Sharon's health (Stan's Facebook updates)

[ultraman]

hang in there stan we're all praying for you and sharon!!!!

[Steve Hubbell]

Electronic mock-up for the cover of The Sakai Project

2 hours ago · Edited
Sharon looked great today. She is out of ICU and in the Step Down Unit. She will be further downgraded to a regular hospital room, then home! I was not able to talk to the doctor but the fluids from her chest cavity were not infected, she was off the ventilator (though she still has some breathing assist), her color was good, she was alert, and awake for most the time I was there. Thank you all for your concern and prayers.

In other news, a new round of auctions goes up on eBay on Thursday. I had written that the cover of The Sakai Project will be up this week, but I was just corrected. It is the endpaper for the Usagi Yojimbo Book 27 hardcover that will be for sale. It is a black/white, double page spread. Sorry for any confusion.

15 minutes ago
The hospital had a health fair today, and I scored some free chap stick and hand sanitizer. I could have gotten a plastic fireman helmet if I was a few years younger. It was a good day all around!

[Steve Hubbell]

5 hours ago
Sharon was sitting up in a cardio chair when we got to the hospital. It has been awhile since she was able to sit up for an extended time. She is scheduled to come home tomorrow afternoon. However, there is no chance of her collapsed lung re-inflating as she does not have the strength, and the fluids in the chest will be a recurring problem that we will have to deal with. This time, the fluids were inflamed, but not infected. She will be on antibiotics for the next few days to get rid of her pneumonia. We are all looking forward to her homecoming. Olivia, Sharon's care giver, has been doing a great job of cleaning and organizing her room while she was gone.

5 hours ago
Andrew Farago is dedicating his upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book to Sharon and myself. Make sure to reserve your copy. Thank you, Andrew. It is such an honor.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History
Hardcover – June 24, 2014
by Andrew Farago

With Nickelodeon’s hit animated show putting TMNT firmly back in the limelight, and the new Michael Bay–produced movie on the horizon, the Heroes in a Half-Shell have never been more popular. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History relates their amazing story. Beginning with the creative spark that led comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird to envision these unlikely heroes, this lavishly illustrated book tracks the Turtles’ phenomenal explosion in popularity as they became mainstays of kids’ TV and the protagonists of one of 1990's biggest box office hits. The Ultimate Visual History also looks at the periods when the Turtles briefly slipped out of fashion, showing how enthusiasm for these evergreen warriors was kept alive by new comic books, animated shows, and, of course, some hugely imaginative merchandising.

[Steve Hubbell]

8 hours ago
Sharon is not being discharged from the hospital today after all. She is being held until Sunday. She has two types of bacteria, both something called pseudomonas. She is on and IV drip via a PICC line into a vein, and will be for the next two weeks. That is something we will have to be trained for.

The doctors said the care we have been giving Sharon at home is phenomenal, much better than can be given at the hospital. We have had that comment a lot, especially from the care nurses who have visited.

[Maka]

Steve does a wonderful job updating this thread. I thought I would update this now since Sharon could use our thoughts and/or prayers in this moment.

Stan Sakai
6 hours ago near Los Angeles, CA
I got a very early morning phone call from the hospital that Sharon's condition had worsened a LOT. She is back in the Critical Care Unit. We don't know when she will be returning home. Prayers for the best outcome are appreciated.

Stan Sakai
2 hours ago

Early this morning all of Sharon's numbers dropped dramatically, and they were suctioning up a lot of blood from her trach tube. They found she has a tumor in her trachea. The doctor sent a sample for biopsy. We won't know the results for 2-3 days, but he is pretty sure it is cancerous. The doctors feel that if she has another episode like the one last night, she will not come out of it. She is again in the Critical Care Unit on a ventilator. Sharon's numbers were erratic all day, but she was stable when I left when visiting hours was over. But, then, she seemed really good the last two days.

I would appreciate continued prayers for the best outcome for her. She has been an inspiration through everything that has happened in the past 10 years, and her positive attitude has never wavered.

