Donna Lee...Update 9/3...Update 9/4...Update 9/5...Update 9/7...Update 9/8...

Donna looked a little bit better today when I got there. She looked more relaxed (you have to see her every day to tell)than she did yesterday. I waited around for a while before I spoke to her; until she opened her eyes. She knew me right away. And the nurse, Roger, now says she knew him, too, and understood things. That's a very good sign,-him admitting that.
She has the brain scan MRI scheduled to be done this evening. The nurse had a chance to get her dialysis pretty early so he decided to do that first. I won't know anything on the MRI until tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed, that there'l be nothing bad in the scan results.
Roger told me I could bring a cd player in to play her cds. I went right out and got one at Best Buy and a set of speakers. The player is fine but the speakers don't do much so I'll use Donnas speakers from her computer.
I played a couple of songs and she looked like she enjoyed them but then she gat a little sad so I turned it off. I'll try tomorrow again and see if she will enjoy them, her favorite songs, without getting sad. I hope so.
The Infectious Disease doctor came by and checked her and told her, "Donna, you're getting better all the time." That's a really good sign. He told me her signs are good and stable and her white count is at 13, which is good for her condition.I have decided to ask the doctors to not say negative things within Donnas hearing range anymore. I know she understands things and I don't want her to get discouraged.

I love all of you folks, anonymous included, for being so caring and encouraging. It really means a lot to us. Always your friends, Jim and Donna...

Donna Lees numbers are about the same today as they were yesterday. I know she is aware of things sometimes. When I got there, I walked over to the other side of the bed, the way she was facing. I leaned down and told her hello and put my hand on her forehead and her eyes immediately locked on me. Her chin came up a couple of times like she wanted to say something. I told her I loved her and asked her if she was all right, I asked if she was in pain and tears started; she was crying.
I told Roger, the male nurse about it and told him she was in pain and Roger called Doctor Sam and was allowed to give her a little bit of a pain medication and, after a few minutes, she felt better. The problem was, then she didn't feel up to talking anymore so I left her alone for a while.

Of course, the doctors and the nurse take all of this with a grain of salt. However, Roger did tell Doctor Brussett that Donnas eyes had 'tracked'.

Donna didn't get the MRI today because of people being off for the holiday and a couple of accident victims came in and kept the technicians busy. They'll do it tomorrow.

There is some good news. They thought she might be bleeding from an ulcer so a doctor inserted a 'gastroscopy', (?)-a tube with a camera, into her stomach to check it out. He just called me here at home ten minutes ago
to say her stomach is clear! 'Yay!'What a great thing for him to do, to call me tonight!

That's about it for today. Thank you all so much for your love and support; for your caring and prayers. Always your friends, Jim and Donna Lee...

Donna looks about the same today except her breathing is a bit faster and, at times her heartbeat was a bit erratic.
Dr Lupersio went ahead and ordered an mri of her brain. I am anxious to see what it shows.

I will make this short as there isn't much to tell. Thank all of you folks for your love and encouragement. It really means a lot. I think about it sometimes when I am sitting in Donnas room. We love you for your prayers and thoughts.
Your friends, Jim and Donna...

Donna looked about the same today. Her numbers are good and I know she looks at me once in a while; her right eye follows my head movement slightly and I get a blink sometimes and this is all a good sign. I try to get her to squeeze my hand but she hasn't yet.
Her brain scan from yesterday showed no signs of a stroke. Doctor Lupersio said that if she doesn't awaken in a week he might get an mri of her brain. He said we'd have to think of something else. I told him that if she doesn't awaken in a week, we'd give her another week and another and as many as it takes for her to get well. I hope he felt the ice in my voice at what I perceived he meant.
Doctor Brussett came in later. He went to JC and Donna Lee and said he liked Green Eyes and Eighteen Wheels. I think he understands Donna a bit better now. He sure encourages me.
They were starting a dialysis when I left to come back to Red Bluff.

Thank all of you for your good wishes and encouragement. We love you for it. Jim and Donna...

Once again, Donna was a bit better today. She looked the same but the infections doctor said her white blood cell count is down to 15. He said 10 or below is ideal and reminded me that, a short while ago, her count was up to thirty.
I exercised her arms and feet and some to her knees several times today and rubbed them all with lotion.
I was singing a song to her and I moved my head to the side just a little bit and her eyes followed my face. I told the nurse but he said he had never seen her move her eyes. It happened again later and she is blinking some, too. I keep telling her to squeeze my hand but she hasn't yet.
Dr Brussett came in and I told him about her white blood cell count being at 15 and that it had been up to 30. He said that, at one time, it was up to 50. He told me again that Donna is getting a little bit better all the time. I told him that Donnas eyes followed me when I was singing to her and I moved my face. He said she probably could hear me.
He said he had patients who were ten times sicker than Donna and got well. He said one lady, after nine months, came by his office with her husband and they were living their lives just as they had before she got sick. I thank God every time he comes around. He always puts everything in perspective.

Thank all of you. We love all of you for your love and encouragement and support. Your friends, Jim and Donna...

Donna was better today. When I got there, a new male nurse met me and began to tell me of Donna's condition. He made it sound very bleary so I told him not to speak of Donna in terms of not getting better.
In a while, Doctor Brussett came in and we spoke. He was very encouraging. He said Donna is slowly getting better and warned me that some people may ask me when I intended to 'throw in the towel' and I told him that I would never give up on Donna. He said that is the perfect attitude. He said she is slowly getting better, even with a slight backstep once in a while and to keep up the positive thoughts. He said that even if it took six months or more in ICU, there is a good chance of full recovery and to never think otherwise.

Then the doctor specializing in infections came in and told me that Donnas 'white count' is down and that is a very good sign. I thanked him and Doctor Brussett for being there for us and for being so hopeful about Donna's recovery.
The dialysis tech lady came in then and started Donna on dialysis. Her numbers (bp-heart rate-oxygen, etc) stayed good and that is a good sign.
Then I got a bad stomach ache and had to leave before the dialysis was finished. I sure hope my stomach gets better by in the morning and is just a little 'half a day' bug.

Thank all of you good friends and relatives for your prayers and encouragement. Thank you relatives who e-mail us and you friends who comment here. We love you all for it. Jim and Donna...

Donna is about the same today as she was yesterday. That, in itself, is good news. She had dialysis this afternoon but they weren't able to get much fluid from her system and her heart was a bit erratic. The nurse says she is no worse. Thank the Lord for that. Thank all of you friends for caring. We love you. Jim and Donna...

I decided to start a new month. You can still read the earlier updates.

Donna was better today. She seemed relaxed, at least more than some other times. When I got there, I was told she would get another cat scan in a while; an abdomen, a lung and a brain scan. We'll probably have the results tomorrow.

I was exercising her arms and she opened her eyes! 'Yay!' She couldn't see me because she was in a semi-sleep state, between sleep and awake. I called the male nurse, Roger, (a really good guy) over and he said that was a very good sign. A nurse trainee started cleaning her mouth and got the swab a bit too low and Donna had a 'gag reflex', which is, also, a very good sign. Then she bit down on the swab. I felt like kissing her;-so I did!

She still hasn't been fully awake yet but she's getting closer. She didn't require a dialysis today and that was a good sign.

Please keep praying for Donna. She still has a long way to go. We love you all for your love and support. Your friends, Jim and Donna...