The Sphere Effect

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

Hi Everyone

   For anyone who knows my family, no Cockram journey is without adventure.
  I arrived at the airport Sunday night to discover no ticket waiting
for me.  After a bit of kerfufel, I was issued a new ticket with the
wrong date (somehow they couldn’t print out one for that evening) and
was escorted to the check-in - so it wasn’t so bad after all as I
managed to jump an enormous queue!  Katrina, Mary, Marianne and I
headed off to the Dome for a hot choc before I had to go through
customs.  THANK YOU girls for your company and friendship - and to all
the other lovely offers of lifts to the airport - I had so many I’ve lost count!!

   Once I got to Joburg, the plane couldn’t get up to the walkway
because something else was parked too close and had to be moved.  So we waited.
Then the plane moved up to the walkway.  And we waited.  Then the
announcement that the walkway was stuck.  So we waited some more.  Then
they wheeled over some steps and we got out the back door.  So I made it.

   To the boys (and girls) who went to the rugby on Saturday night, I
was jealous of you going, BUT had the pleasure of sharing my flight
with the team .  Yes, I walked off the plane in the middle of all the
boys and then waited at the baggage carousel with George (Gregan that
is).  I was regretting leaving my Wallabies jumper at home!  I would
have loved to see them play while I’m over here but the game is in
Capetown

   I was picked up at the airport and taken to where Mum and Dad are
staying, then we headed off to the hospital.  Heidi was looking pretty
good
- she was awake and quite lucid.  I had a guided tour of all the tubes
sticking out all over her, and all the machinery she is hooked up to. 
The doctors were happy with her and said she needed no dialysis or
plasma for the day.  They also got her out of bed for a while, which is
the first time since she came to the hospital.

   We visited again in the afternoon and left her looking a bit tired.

   This morning she said she hadn’t slept all night as there are alarms
and bells going off all over the ccu (coronary care unit).  The doctor
came to check on her and said she would need more dialysis today, which
is how we found her.  She was also a bit distressed as a couple of
things had gone wrong for her in the night and morning. There is no way
for her to get attention from the nurses as they are checking her
regularly and she is hooked up to so many alarms.  However, her nurse
was held up a couple of times with other patients and Heidi had no way of saying she needed help.
When you need to go to the toilet and have to wait, it can be quite
stressful.  Anyway, we spoke to the nurse and they have been very
attentive while we have been there.

   We had one scare this morning when Heidi’s lunch arrived.  We had
raised her bed so she could eat, but the change in pressure on the
tubes attached to the dialysis machine, as well as in her body, cause her to have a fit.
Mum, Dad and I had no idea what was happening, all we knew is that one
minute she was speaking to us, the next she stabbed blindly at her food
with her fork, lifted it and poked herself in the chin, then waved her
arms around and had her eyes looking in all different directions.  We
quickly called for help, everyone came running and we left the room. 
After an extremely long 5 minutes, they came to tell us what had
happened and that she was okay.  Needless to say, we were all very
shaky and upset - it doesn’t take much when you really don’t understand what is going on.

   It looks like she will be having dialysis one day, then plasma the
next, until the week is out.  She is making great gains - miraculous
ones actually, however, as we have been told many times, it really is 2
steps forward and 1 step back.  It is so good that we are all here
together, reminding each other of all the love surrounding us, the
prayers that are being answered on a daily basis, the incredible
network of friends and friends of friends who are supporting us, and
the amazing love of God who holds us daily in His gentle hands.

   Mum and Dad have gone back to the hospital this afternoon and I will
go this evening while they are out for dinner with some more amazing
Joburg people.  We read all your emails to Heidi to every day, so
please keep writing to us.  She especially loves hearing about the
little things happening in your lives - they bring rays of sunshine
into a room that has none.  Heidi is overwhelmed (as we all are) with
the number of people who know she is unwell and wish her all the best, and pray for her.

   This has been a pretty big update but I was making up for a day missed!

   Thank you Aunty Judy, for your jacket, and your company on Sunday. 
Mum and Heidi loved their cards, and Mum has been wearing your jacket
(she didn’t have one).

