Butterflake aka Donna

Hi folks,

Donna is a long-time Lupus Forum Member, and she has been in the hospital a couple of weeks now. She developed an ulcer right where the stomach dumps into the small intestine, and somehow during the post-surgery period she contacted pneumonia which has transformed into Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome .

She is currently sedated with a endotracheal tube. Please keep her in mind, this can become a life-threatening situation very quickly.

Thanks,

oh wow lynn thanks for keeping us posted.. i will be praying for her thats for sure.. keep us posted..

amy

Thanks Lynnwood for letting us know.  I definintely will be keeping her in my thoughts and prayers that she is able to quickly recover from this. 

thanks and I will keep her in my prayers...

yes i have seen this with lupus patients... its just not worth it do it the hard way.. my mom and sister both had this done neither one has lupus but its a rough recovery

Thank you for the news, Lynn. So very sorry about Redrose... And guarded hope that Butterflake is turning a corner.

emmie

I just talked with Tim, Donna's SO. It seems to still be touch and go with Donna - Monday evening they told him they didn't think she'd make it thru the night. But she did and is improving a little - enough so that yesterday they put in a trach tube. Donna is still on the respirator and sedated.

Please keep her in your thoughts.

I've been a little afraid to call and ask about Donna, but went ahead and called today. After 3 weeks of sedation on the ventilator, she came off of it about a week ago and is slowly getting better. Tim says she can smile, but not talk and not squeeze his hand - the doctors tell him that the sedation & other meds just take a while to get out of the system and that she is doing well.

They are looking into getting her into a rehab center...after 3 weeks you loose a great deal of muscle strength and she will have to work her way back from being so weak. Hopefully Tim will remember to call me when she can communicate & I'll be able to update more. I let him know we are continuing to think of her & support her as best we can.

Wow, it's been a long time since I got an update on Donna. Not sure how time slipped away from me like that.

Donna has been moved to a rehab center, and was finally up & walking just a couple of days ago. I think today's high point was being able to make it to the bathroom on her own. Tim didn't see her today as he wasn't feeling well himself and they are being very precautionary against infections, etc. So far as we know now, only family is permitted to visit. Tim says she's talking, but seems very confused. He thinks that her main issue now is a huge Lupus flare, but also seems a little unsure about that.

Donna still needs our thoughts and prayers!
Thanks everyone,

Thank you Lynnwood, will continue to keep Donna in my thoughts! I'm glad to hear that she is in rehab and that she can get out of bed and now talking, that is so great considering where she was the last time - sounds like progress.

Praying for her health and her family

Good News!

Donna has been talking for about a week now, and was able to call me this afternoon. She has a LOT of rehab in store - everything from speech rehab to writing to walking, etc. Now that the lung emergency has passed they are trying to find a surgeon who will deal with the constriction in her small intestine.

Donna is in good spirits and is able to see visitors at last! I hope to make it over there before the week is out!

I talked to Donna a few minutes ago. She is at home now, and is receiving daily physical therapy and being fed thru a tube. Today was the first time she navigated the stairs on her feet since the end of January. She is seeing daily improvement, but they won't even consider doing surgery to correct the blockage issue until after she is *much* stronger.

Donna is very weak from being on the ventilator (respirator?) in an sedated state for almost 2 months, but she is very optimistic and is able to see daily improvements in strength and function. And finally her infections and vulnerability have passed and she can see visitors!