Monday, 12/29

We're at another one of these stages in Donna's treatment where it gets hard to discern how to give an update without causing false alarm or false sense of security. I'll do my best to give an accurate update, though keeping up with the information is difficult as her condition changes up and down almost by the minute. At this point, we just try to gather the information and sum up the day.

Donna is still very, very sick; however, as one of the health care providers told Jan yesterday, every indicator they are checking showed a small bit of improvement. For example, her white cell count went from 0.5 to 0.7.

Some other abnormalities have shown up in her blood work, such as problems with her potassium and blood sugar. As I understand it, they believe that the labored breathing is causing her kidneys to overwork, thus resulting in higher than normal sodium, and that the steroids she is receiving are elevating her blood sugar. They are also testing her for Clostridium difficile. (C. diff). I haven't heard yet of the results. In short, C. difficile is a bacteria that is not uncommon for institutionalized patients (such as hospital and nursing home patients). While it makes you feel terrible, it typically is treatable with strong antibiotics. I would assume that this is the case in Donna's situation also. I'm not sure how much, if at all, her current condition will effect the treatment/recovery of C. diff if she in fact has that.

As I understand it, the DAH (diffuse alveolar hemorrhage) is basically stable right now, meaning it hasn't worsened. They did lower her steroids on Saturday (I think; it might have been Friday evening). As far as I know, they left her at the lower dosage of steroids.

Some of the care providers told Jan yesterday that while Donna is very sick they have also seen patients as sick as she is, and some sicker, who have turned around just as fast as they went downhill.

Jan assures me that they are giving Donna top-notch attention, basically ICU-type care with one-on-one nursing.

For your prayer list, the best I can recommend is to obviously continue to pray for Donna, but also for her doctors and nurses, and those who are at Duke helping to care for Donna. As you can imagine, being there and watching Donna go up and down is very difficult. Jan and Crystal made comment over the weekend that they have no idea how Joel held up doing that all alone for 4 weeks.

Speaking of Joel, I know I don't have to tell you to keep him in your prayers also. As difficult and draining as it had to be for him to be there for 4 weeks, I can only imagine that it is just as difficult and probably more so not being able to be there daily.

Donna knows that people all around the country are praying not only for her but her family also. I know she is humbled by it and covets those prayers.