*Update last 8/2/2023

scroll down to see all update sections labeled by date

Hey, I'm Ashley and I'm raising money to help my younger sister return home from overseas due to a medical emergency that halted her full travel itinerary.

July 19

She traveled to London with a friend, heading to Egypt as a tourist. The trip was on her bucket list and had been planned for a few months. She had already embarked on half of it going to Phoenix first, the Grand Canyon and then NYC - all her first time visits.

About an hour after her flight landed in London, she began having excruciating pain and couldn’t breathe. They had to pull the car over because each jerk of the car felt like a stab in her back. They made a decision to go to a nearby hospital, which did an ECG and basic physical exam. She was told her she likely pulled a muscle and discharged her with instructions to use OTC pain killers and ice the area as needed.

That night at around 11pm, she woke up suddenly with immense chest pain, unable to move or to breathe. Her friends took her to another hospital emergency department close to where they were staying.

Upon admission they did another ECG, a set of X-rays and multiple blood tests, originally doctors seeing she had very high infection markers in her blood but also worried of a clot due to her frequent recent long travel by plane. She was admitted and after the first doctor saw her, was told pneumonia and a blood infection with likely 2-3 days stay.

July 24

She has now been there 5 days with no idea when she will be discharged. Over tbe weekend doctors don’t see patients so she was only given intravenous antibiotics, paracetamol, and saline drips along with oral doses of morphine and doxycycline. She has barely been able to eat and has now had 3 X-rays, 5 ECGs, 1 ultrasound, 1 CT scan and many blood cultures tests.

Upon seeing the Dr this morning, they had determined her left lung is filled with fluid and a followup ultrasound showed some of the fluid is trying to crystallize. They took a sample from her left side chest wall and determined by the denseness of the sample that it was not an option to drain the fluid from the side of the chest.

July 25

Drs visited Brittany and let her know based on the X-ray yesterday and small sample it was HIGHLY likely she would need a VATS operation. Here they would put her under anesthesia, then make a series of small cuts to enter through her chest /chest wall. They insert a tiny camera and use instruments through the cuts to physically remove all the build up of pus.

The doctors main reason for recommending this is because she’s concerned the antibiotics won’t penetrate the already hardened build up and work fast enough.

July 26

A doctor from her team came and checked in. She reviewed the latest XRay and CT scan and informed Brittany she had been brought up in the multi-discipline meeting as a candidate for transfer to St George’s hospital where the team of thoracic surgeons operates from. Within 2 hours, another Dr came to let her know that she was accepted as long as she knew she would be charged and wanted to go through with the procedure. Wanting to get better as soon as possible, Brittany said “yes let’s do it” and was told they are aiming transfer her to the other hospital today and possibly do surgery tomorrow.

July 28

Brittany was transferred last night to St George’s as they had a bed open in the specific ward she was accepted to. She was admitted right before bedtime. They were uncertain if surgery would be today (Friday) or not. This morning 5AM London time, the nurse woke her up and took vitals and recommended she shower so she was ready for surgery today. She did and came back to disappointing news it wouldn’t be today (which means waiting until Monday) and rolled over to sleep. She was awakened later by her surgeon who said she WAS going into surgery this afternoon. She has been doing mandatory fasting and had another XRay as well this morning.

Her surgeon explained the risks of surgery and anesthesia and then dictated what would happen in the event the first surgery planned (VATS) they were not able to get through which would be the route of thoracotomy. Brittany said he was confident it wouldn’t be an issue though and he anticipates a successful VATS procedure. He also explained her healing process and minimum time to expect to stay in hospital.

After surgery, Brittany will have a chest tube inserted before they close her up. She will then be sent to the intensive care unit where they will keep her on intravenous (IV) morphine and antibiotics. The doctors assured her they want her pain free especially the first week so her lung can start expanding again naturally. It is their goal that within a few days the tube stops leaking any remaining fluid from her chest and they can remove it. They are also aiming to get her blood culture markers to a safe enough zone that they can switch her from intravenous antibiotics to tablets. The Dr said after a few days on tablets safely, they should be able to discharge her and she will be able to travel home.

UPDATE 7/29 AFTER SURGERY- Brittany typed this in our family group this AM and gave permission to share publicly.

“I went into surgery prep yesterday at 4ish and got out of surgery 6pm yesterday (friday). I started coming off anesthesia around 7pm with extreme pain in my left side only reason I know times is because I knew going in and asked about the end time and saw a clock when I woke up.

Regarding specific pain, my back felt like a severe level 10 pain cramp (like how painful a leg cramp in the calves are) like that shooting pain every 1-3 mins. They still had some local anesthesia in my side so I couldn’t feel it as much

Instead of inserting 1 tube in my side during surgery they inserted 2.

They have me on drip liquids

They also originally started me in the recovery room where i woke up on intravenous, push as need (once every 5-6mins only) morphine.

I was still grasping the bed frame In pain so they transferred me back to my ward with my nurses at 8pm as I was stable. Upon arrival they explained my pain and the nurse said she would get me some more pain meds.

She started with ibuprofen but as I hadn’t eaten due to required medical fasting I puked it up instantly. She got me some strawberry yogurt and waiting a while, all the time seeing my pain growing even with the at-will morphine (5 mins required between each tap), she came back and said she asked the Dr and he prescribed hydrocodine as well as nausea medicine and something else idk it was 4 sets of pills.

