Sharon's health (Stan's Facebook updates)

[Cyberwolf]

True warrior blessings on Sharon for this very real fight, and stronger prayers for her full recovery. A Happier Anniversary also, and that you may both come through this.

[IanAdams]

I just heard about this minutes ago. What a terrible ordeal! You guys are in my thoughts, and I really hope she pulls through. *fingers crossed*

[Angilasman]

14 minutes ago
I am taking time for myself, Mike. Just this morning I discovered a new TV show (for me) on the National Geographic Channel. Mud Cats is about a bare handed catfish tournament. I had never heard of this sport, so watched it, thinking, "How did this get on? Especially on the NGC!" Later I found out it is a series. I'm still watching it now, though I have to leave in a few minutes.

Sometimes lighthearted diversions can be such a comfort during tough times. I remember being a hospital waiting room, waiting for news on my Mom's biopsy (one of those 'lets see if it's cancer' deals), and with me in that room was the latest Usagi issue. Quite a comfort from Stan to me at that time, but all I can give are my prayers and well-wishes.

[Krish]

Stan, I and Jeremy will keep Sharon and you in our prayers.

[plasticplayhouse]

stan, i will continue to keep your whole family in my prayers. if for any reason you do find yourself in a pickle with medical bills/son's fundraiser, i will happily make a donation to assist. individually it may not be much, but between all of your supporters, it may help to make a dent.

though these times are tough, it's best to keep on the bright side. even in the darkest of times when there seems to be no bright side at all, there is, it just may take a little deeper looking. God Bless

[Stan Sakai]

Son Matthew has begun his fundraising for his India missions trip. Here's his letter on his FaceBook page:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/matt-sak ... 1741015305


Dear Friends and Family,

As I have been living in Chico for the last two and a half years, I have become very involved in a Christian group on the Chico State campus called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I have had the opportunity to lead a freshman bible study for the past two years with InterVarsity and have come to call this place home and the people in my community, my family. Throughout my time in InterVarsity I have experienced God in new ways and gained a greater understanding of His impact in my life. During this semester, I have felt that God is calling me to go on a mission’s trip to Kolkata, India.

Through InterVarsity, the Global Urban Trek is a program that allows teams of students to live and work for six weeks in the slums of various countries around the world. I am going on the Trek to Kolkata in order to learn about what it means to be a follower of Christ in a place where Christianity is shunned by society. In Kolkata, I will be partnering with local ministries to work with the sick, exploited and orphaned.

This is such a life-changing and exciting opportunity, but living in the poverty and brokenness that exists in Kolkata can be draining, both physically and spiritually. This is where you can help! Please pray for me and my Trek team, that we can be open to what God has to show us, and that He would lead us during our time in Kolkata.

This trip will cost about $3,800, so I also ask that you would prayerfully consider giving to make this experience possible for me. If you would like to support me, please make your check payable to InterVarsity and send it to me by June 1. You can also donate online at https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate and search “Matthew Sakai”. All contributions are tax deductible and would allow me to participate on the Trek.

If you would like to send a donation, you may send it to:

Matt Sakai
PO Box 70876
Pasadena, CA 91117

If you have any questions about the Trek or just want to chat, I would love to talk with you. Please pray about the part God wants you to play in this outreach. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to grow in my understanding of God and his love for me and the world!

Thank you so much!

[Ghost9]

Sorry for the late reply. I'm just now getting some time to check my favorite pages over a very busy past few weeks. I'm so sorry to hear about this, Stan. I believe the Lord can and does heal, and I will be praying that for Sharon. I'm excited for your son's mission trip as well. I'm taking my family on mission to Kenya in July. Thanks for allowing your fans "in" so that we can walk this journey with you, pray, and give strength through encouraging words. Thanks also to Steve for posting the facebook updates for those of us not on there. All the best....

[Steve Hubbell]

May 1
We're having a good day today. There is a new infection, but that is being treated with antibiotics. Sharon has been able to have a bunch of visitors today, and has been very responsive by nodding/shaking her head or giving a thumbs up. One even brought Chinese lunch for Hannah and me. There was was an ultra-sound taken of her feet. They have become bright red, and there are fears of blood clots.

May 2
I woke up with a scratchy throat and body fatigue, so gargled with warm salt water, took a couple Tylenol, and am staying in bed. Hannah and Lorraine are at the hospital and texted me that Sharon is about the same as yesterday. Her numbers are good, and she was given some pain killer.

May 3
Sharon is doing well. Her color is good, her numbers are good, and she can communicate by writing. She could not hold a pen in her hand a couple days ago.