(Thanks Maka, I appreciate your help. Steve)

[Ghost9]

Praying!!!

[Steve Hubbell]

4 hours ago



I don't like to post pictures of Sharon, but here is one that Hannah took yesterday that is kind of sweet.

[Steve Hubbell]

35 minutes ago



Sharon is awake and alert. She is off her blood pressure meds. Her BP is a little low, but they are monitoring that. A lot of you know that Sharon is a stuffed animal person, and when we are not there she has Penny Penguin to keep her company.

[Mayhem]

Awwww... I'm hoping, really hoping that things do improve...

[Angilasman]

Stay strong!

[Steve Hubbell]

10 hours ago
Doctors are still investigating this new tumor. It is in the air passage in her right lung, rather than the trachea as I first thought. They sent a camera down there to photograph it this morning. They just took her out for a CATScan. The biopsy results from Saturday are not yet in.

[JenBurdoo]

My thoughts are with you both.

[Steve Hubbell]

19 hours ago
Sharon received another jury duty summons yesterday. That's two in about 8 months. I guess they really want her to serve.



18 hours ago
The jury summons is not for me. It is for Sharon to serve. We did send them a letter from the doctor describing her condition and saying she can never serve with the previous summons. I guess they just did not believe us. She served a few times, long ago, and enjoyed her experiences. She once served during Jury Appreciation Week, and each day had a catered lunch and they gave away gift cards, all donated by local restaurants and businesses.

18 hours ago
The Emerald City Comic Con was already more than a week ago. Here are some of my memories from Seattle.

Usagi cupcake! I had gone to high school with this cake designer's mother. She sat right next to me in American History Class.

8 hours ago
I gave the cupcake to a young female fan who had been eye-ing it. I first asked her mother if it was okay if she could have it.

Kazu Kibuishi interviewed me to a full house. It was fun and easy.

17 hours ago
They did record it. I think it may be in their archives.

15 hours ago
I would have loved to have done a panel with Jeff Smith and Kazu. Jeff, Sergio Aragones and I did a panel at a Mid-Ohio Con many, many years ago. All we did was talk. It was fun for us and the audience loved it.

Met up with good friends such as Jeff Smith and Kazu Kibuishi.



I was a guest at the ECCC Party. I sat with great people, and had bourbon salmon.



I saw three Usagi cosplayers!



My first professional soccer game. Unfortunately, the Sounders lost. But I won by having a very decent crab roll--with real crab. I don't know why there are seats in the stadium. No one sat down for the entire two hours.



Shaenon K. Garrity and Andrew Farago stopped by my table. Shaenon and I had traded art. I did an Usagi/tiki to add to her tiki collection, and she gave me this wonderful Hinamatsuri usagi doll collection. This is the top half.



And this is the bottom. Clearly, my prize acquisition from Seattle! Thank you again, Shaenon!



Here is one more--an Usagi/Leonardo drawing, a pre-con commission.

14 hours ago
I am home to work on business taxes and get some drawing done. I just got a call from the doctor that they would like to remove Sharon's tumor--the one in her right airway. They want to do it right now. Daughter Hannah, sister Lorraine, and care giver Olivia are with her. I'll have to stay home and wait to hear from them. I'm surprised that everything is happening so fast.

11 hours ago
The operation went well. I am with Sharon now. She is sleeping. And I finished my business taxes.

Thank you all.

[coolray85]

I am glad to read the operation went well..wow, thats one rush after the other...much love accross the distance to you!

[Steve Hubbell]

20 minutes ago
The great news is that what they removed from Sharon's air passage was not a tumor. It was a blood clot, as first suspected. Doctors could not remove it as would a regular clot, so they took precautions and took a biopsy and proceeded as if it was a tumor. Sharon is doing well today. I stayed home to get work done, as I have not worked on the next issue of UY: Senso for two weeks. I Face Timed Sharon and the doctor.
Thank you all for your prayers and best wishes.