Katie Update #5

Friends and family,

Another day has passed and our Katie is still fighting like the champion that she is. We have accepted the fact that this will not be a quick process, so we are thankful for each day that goes by without hearing truly dire reports from the doctors. We know in our hearts that she will recover given enough time to heal, but every day that she remains in the hospital brings more chance for complications that could make that healing more difficult.

My last update reported that Katie had developed pneumonia. Liquid had settled in her lungs and had gotten trapped and infected. The doctors changed the settings on her respirator and administered antibiotics to try and combat the pneumonia. They also placed her on a cool water pad and covered her with an air blanket to try and bring down her rising temperature. This evening, doctors tested her breathing on the new respirator settings and she seemed to be doing much better. Further, blood gas readings were improving significantly, which means that her lungs are taking in and processing much more oxygen. So this aspect of her pneumonia seems to be under control for the moment. Her fever remains somewhat high (around 102.5), but the doctors hope that this is simply her body fighting the remaining bacterial infection.

Katie also had a new CT scan today to try and determine whether she was experiencing any more neurological trauma. The scans seemed to show no signs of new trauma, which is certainly promising. Additionally, some blood pooling in the ventricles of her brain seems to have also cleared up, which is also positive. We still don't know if there is any temporary or permanent
brain damage. Realistically, doctors can't tell this from CT or MRI scans. We simply have to wait for her to regain consciousness and see whether the Katie that we know and love returns from her long slumber.

The Neurologist decided today to extend her "flat-line" state from 24 to 36 hours. I believe that he was simply trying to maximize the chance that this would be the last time we would have to completely stop her brain functions. This essentially meant that we didn't start the process of bringing her brain back to life today and won't start until sometime tomorrow morning. This further means that we won't really know whether we can bring Katie out of her coma until Tuesday at the earliest, so once again we simply have to call on our reserves of patience to get us through these next two days.

Davis Parker has returned to the fifth floor from PICU. The doctors feel comfortable that he will be fine without constant supervision. He still has a little ways to go before he is through this latest ordeal, but moving him out of PICU has raised his spirits and can only make him stronger in his battle. Thank you for your continued prayers for Davis, as well.

Once again I will thank all of you for your prayers and support. Katie's website (http://katieyork.blogspot.com) has gotten a lot of traffic and many of you have signed the guest book and left prayers for Katie and our family. Please keep it up. Pray for Katie to be strong in her fight against disease and for healing, pray for our continued strength and patience, and pray for the wisdom, diligence, and good judgment of her doctors.

Thanks and farewell until tomorrow,
Paul