May 4
Sharon is able to communicate with paper and marker!



However, for every two steps forward, there seems to be one step back. She was tested positive for a bacteria that could be associated with tuberculosis. It is a very slight possibility, however they won't know for certain until Tuesday. Meanwhile, as a precaution, she was moved to a negative pressure room, and guests now have to wear masks in addition to the gown and gloves. Until a year ago, Sharon used to work with kids so would be regularly tested for TB, so, as I said, chances are slight.

May 4
I haven't posted any art in awhile, because I haven't done any art since Sharon went into the hospital. This is the last piece I was working on, for a French project. I've since cancelled it. This was inspired by an UY cover I had done for a story titled The Courtesan. Ink and watercolor on 4-ply, cold press, 500 series Strathmore bristol.

May 4
There are 5 family members, plus friends visiting Sharon today, so I'm at home getting started on the new UY mini-series. Hannah and Matthew report that she is doing fine and breathing on her own. However, she is still laboring a bit, and her heart rate is a bit high. Writing is easier for her today, though.

Sunday
I got a call from the hospital at 7 this morning. The first thing that her nurse (who was going off duty) said was that Sharon is fine, but had a message: "The shave ice maker is either in the laundry room or dining room or under the kitchen sink." Matthew is flying back up to school in Northern California today, and wanted to take our shave ice maker with him, but we haven't been able to find i...t. You can't imagine how my heart was racing when I picked up the phone and heard it was the hospital, and what a relief it was to hear the message. I guess Sharon is improving. Hopefully, she will be off the ventilator soon. The doctors also want her to be able to sit up before they can operate. She has been lying on her back for 2 weeks.

BTW, we've already tried looking in those places.

Sunday
Sharon is sitting up in the cardio chair, a comfy reclining chair. Her blood pressure went really high, though, when she was breathing on her own. Now she is assisted by a ventilator, and her BP is almost down to normal. She writes a lot better, and can even hold the pad herself.

Monday
The doctors are concerned with Sharon's high blood pressure when she is breathing on her own. She has been in the Intensive Care Unit with a ventilation tube down her throat for 15 days now, and so doctors are considering doing a tracheotomy this week.



This is the cardiac chair. It's a cross between a comfy chair and the gurney on which they wheeled in Hannibal Lecter. Still, it's wonderful to sit up for two hours, after lying on your back for two weeks.

Yesterday
I did not feel great, so stayed home yesterday. Lorraine went to the hospital and stayed with Sharon all day. Sharon was able to sit in the cardiac chair for 4 hours! However, doctors feel she is still too weak to undergo the tracheotomy... operation, so she still has the ventilation tube. There is still two other procedures on hold until she gets better.

I have a doctor appointment this morning. I still plan of speaking at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on Saturday morning.

May 3



Win a drawing signed by Stan Sakai, and reserved front row seats to his talk at the MFA. Sakai, the Usagi Yojimbo bunny samurai comic creator joins us to talk about his award-winning comic, new video game with armor inspired the "Samurai" exhibition, and the creative processes. Enter to win here: http://bit.ly/18019LV, and learn more about the "Samurai!" exhibition here: http://bit.ly/V4997S.

[Steve Hubbell]

about an hour ago
Sharon is doing much better--today was the best day she's had since she went into ICU. Her white blood count was way down, which indicates her infections are being reduced. She was able to write much more legibly and follow the ruled lines on the folder paper. Yesterday, one sentence would take up an entire sheet. She was able to sit in the cardiac chair today for two hours, though it did tire ...her out and she complained about pains in her neck afterward. She is still much too weak for any of her operations.

I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow morning, but Sharon will be well watched over by daughter Hannah, Sharon's sister, and our niece, as well as a lot of friends.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Great news!
Wishing you a safe and stress-free trip to Boston, and hoping that you can get in a little relaxing sight-seeing while you are there. I am sure Sharon will really enjoy seeing some pictures of the beautiful gardens at the museum....

[Ghost9]

Agree - wonderful news! I know it's not easy to leave town, but I wish you safe travels, a wonderful time in Boston (wish I was going!), and I'm sure Sharon will be well taken care of. Take care.

[Steve Hubbell]

about an hour ago
As I was massaging Sharon's feet yesterday, I saw her left foot was very swollen. She had been wearing hospital socks, so the nurses had not noticed it. I know there had been fears of a blood clot, so brought it to their attention. They took an ultrasound this morning, and found no clots and the swelling is going down. Sharon had a good night last night.

Now I'm off to the airport and to Boston.

[voredor]

Thank you for the update. May sharon get well soon.

