the best yet!!! Each day when McKenzie woke up the headache was very minimal. She has felt so much better:) It has been great to see her smiling, teasing, laughing and getting back to herself.

She still had some times when the headache would spike and when she would have to slow down, but on the whole it was a much better week.  She is still struggling with her energy level, which is still not where it was, but it seems to be getting much better. We feel very encouraged by her progress this week.

One thing we have spent time talking about is that this trial that McKenzie has been going through has not just affected her physically, but it has also affected her emotionally, mentally and spiritually. We are trying to look at all these areas as we try to help her heal and feel better. She has been setting goals in each area, so that she can see progress each week:)

She often mentions that the world of a sick missionary, is a very different world. Not many people know about it or understand it. It has been a real eye opener for all of us. We are definitely so grateful for all of you who have been such a great support to all of us:) We couldn't do what we are doing without you.

Some of the highlights of this week were: 1) McKenzie taught the 12-13 yr old Sunday School Class on Sunday. She did a great job and was able to share many insights with them about missions:)  2) She has been working a few hours each day in her dad's office. 3) She had four ionizing foot baths last week which helped to get rid of the toxins in her body.

Thanks again for all your love and support. As things are getting better we are beginning to look at what is next. The decisions ahead will be hard ones, so please continue to keep McKenzie is your prayers:)