Heidi - June 15 - More
Hi everyone
I have received many messages from Heidi’s friends through her blog that ask me to explain how Heidi came to be in Johannesburg. They have only received the last part of the story so far, so here (in brief) is what happened.
Some weeks ago, we beleive Heidi was infected by a bacteria (possibly Typhoid or ecoli) and suffered dysentery. She became so ill, that she was flown to Addis Ababa Hospital but test results could not find exactly what caused this. A colonoscopy showed that she had around 40 ulcers on her bowel and she was not improving. Her condition became so serious that a chartered SOS MediVac jet was sent to fly her home via Johannesburg but things took a further turn for the worse during the flight as she became very anaemic (count of 7) and an ambulance was waiting to collect her and take her to the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg.
She was admitted to the Acute Care Unit in a critical condition. She has been diagnosed with Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome. She received six daily plasma exchanges and is on dialysis daily because of renal failure, her lungs filled with fluid and had to be drained and has received several blood transfusions, is on a ventilator and is very jaundiced.
She was quickly transferred to the Coronary Care Unit as her condition deteriorated during the first night and it has been a long hard road back. Her blood is however improving and when the doctors are happy with the blood and kidneys, they will endeavour to find out what damage has been done to her poor ravaged body.
Yesterday, she showed some improvement, was quite talkative and sat in an armchair in the garden for a short time - however, there is a very long way to go yet. We are on that old roller coaster ride - at one stage two days ago, she was lucid and talking about the future with animation and energy and the next she had a fit which was the most terrifying thing to witness. Yesterday, they could not wake her. We never know what to expect next so when the doctors said they were much happier with her blood yesterday and took her off dialysis we were over the moon. It is possible that she may be stable enough to fly home in a week but we are cautious as new symptoms are appearing.
Your love and support are essential to improving her chances of getting through this, so again our sincere thanks for the comforting messages you send.
Ronny, Michael and Kellie