   Thank you to everyone at All Saints who wrote on Heidi’s big card -
she loved it!  Thank you too to those of you who were able to give
personal cards to me to take.

   Thank you to everyone at WACS for the beautiful flowers.  Heidi
cannot have them in the ccu so we enjoy them back at where we are
staying.  We will let you all know when she is in the regular ward and
able to receive more.

   Thank you to you all for your kindnesses to me before I left.  You
have touched my heart and I have had many teary moments thinking about them.
They are so many I cannot thank everyone individually here.

   May God bless you all.

   Much love
   Kellie

Dear Friends

I cannot sleep so thought I would write another update for the many many people who have asked for them.

Our daughter Kellie arrived safely in the early hours of yesterday morning and we headed off to the hospital.   We were surprised and excited when we arrived, to see Heidi half sitting up in bed without the ventilator on, hair washed (it had not been washed for 3 weeks ugh!) and smiling.  She was very pleased to see her sister and we had a lovely morning together, chatting, laughing and spoiling her in every way we could think of.

Her blood is improving and hopefully no more “plasma exchanges” needed, today’s blood test will tell.  Her kidneys are still not functioning properly and she will need four more units of blood today as her count is very low again.  Once the blood and kidneys are okay, then the doctors can start investigating what other damage has been done to her poor ravaged body. 

Dr Su and Dr Hapad have both said that it is truly a miracle that she has survived and Dr Su told her that only God could have intervened in this case as there was very little chance that science could have saved her.  Our prayers have been answered!  Thankyou, to the hundreds of people who have prayed for her constantly and continue to do so as she is a long way from being out of the woods yet and will be in Coronary Care Unit for at least another week and then, who knows.

A book could be written about this journey and it would take me pages to tell you of the amazing things that have transpired over the last couple of weeks. 

We continue to be amazed at the support we are receiving from strangers in this country.  Offers of accommodation, vehicles, dinners, touring, flowers, cards from people who see us visit every day, offers of MP3’s for Heidi, transport.  It floods in!  There are around 15 churches in Johannesburg that are praying for her. 

Must sign off now.

With love to you all

Ronny (Michael and Kellie)

 Hi Everyone
 
 I’ve had a message from Mum today - here’s a snippet for you:
 
 The GOOD NEWS is that the doctors literally danced at the end of Heidi’s bed this morning as her blood has improved and she may not have to have any more plasma exchanges or dialysis.  We are thrilled but there is a very long way to go - really only the start now that the blood and urine  is nearly okay.
 
 So that’s great!  I’ll be able to see her tomorrow morning and let you know more then
 
 Only 3 more hours to go ’til I’m off. 
 
 Stay well everyone, and God bless.
 
 Kellie

SMS from Kellie :

Hi I’m here, we’re about 2 go 2 hospital 4 2nd time. H has tubes sticking out everywhere but is much better 2day. She loved all the cards and lollies. x

Dear friends

It has been an exhausting and emotional day for us.  Heidi continues to be
in a critical condition.  We came very close to losing her overnight as the plasma
exchange was given in the early hours of the morning with skeleton staff and her body rejected
it, causing her lungs to fill with fluid.  They had to drain her lungs and give her more
antibiotics.  When we arrived at the hospital she had been transferred to the Coronary Care Unit which is
the highest care possible (we thought Acute Care was but no …).  By lunchtime she was
looking more stable and I was able to feed her four spoonfuls of food and copious ice blocks.
She was then very tired so we left her for awhile.

Michael Dewsbury’s friend Margaret came and picked us up from the hospital
and took us for a drive and a quick bite to eat in a really lovely district.  The first we
had seen anything of Jo’burg.  (She was so kind to us and she (as well as her daughter) are very
keen to have us stay with either or both of them for the duration of our stay).

We returned to Heidi soon after and sat with her while she went through the
third 2 hour ordeal of a plasma exchange.  Her “penthouse suite”, so the staff call it
looks like Nassau Space Station.  She is never left for a minute and the specialists attend
to her constantly.  We are very impressed.  I received a call from the medical manager of Medecins
sans Frontiere in Geneva while there and he also was very kind and said that we could have
whatever we wanted, we were just to ask.  All we want really is for Heidi to recover
from this and of course he can’t give us that!

