Update on Kara

Hey all,

This is Rebecca, Kara's friend. I just wanted to offer an update on Kara's situation. I think most everyone knows what's going on, but I know it helped me to be able to understand the order of events and know how things happened, because really, it seems like everything just happened so fast.

Kara and Danielle came home from the hospital on Friday. Over the weekend, Kara started feeling bad with a sore throat and was having trouble catching her breath. She really didn't want to have to go out to the doctor and kept thinking she would feel better the next day. By Tuesday, she still wasn't better and went to the doctor. They confirmed that she had strep and gave her some antibiotics but were worried that her heart rate was up. Because increased heart rate can be a sign of blood clots (from the C-section), they sent her to get a CAT scan. At the place where they went for a CAT scan, they found that her blood oxygen level was low and sent her by ambulance to the ER at Scott and White in Round Rock.

At Scott and White, they did the CAT scan and chest X-Rays and by Tuesday night, the doctors felt that she was sicker than they had originally thought and moved her to the ICU. They continued to give her antibiotics, but it takes 24 hours for an infection to respond to antibiotics and in the meantime, it was getting harder for her the breath.

Throughout the day Wednesday, Kara struggled to breath on the oxygen mask and finally Wednesday night, she asked (by writing a note) to be put on a ventilator. In order to do that, they had to sedate her, intubate her and put in a feeding tube as well.

The doctor said Wednesday night that he thought she would be sedated and on the ventilator definitely through the weekend, possibly longer.

From what I have understood, the doctor said that Kara has developed ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) which was caused by a bacterial pneumonia. This is a very serious illness and it's just going to take a lot of watching and waiting and letting a combination of the antibiotics, the ventilator, and the rest she is getting to give her lungs the respite they need.

Peter and Danielle are being taken care of by Andrew's parents who have flown down from New Jersey. From what I hear, Peter has told his grandmother to take care of Danielle and is instructing his grandfather to play with him. I know that Kara was very relieved that Danielle would be getting breastmilk from some of her friends who are still nursing. Kara's dad and stepmom have been here in Austin and her mother got in last night. Kara's stepdad is in Costa Rica on a mission trip but will be here just as soon as he can.

That's all I have right now.

Pray for healing for Kara. Pray for strength for her family. Pray for wisdom for her healthcare providers.