Friday Evening Update

Hey everybody, this is Josh Fuson (RuthAnne's husband), with an 'on-the-scene' update.

To sum, Rachel's condition has been stable for the past several hours. Last night, she underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from below her brain stem. We are tentatively assuming that the procedure was successful. She was done with the procedure at approx. 3:30 AM, and has since been under the watchful eyes of 3 different teams of specialists.

As of this writing (9:47 PM), Rachel has been quite responsive to verbal commands. We can ask her to squeeze our hands, move her legs, flutter her eyelide, etc. Because she is on a respirator, she is not speaking.

We are waiting for 2 things right now:

1. We are waiting to see if any brain damage was incured from the brain clot, and if so, how much. We are waiting to see where the chips fall, so that we have a base-line to begin with. From there, the obvious goal is to work with her to get her back to 100% health. I've been known to be stupidly optimistic, but I think that is a very realistic target at this point ;)

2. We are waiting to see what happens on Sunday. You see, for many patients that undergo similar procedures, the 3rd day can introduce brain swelling. Today, Friday, was day # 1. Direct your prayers towards Sunday, as that will be a mile-stone in this event.

Ryan (her fiancee) and both sides of the immediate are holding up remarkably well. Be bold in your prayers, as we serve a powerful God. The doctors need wisdom, the family needs strength, and Rachel needs healing. If anyone would like to have a conversation, you can reach me at Rachel's cell phone (641-895-1881) or my cell at 641-856-7555.

- Josh