We will however spend a few days with Janet and Tony [Joan Jessup’s rellies]
and then probably move into Janet’s brother Peter’s flat with the possibility of the
use of his car at no cost to us.

We have now had seven genuine offers for unlimited accommodation and we are
simply overwhelmed by compassion, love and care.  It makes us even more emotional
than we already are to receive such kindness.  I even received a big warm hug from
the doorman at our hotel, a huge black man with a smile as wide as a mile.

Heidi will possibly receive ten plasma transfers (depending on how she responds) and dialysis for as long as she needs it.

That’s all for now.
Much love to you all
Ronny and Michael

For those wishing to email her please use the following email address of her parents.

mcockram@iinet.net.au

Overnight the situation has worsened and Heidi is now in the coronary care unit in ICU, from an allergic reaction to the blood plasma she’s been given.

We’ll attempt to keep you upto date as more info comes in.

Steve.

Hello my dear friends

Please forgive us for replying to everyone in one email. It is very
difficult and stressful here at the moment and we are not up to sending or
replying to the many wonderful responses and messages we are receiving.

Heidi’s condition remains critical. They are treating her for
haemolytic uraemic syndrome and it is a grueling and awful procedure. When
this is finally over, they will attend to the ulcerated bowel and jaundice
and all the other problems arising. It will be a very long process and we
will be here for at least six weeks or maybe longer - who knows?

It is difficult to us to receive messages on Michael’s voicemail as
Optus have given us the wrong number to ring and so we cannot read them.
For Joan and Michael: We met with Janet and Tony last night and they
are taking us to Peter’s flat tomorrow - it is available for us and he may
be able to lend us a car

If anyone of her friends wants to send her a card or whatever, she is at
the Mil Park Hospital - Acute Care Unit, 29 Guild Road, Park Town,
Johannesburg

God bless you all
Love Michael and Ronny

Hi Everyone

Mum and Dad arrived safely this morning and are with Heidi. It was a very
emotional and teary time. Mum printed out all the emails from you all
before she left, and wrote down everyone who rang or visited, and has been
reading them all to her. Thank you for all your love, well wishes, prayers
and offers of help. We all felt very overwhelmed yesterday.

Heidi has been diagnosed with haemo-something urinary syndrome (Dad
couldn’t remember the proper term). Basically her kidneys are not working
properly and she has been poisoning her system. She has to have 10 lots of
dialysis for the next three days then they will reassess her condition.
She has a very large tube inserted into her neck that has about 3 lines in
it - they can do the dialysis through this, plus have her on a drip and
take blood for testing etc etc.

Heidi is in the acute intensive care unit at Milpark Hospital in
Johannesburg. This hospital is one of the best in Joburg, in a very nice
area of the city. She has two excellent doctors working over her whom Mum
and Dad are very impressed with. Heidi also has an MSF lady who overseas
everything that happens to her - she has bent over backwards to assist Mum
and Dad, keeping them informed of Heidi’s condition and giving practical
help as well.

Mum and Dad are staying at a hotel 5 minutes walk from the hospital. It is
freezing cold apparently, but they have packed all the right type of
clothing. They were taken to the hotel from the airport to drop off their
luggage before going to see Heidi. They have had people from Joburg
calling and offering their help - Mum and Dad cannot believe how many
people are being so kind to them. One of Joan’s relatives helped with
their accomodation, another lady has said she’s coming to pick them up and
take them out to lunch, and Marc’s friend Gary has been in contact and
offered to help too.

It has been a very traumatic time for Heidi - she arrived at the hospital’s
emergency with all the bells, whistles and flashing lights, with lots of
rushing around and invasive treatments. She was suffering from shock and
has been very emotional so it is pretty important that Mum and Dad are with
her at this time. It has been an answer to prayer that the doctors have
finally found the source of her illness, and now we ask that you continue
to pray for healing of the symptoms, plus wisdom for the doctors and
nursing staff, and peace and patience for Mum and Dad.

We thank God for all of you - we are truly blessed to have such an
incredible network of friends.

I’ll keep you updated as I learn more.

God bless.
Kellie