update on Mom - Mon. 8/18

It has been a busy and eventful weekend, and Mom has indeed proved the doctors wrong again, and has pulled through, and is doing better than any of them thought as of Wed. night. Mom is now more alert and responsive, her counts began to creep upward on Friday, and have pretty much stayed up since then, even improving slightly. We met separately with both teams of doctors (ICU & Oncology) today to discuss how the weekend went and where Mom seems to be right now, & they both said that healing is now possible and can be expected over the next several days and weeks, if things continue in this direction. Mom is still critical, and any complications or additional infections could change things any day. Blood counts usually return in patients like Mom around Day 30, and Mom's did not return until Day 35, but they now seem to be solidly there, though still very minimal. Mom still has a large fungal pneumonia and multiple other infections, is still on the ventilator, and still has a LONG and uphill climb to recovery. However, just as she did 11 years ago during her stem cell transplant for breast cancer, Mom is surprising the doctors by defying their predictions, at least for now, and we praise God for it!
Lisa and the kids plan to return home Wed. or Thu. of this week, and I will stay through the end of the week, and return home this weekend. We continue to covet any and all prayers we can get for Mom, but things are looking cautiously optimistic right now, especially compared to this past Wed. & Thu. Pray that this seeming turnaround continues. For now, we will wait for Mom's body to heal, and continue praying for God to do the healing!