Help Denice Ellenberger and her family

It is with a very heart that I report that on Saturday, June 25th Denice passed away. I'm sorry for the lack of updates over the last couple of months. Over the last 100+ plus days it has been a roller coaster with Denice's health. At one point, about a month ago, she was about to be released to rehabilitation but then her body took a turn for worse and she was not able to leave Mayo. Over the last 2 weeks she took a rapid decline and at the end of last week the doctors informed Denice and her family that there was nothing more they could do for her. She passed away shortly thereafter.

From Denice's mom:

"Denice is out of surgery (it took over 4 hours) and in recovery. They were unable to get the stints. They tried going in a couple of different ways to get them. They did remove the tube, closed up the holes in her stomach and removed a lot of the fluid. The surgeon said we were going to have to watch her closely for the next couple of days. I guess it's a wait and see thing. The stints should be okay for now but may cause her some trouble later on. Thank you guys for your prayers. Love you very much"

Sorry for the lack of updates on Denice. I have been traveling and it has been hard to sit down and summarize what’s been going on.

It has been a pretty rough week for Denice over all. She had an infection in an abscess in her abdomen and it was continuing to deteriorate her muscles and tissue, which was keeping her weak and in a lot of pain. The infection was also causing her blood pressure to run low and her temperature to be up and down. She has been on SIX different antibiotics!

Through all of this last week they have been trying to figure out where fluid in her abdomen was coming from and what was causing it. They have been running a myriad of tests and think they have pin pointed the problem. Denice is scheduled for another surgery at approximately 8 am Friday (the 15th). I’m not 100% what the surgery is going to entail but I think they will be removing the stints, the tube, and the balloon and closing her stomach and draining the fluid off the gut. The hope is that it will bring Denice tremendous pain relief and be one step closer to recovery.
 
They will continue to monitor her next week and continue physical therapy as she is able.  Then they will determine the next course of action after that. Please continue to pray for healing for Denice, that the infections would be gone, that the pain would be gone, and that she would be able to continue to regain strength.

As Denice's time in the hospital drags on, we went ahead and increased the goal of what we are trying to raise for her and her family. Thankfully she had a lot of PTO built up but that is probably going to run out soon. Friends are working to get her qualified for disability but it is a lengthy process. And once she qualifies she'll only be drawing 75% of her salary. Also, Denice's mom had to take off of work for a few days last week and is taking this entire week off (all unpaid) to be at the hospital with Denice. All that to say there are/will be lots of needs! Thanks again to all that have given so generously!

Update from Bobbie (Denice\'s sister) late on Sunday night (March 27th): Denice had a good day! She managed to stay awake longer today than she has the entire time I’ve been there. She was still a little confused and was able to at least talk about it. Basically lucid enough to explain how strange it is to look at the same thing every day and not know exactly where you are or who’s going to be with you or if you’re alone. She was taken off of both blood pressure medication and remained stable all day without it. She is still on four different antibiotics for all the bacterias found and the abscess continues to drain a lot of fluid though it is tapering off. They took the tube out of her nose and she was able to try swallowing on her own. She did well and was allowed to drink some water. She did well with that also and by this evening was authorized for a clear fluid diet. She ate an Italian ice and said it was the best food she’s ever had in her entire life! she did sleep a lot in the afternoon but again was awake for a long time in the morning and then again in the evening. She is certainly not out of the woods as stated by the surgeon but she is trending in the right direction! God continues to answer our prayers!!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last many days. There was some technical issues with the website and I\'ve had a really busy last few days.

On Friday Denice took a turn for the worse. When they replaced one of her drainage tubes, they found 3 different bacteria on it and had to start treating her with 3 more antibiotics. Her heart rate was all over the place that day, they had to drain an abscess in her abdomen, and they had to give her multiple blood transfusions. She had not been lucid for a couple of days. By the end of Friday she was in Sepsis (infections had spread through her entire bloodstream) and there was talk of possibly having to put her on dialysis.

But with many people praying all over the world by Saturday morning there was marked improvement! She was still in bad shape & in Sepsis but important numbers were improving.

By the end of Saturday, Bobbie (Denice\'s sister) reported:

\"Denice had been on two blood pressure medication’s that they were able to take down to one today. They are monitoring her blood pressure to make sure it remains stable and does not drop too low again. Heart rate has slowed down to a good number.\" And she was more awake then Bobbie had seen her days and some of her spunky self was returning.

Sunday morning Bobbie reported that \"She is more alert everyday. The goal for today is to have her sit in a chair briefly. Then, meet with the speech therapist to check on her swallowing so they can take out the tube in her nose and she can have some water or juice!\"

And a little bit ago (by early Sunday afternoon), Bobbie shared \"guess who’s awake and having an entire conversation!! She actually has some color in her cheeks today. They were able to remove the other blood pressure medication and her blood pressure is remaining stable on its own. Her temperature and heart rate are good. Her Lactic level is just over two so that’s not too bad. They took the tube out of her nose and she was allowed to have clear fluids! They still have the two drains in on the left and the one is still getting quite a bit of fluid. There’s a lot of lead with the fluid so they did give her another transfusion.\"

Thanks for your continued prayers! Please keep them up!

Also, thanks to all that have given so generously to help Denice & her family through this difficult time! We extended the airbnb for another week. Bobbie and Denice\'s mom having been rotating days at the hospital and the airbnb has been a huge help for them to have a place to stay and to recharge each night!

Update on Denice from her sister. \"The doctor said her color looks better today and her kidneys are almost fully functioning. The input and output of her kidneys are good. Her liver is stable. He said she is getting better but it’s slow. She’s very tired today and has been sleeping a lot this morning.\"

Please continue to pray for her speedy recovery! Also, thanks to those that have given towards her expenses! It is a great blessing to Denice and her family.