Posted - Sunday, November 29 by Benton

Dianne continues to make remarkable progress. She is feeling much better, and she greatly appreciates all the prayers.

Her hospital room direct phone number is (713) 834-8978. It is okay to call, but please keep it brief (not always easy to do when on the phone with Dianne).

Some people have inquired about the sequence of events over the past two weeks, so summarized below is a recap:
1. Saturday, Nov. 14, 10:30 p.m.: Dianne began passing blood and we took her to the emergency room at the CS Med. Ctr.
2. Sunday, Nov. 15 – Friday, Nov. 20: Periods of improvement, followed by relapses (moved out of ICU and then back into ICU two days later). Medical diagnosis at that time was bleeding caused by an infection in her colon, and she received the first few units of blood transfusions during this time. (I should also note that MD Anderson was at capacity and was accepting only declared "emergencies")
3. Saturday, Nov. 21 – “Crisis Time”. Late Friday night and Saturday morning, Dianne took a decided turn for the worse. Significantly increased blood loss made it clear that immediate action was necessary. Everyone agreed that it would be preferable to get her to MD Anderson since they were most familiar with her case and had such exceptional technology and staff. At 12:30 p.m. she was on the way to Houston aboard the Life-Flight helicopter.
4. Saturday, Nov. 21 at MD Anderson – Dianne arrived with virtually no detectable vital signs. Fortunately, her physician had the surgical team ready when she arrived, and they immediately went to work. Turned out it was an arterial aneurism in her lower abdomen/upper left leg. They successfully sealed the artery, but two major concerns remained: (1) Was there any brain damage due to the period of reduced blood flow? And (2) Would they be able to restore circulation to the left leg in time to save it?
5. Sunday, Nov. 22: A greatly relieved family on Sunday morning found Dianne responsive and able to communicate. As the day went on, it became increasingly evident that there was no brain damage. Further, that morning, the vascular surgeon determined that her vital signs had improved sufficiently to allow immediate surgery to help restore circulation to her left leg. The surgery lasted only about an hour and was very successful.

Additional Notes:
1. At this time, we do not have an accurate count of the total units of blood transfused, but it is well in excess of 20 units. Fortunately, no additional transfusions have been necessary during the past week.
2. Every step of the way, Dianne had excellent medical care. Otherwise, there would have been a far less positive outcome.
3. There is no sign of any new cancer. All of Dianne’s medical challenges the past year are the result of radiation administered to save her life almost 14 years ago.