[Steve Hubbell]

Stan's Facebook Updates on Sharon’s health (and his trip to Boston)

May 9

May 9 at 2:32pm
Usagi Yojimbo t-shirts and mugs at LAX airport gift shop.

May 9
I'm in Boston, after the fastest and hardest landing I've ever experienced. There was a landing flap malfunction, and we were followed by a bunch of fire engines. We stayed on the runway a while while the brakes were checked. They were fine..., and we finally made it to out gate though much later than scheduled (though I'm not complaining). I got to the hotel quickly but was too tired to go out for food, and was very pleasantly surprised to find two gift baskets in my room--one of snacks and one of fruit (thank you, MFA). I'm eating fruit now. Tomorrow I'm doing the Freedom Trail and already have a reservation at the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in the US.

Sharon is doing great. She was actually able to stand on her own for a few minutes! They are weaning her off the ventilator during the day, and using it at night. If she continues improving like this, doctors may not need to do a tracheotomy.

May 10
Walked the Freedom Trail today, round trip plus the 300 steps up the Bunker Hill Monument. The highlight for me was Old Ironsides. I had a late lunch at the Union Oyster House--clam chowda, lobster roll, and Boston cream pie.

I do my presentation tomorrow morning at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
No new updates on Sharon, except she is continuing to improve. Lorraine has been spending nights at the hospital.

Saturday
The presentation at the Museumof Fine Arts went very well, but I had an amazing experience right after when a veteran in Special Forces came up to me. He had been deployed in Afghanistan. His call name was "Usagi", as was the name of his team. He was in a firefight, trapped in a building under mortar fire for three hours before they were attacked. He sustained six knife wounds. Their tradition is that if they make it back, they give their insignia pin and patch to someone who made a difference in their lives.

He gave them to me.
I really am blessed

Saturday at 6:32pm
Afghani women had just received the right yo vote, and this was their first election. He and 6 volunteers were protecting the women when the building was mortared. His friend, standing next to him, was killed.

Saturday at 6:33pm
Truly an amazing story.

Saturday
I'm still in Boston, but just talked to Sharon's doctor. She is doing well enough that they hope to remove her breathing tube tomorrow (Sunday). If they encounter a problem, they will have to do a tracheotomy. I fly back tomorrow morning, and plan to go directly to the hospital. I hope to reach there around 12:30.

Yesterday
I went to the hospital directly from the airport, and arrived just when Sharon's breathing tube was being removed. It had been there for the last three weeks, and she had trouble breathing on her own at first. She was not getting enough oxygen in her system. They tried fitting her with various masks and, after the 4th one, found one that fit and was comfortable. It blows oxygen into her nose, but most of the breathing is on her own. She was doing fine when I eventually left her. She should be able to talk and eat real food soon.

Yesterday at 6:02am
I had a really early flight from Boston to LA, and I wanted to leave the hotel at 4:30. I definitely did not want to miss my flight as I was told Sharon would be extubated in the morning. I set three alarms on my wrist watch--3:30, 3:45, and 4:00. I also set my iPad alarm for 3:40 and, just to make sure, set the hotel alarm clock for 3:50. I had 5 alarms set to go off in a half hour time. I also considered having the hotel give me a wake up call, but that would be over kill. I was still on LA time, so did not fall asleep until 2. Daughter Hannah called me up at 3 to tell me Mom is doing well and not to worry. She figured I would be up, either packing or drawing. I couldn't go back to sleep, and turned off all the alarms. I did not need them after all. Kids. Even when they're adults, they don't give you a full night's sleep. I napped a couple of hours on the plane.

19 hours ago
Crisis last night when Sharon's blood sugar plummeted to 20, and she was unresponsive. Everything is fine now, though. Lorraine stayed at the hospital overnight. I'll be going in in a few hours.

12 hours ago
Sharon has the breathing tube down her throat again. She had some congestion in her lungs, and she is too weak to cough it up far enough to suction. They will do a tracheotomy tomorrow.

[Ghost9]

Steve, again, thanks for posting all the updates. It's a rollercoaster ride, and I'm thankful to be "in the know" through this journey. Hopefully this latest setback with Sharon is just a bump in the road and she continues to improve rapidly. Sounds like Stan's trip to Boston was great. I've been to Union Oyster House, and it's fantastic. The highlight has to be receiving the pin & patch from the serviceman. What an honor!!

[Steve Hubbell]

4 hours ago
The tracheotomy went well. The ventilation tube is out of her mouth, and Sharon is able to smile again. I'm giving her ice chips. However,she is not allowed to swallow, so the melted ice has to be suctioned out of her mouth.