Why We Give: The Marsh – Christensen Family

Kristen Marsh kept returning to the prayer.  

O God Our Great Physician,

Be with Andy as his body recovers and heals. Restore to him a full and timely recovery. Be with his medical team as they move him towards that healing. Grant them wisdom and guidance as they use their scientific knowledge and skill.  

And be with Kristen, Josh, and Katie, Barbara and Pete. Strengthen them as they support Andy through this. Give them courage when they are afraid. May they feel your loving presence when they feel alone. Sustain them with your grace.

Andy, 44, had first arrived at a Kaiser hospital two months earlier. He had severe acute pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas that became life-threatening as bacteria spread through his body. Only about 10% to 15% of people survive.

Kristen was at the dentist with their children – Josh, 7, and Katie, 4 – when Andy first fell ill. He was put in an ambulance at his office and hurried to Kaiser. When she got a call from his colleagues, she stepped outside the dentist’s office to cry.

It was the first of many tears she shed during a seven-month ordeal clouded by doubts and an unshakable worry: Would Andy make it?

Kristen, who joined Calvary shortly after moving to San Francisco in 2005, needed support to manage her concerns. The words Rev. Lee provided, the hospital visits by Rev. Victor H. Floyd, and the encouragement of the congregation helped her through the seven-month trial.  

Deacons delivered meals to her house. Rev. Floyd prayed with her at the hospital. And perhaps most importantly, Rev. Lee and others at the church helped organize a blood drive one Sunday in Andy’s name.

The blood drive sprouted out of one of Andy’s darkest days at the hospital. As doctors sought to drain an infection from his body, a stent they were using hit a blood vessel. It triggered major bleeding and doctors needed several blood transfusions to keep Andy alive.  

As Kristen waited outside the intensive care unit, she sent an email to Rev. Lee and three friends at Calvary asking for their prayers.

“Is there anything else we can do?” one person asked.  

“Give blood,” Kristen replied.  

The blood transfusions Andy received at the hospital saved his life. A few weeks later, more than 30 people filed into a blood mobile outside Calvary and gave blood in Andy’s name, hoping it would help save the life of someone else.