Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,

There was a significant breakthrough in Buntheep's recovery last Thursday. She was able to get up and down from the bed and move around that day without ANY headaches or dizziness! In fact, those two side effects have apparently disappeared. Unfortunately, we are still plagued by occasional nausea, but she has not actually thrown up anything since last Wednesday. Praise the Lord.

Because last Thursday was such an awesome day when Buntheep was feeling so much better, she was anxious to try new things and explore new territory. Also, the physical therapy folks put her through some advanced paces to strengthen her muscles. However, by that evening, she was overly tired. Suddenly she started having chest pains and was having difficulty breathing. But as the nurses scurried around to prepare oxygen for her, she gradually stabilized on her own. Several days earlier, the nurses had removed her from the monitors checking her vital signs, but after that scare, they had to reconnect her to make sure she didn't get into distress during the night. Praise God that she is now free from the monitors again.

Buntheep's recovery exercises have been scaled down a bit and she is resting more in between them. She can now walk on her own (with someone nearby just in case), and she sits up more each day. Her main complaint now is that her feet hurt when she walks. However, the pain is getting less and less. She has also enjoyed traveling around the hospital in a wheelchair.

More of her medications are being phased out, which makes her feel more alert. The main medication remaining is the antibiotic by IV. The blood tests this morning revealed that the inflammation in her body is not yet under comfortable control, so the doctors will repeat the blood tests this coming Friday. If things look good then, the IV can be removed from her arm and she can graduate to oral antibiotics. Then she could possibly graduate to leaving the hospital and going back to the Ronald McDonald House for further recuperation.

Also, please pray that she will regain a healthy appetite and that I can find food to give her that she likes to eat. When we left Cambodia, she weighed 45 kilos. Now she weighs 40 kilos, so it is no wonder that she still feels very weak most of the time.

Given the nature of Buntheep's illness, it is God's miracle that she is still alive, free of the tumor, still able to see perfectly out of her left eye, and getting better and better each day!

In His Hands,
Gioia and Buntheep

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