Many of you know or have corresponded with Anne (Irina) Moeller. She attended
the conference in Florence last year.
For the past few weeks Anne has been hospitalized. The only thing the doctors
have been able to diagnose is possibly Kikuchi Disease. Her husband, Gary, has
been sending daily e-mail updates to friends who requested them. Most of them
just say "no change", but last night's was somewhat more disturbing. Instead
of trying to summarize what he said, I will include the past few days' updates
here.
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Wed., August 5th: I got a
call this morning that Anne had had a rough morning. She had labored
breathing, her BP had plummeted (in the 60’s), and her blood oxygen level
was low. The Pulmonary Specialist is the one that called and asked (and
received) permission to intubate her again, put in a ‘Main Line’
and “Arterial Line” (both of these are shunts into an artery –
the Main to the neck or groin, the arterial basically anywhere there is an
artery. They chose the neck and arm, respectively). He suspected
that she had mucous drainage into her bronchial tube, so had a chest x-ray that
confirmed it. So they performed the bronchiotomy to clear the airway, and
that reduced the strain to breathe. They also discovered a DVT (Deep Vein
Thro
mbosis) in one leg, so they are administering blood thinners to break it
up. The doc admitted his big concern was that the clot could break away and
settle in a lung. Her BP was brought up with both meds and fluids.
She will have the planned scan for the
infection tomorrow. They couldn’t let her leave CCU until she was
stabilized. Frankly, I was scared. It sounded like she was near
death, and probably was if they hadn’t taken the steps they took.
When I went to visit tonight, she didn’t have the color she had two days
ago. She also looked a little bloated, but that was probably the fluids
they are giving her. They are watching for renal problems as well as the
other things I mentioned. So far, so good, on that front. I don’t
need anymore days with this much excitement - and neither does she!
Tues., August 4th: No
real news today. She is scheduled to have the scan I referred to on
Wednesday. Yes, I thought it was going to be today, but it didn’t
happen. I guess I blew it on the day. With Tylenol, her fever is
down to normal temps now. No change in BP or heart rate. Still not
really responsive to commands. That’s it. Goodnight.
Mon., August 3rd: She had
her procedure today for insertion of the feeding tube directly into her
stomach. She is now sleepi
ng with her CPAP, apparently more
comfortable. Her BP is lower, as is her heart rate. Unfortunately,
her fever is back, at 102.8. I was told that tomorrow she will have some
sort of scan to try to locate the source of the infection. I really hope
they find it……..this is getting old.
Sun., August 2nd: No
change today. Her heart rate is still up, as is her respiratory
rate. The CPAP didn’t make a difference. Tomorrow they will
be putting in a direct feeding tube through her abdomen. That’s it
for today.
Sat., August 1st: I went
to the hospital late tonight, but things are close to the same. She has
developed a fungal infection resulting in a fever, probably from having the
foley in too long. She is getting more antibiotics for this. Her heart
rate was up, as well as BP, but I think that was related to her sleep apnea, so
I suggested to the nurse to put on her CPAP. They took the suggestion and
told the respiratory nurse to make it happen. She didn’t wake up
although I tried to wake her. She was sleeping very soundly. I
think she was dreaming the whole time I was there. That’s it for
today!
*** cut July 8 - 31 ******
I
am trying to maintain the house, take care of all of our cats, and run my
business while
bouncing back and forth. My mother is helping me wheneve
r I ask. I
try not to ask much of her since she is 84. I am getting along ok and if
I need more help, believe me I’ll holler.
We thank everyone for their
prayers and good thoughts.
Gary
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Anne has been a friend of ours for many years. She was supposed to be at
Pennsic this week, camping with our Barony of Marinus. She is known in the SCA
as Baroness Anne du Cygne Noire and "The Cheesecake Lady" for her many-flavored
cheesecakes. Please include her and Gary in your prayers.
Cathy Raitt
(SCA - Baroness Catherine de Bellefleur)
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