Katie Update #17

Katie's day today promises to be a bit more active than yesterday. The EEG readings from last night showed far fewer seizures than we saw over the prior two nights. The seizures were equally as short, which again has the neurology team encouraged. Because this reduction in seizure activity occurred despite a slight reduction in her Pentobarbitol levels, the doctors decided that it was unlikely that the Pentobarbitol itself was now playing much of a role in suppressing her seizures. Therefore, as of around 10 AM this morning, they have completely weaned her from this drug. They are also looking at reducing her intake of Versed, a strong sedative and "amnesiac" that she's had administered since very early on, and starting her on Methadone to help curb the withdrawal symptoms associated with the removal of some of these drugs from her system. The weaning of Pentobarbitol and Versed is both exciting and scary. Assuming no setbacks, Katie will undoubtedly regain some level of consciousness over the next 24 to 48 hours. We are looking forward to seeing some further signs of consciousness, but anxiety, both for ourselves and especially for Katie, is likely to be high. We expect to spend a number of sleepless hours at Katie's side reassuring and comforting her as she slowly re-enters the world, confused and frightened.

The doctors are also readjusting her medications a bit. Because Katie continues to carry a high temperature, early this morning doctors decided to add a second antibiotic to her treatment regime to insure that she can fight off any bacterial infection that may be plaguing her. They later decided to start her on a fourth anti-seizure medication in an attempt to stop her seizures altogether. Because of potential drug interaction problems, however, the new medicine requires that they switch to a different type of antibiotic, to which Katie showed some allergic reactions when she was younger. So they are now testing her to see if and how she reacts to this medication as a young adult prior to starting these new medications in earnest. This is simply one of many examples of the type of balancing acts that our doctors have had to perform throughout this ordeal. With luck, though, if the seizures can be controlled completely and Katie can be returned successfully to a more conscious state, doctors can reduce further her dependence on all of these medications, simplifying her treatment regime and further stabilizing her overall condition. As always, only time will tell.

As I wrote above, this time is both exciting and frightening for all of us. I'm certain there will be more news to report tomorrow. As always, join us in praying that this news will be good and that we can continue to try and bring our Katie back to consciousness.

Thanks as always,
Paul