My big sister

I mentioned in my last post that my sister and her husband need me to act as chauffeur this week.  There have been new developments in her health.

Sherill has had difficulty breathing for the last three and a half weeks, and when she mentioned it to her oncologist on Tuesday, he scheduled her for an ultrasound of her heart on Friday.  The radiologist who did the ultrasound consulted with a cardiologist after taking the ultrasound.  The cardiologist sent her to the ER (which she went to later in the evening).  From there, she was admitted into the hospital.

I believe what she has is called cardiac effusion with tamponade.  What this means is that the sac around her heart filled with fluid which put pressure on her heart.  This is what caused the shortness of breath.  They didn’t allow her to eat or drink all day yesterday in preparation for surgery (or pericardiocentesis).  The surgery involved inserting a tube between her heart and the wall of the sac around her heart in order to drain the fluid.  Her surgery was around 9:15 last night and she was in ICU until they removed the tube about 3:00 this afternoon.  Then she was finally moved back up to the heart floor.

All the nurses and doctors I’ve spoken to have mentioned how sweet my sister is.  She has a very positive attitude and she expresses her appreciation to them as appropriate.  Sherill has been an inspiration to me over the years as she’s been fighting this cancer.  She has strong faith that God is going to heal her, including straightening her back which is hunched over because she broke so many vertebrae the first time she got multiple myeloma.  She has many friends, and she and Fred are credited with turning their church into a more caring place.  She would be the first to admit she’s not a saint, but she’s about as close to being one as anyone I’ve ever come across.  I get irritated with her sometimes, but most of the time I look “up” to my “big” sister.  Please keep her in your prayers.

Fred and Sherill and me. She used to be a little taller than me.

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