Update 3

Rough day at the hospital but several positive results occurred.

1. Don was taken off life support today and is breathing on his own.
2. We finally straightened out the run around we were given by medical records staff. We are now given daily what we have asked for all along - a copy of his lab reports and a copy of all the meds he is on DAILY.
3. We found out today that Don's oncologist refused to talk with Dr. Bill Deagle. This is unacceptable. He will be gone until Monday and his partner will take over Don's care until that time (the partner is now the ER oncologist for the weekend.)
4. Leah, Mary's twin sister, arrived this afternoon around 2 PM. She is a very busy RN so it was an honor for her to take the time to assist Mary and me with providing the quality care Don certainly deserves. She is a very experienced trauma care AND oncologist nurse.... She insisted that I call a conference with the head doc of ICU, the head nurse of ICU, the oncologist, Mary and me. I arranged for this to happen next Tuesday. We also had a brief conference with the ICU nurse, another nurse, the ICU doc, Leah, Mary and me. The point of these meetings is to make sure I have access to information I need to communicate Don's progress with others as well as be able to work effectively for the best care of Don that can be provided. Leah stressed how foreign allopathy is for me and the importance of communication. Also, due to an altercation between Mary and the head nurse in ICU, I have found a peer. She made a point to heal the rift in communication between Mary and her over the medical records access (I wasn't stepping up to the plate as I should of - overwhelmed with Delphi technique games...) I got real clear and stressed that Mary is the person next to me with POA over Don's care. Mary is a VERY close friend and pulled her partner from a similar near death experience which he survived BECAUSE of her and Leah's interventions. The long and short of it is that I gave her all of our literature (last four papers, 9/11 Report, The Artificially Sweetened Times and The A.S.H. Guide.) I felt at this point that I really needed "someone" I could vibe with and who has authority, and to understand the reason our current nurse of 13 years has never experienced the level of calls, concern and "trips" this ICU case has caused.
5. Dr. Bill Deagle called ICU while we were there - we hadn't heard from him for since Monday despite several calls to him. This was an amazing blessing since Leah was able to talk to him directly and they talk the same "language". He wanted three things incorporated:
   1. an IV of Immune globulin for his leaky gut
   2. CoQ10 to prevent heart damage from the most intense chemotherapy drug he is on - Doxorubicin. This is the drug I have been MOST concerned about and what caused a lot of defense from his oncologist when I raised a question about it...
   3. IPT - insulin potentiated chemotherapy
6. Of the above, the ICU doc immediately incorporated CoQ10 - or so we were told and assured. We will know tomorrow from the reports. We also have concerns of kidney damage from the chemotherapy since his kidneys must be functioning well to handle the onslaught of "therapy". He will be purging a lot of dead cells and his kidneys MUST be functioning well to deal with it all.

I never made it home today - the day was too intense and important in making sure Don receives the best care possible. Right now we have "indigent" status so... I also need to assure them that we are willing to pay the bill.
We will be working on setting up a "Don Harkins hospital bill fund" at our bank next week and put it in the Sept. I.O. -which we plan to go to press with on Sept. 21 and mailed Sept. 22. Yes, we have a fantastic team of people to help make this a reality, as well as the October I.O.
Amidst all this drama, the swine flu vaccine scene is beginning to hit full bore. Please go to PandemicFluOnline.com and get involved in your community educating others. This is so serious. I had been dealing quite a bit with the aftermath of the cancer-causing Gardasil vaccine and now the swine flu vaccine -- all vaccines being deadly.

As you must know, having Don, Mary and I consent to the hospital's allopathic paradigm in order to save his life has been really incredibly trying, but we are all extremely grateful he is alive and improving. Your prayers have been such an amazing help - please keep praying. His chances of even surviving Saturday night were very grim and he is not "out of the woods" by any means. A two month hospital stay is anticipated but with your prayers, we can change this prognosis.
This has got to be the tests of all "tests" God has in store for me. I am amazed at the strength He has given me to handle all of this as well as His faithful servants that keep appearing in our lives. It is difficult to describe the outpouring of love and support Don and I have been receiving through this latest test of faith.

Until tomorrow, and with Extreme Gratitude and Love,

~Ingri