Last night was very rough and painful but but after that cocktail of pills I was finally able to relax enough to get some sleep. I woke up every hour or so and needed a drip of morphine but overall ok due to the mixture of pain meds.

This morning (Saturday) the nurses woke me for rounds(vitals checks) and antibiotics and more of the pain pill cocktail . This time only 2/4 sets.

They asked me to please move to the chair for a while so they could change my sheets and so my body would start moving I could get better sooner.

With her help and patience after about 15 mins we made it to the chair beside the bed where I sat for a while. I had to use the restroom so She gave me a tap of morphine and helped guide me to the bathroom while i supported myself on the IV cart

I was able to sit and stand on my own though very painful . So very glad I’ve done so many squats so it was easier going slower supporting my weight with just the wall (no handrails in this bathroom)

Coming out I had to use another tap of morphine and nurse’s assistance on the other side this time to get back to my chair

I was able to eat about 1/3 of the cereal they brought and drink a hot cup of tea before feeling nauseous and then the surgeon came around.

He let me and my parents on

FaceTime know the surgery was very successful and they were able to clean out most of the infection and the tubes of course were placed to allow anything else to drain paired with the antibiotics to kill off the rest of the infection. They’re planning to keep both tubes in until about Monday/Tuesday. They will keep me in hospital checking bloods daily. When it is safe they will transfer me to tablet antibiotics, wait a few days to ensure my body is reacting well and then their goal is to discharge me with prescriptions and the ok to fly home."

End quote Brittany 1

8/2/2023 UPDATES DIRECTLY FROM BRITTANY OF LAST FEW DAYS

“Hello everyone and thank you for continuing to check in via text and social media. It really makes my day to see so many people reaching out to checkin or for updates!!

I posted a few videos post op the day of and a few days after and again today. I’ve been told my overall presence alone has improved and, honestly, I CAN FEEL IT!!

Each day a set of doctors comes around.

SUNDAY- they looked at the liquid coming out and air leaking in (was 0 which is good) and decided to take out 1 chest tube. I was told it would “sting” when they took out. Throughout the day I had found my feet and was slowly shuffling through the ward hallways back and forth as encouraged by the doctors and nurse. That day I was still on drip morphine and drip liquids so before they started the removal process and had me roll on my side I tapped the morphine button just to take the edge off. I am SO glad I did and I’m not sure why “sting” became the choice word for describing how that removal would feel. Long story short, they cut the stitch holding the tube secure and you do a few practice breathing exercises (deep breathe in, hold, let it out slooooow as you can) the idea being when you breathe out they will pull out the tube. The practice breathing went great as I was still on oxygen at this time. As I breathed out, they pulled out the cut cord (originally they’d been attached) and I felt the tube sliding out and stinging the entry wound. AND THEN I FELT A GUT WRENCHING PAIN as they pulled secure the remaining stitch tight not once but TWICE. I have no shame I’m admitting I was wailing . Then it was over. I took more morphine (these are low dose time allotted injections). I went to roll over and sleep and one of my regular nurses , Yvette, came over and whispered “you need to GET UP and walk around. It will be better and you can go home soon. The pain will go away I promise!” I begrudgingly did as she said and pulled myself up with the help of the electric hospital bed. And sure enough, within walking a few minutes the pain has turned to a tenderness that was manageable.

MONDAY

The surgeon came around and did checks with his team of doctors. He checked the wound and agreed that the second tube may come out that day or possibly Tuesday. He wanted an X-ray and I asked (after being told from someone about slim chances of flying soon) what my timeline looked like for flying. He said at least 2 weeks and as my face changed he referred to the doctors and nurses and asked “she had this *insert Dr jumble mumble* and no air is leaking correct ?” They all confirmed so he said he would check my X-ray and see about granting me ability to be flying home sooner.

Throughout the day the nursing staff agreed we could remove me from oxygen and the IV drips as my numbers were very improved and I had refused the morphine drip since the day before when they removed the tube. That and my saturation levels were up to 98% (was on oxygen originally because they were down to 90%)

So I was now down 1 oxygen tank, 1 chest tube and an entire IV cart and felt more mobile than ever

TUESDAY

A different group of doctors came for morning rounds. Again all agreeing I was looking good and my tube was barely leaking fluids so possible to take it out. My X-ray from the day before he said looked good (I had caught a glimpse and saw there was still some greyness over the left lung).

I followed up on the previous question about flying and was devastated when he said no less than 5-6 weeks ! Admittedly this day was mentally hard as I was seemingly doing great with healing and energy and I couldn’t imagine being stuck here for 5-6 more weeks. The tube didn’t come out but my energy level increased as I got new roommates (4 beds with curtains between that they leave open unless there is a consultation or someone needs to be checked). My new roommate and I chatted all of yesterday and talked about both our families, our procedures, where we were from, how I should write a book about my trip. All kinds of things that kept is giggling like school girls regardless of the 49 year age gap until it was time to tuck in.

WEDNESDAY

It’s 9:44pm here now (4:44pm in NC). I woke up to better news today as *another* new set of drs came around and agreed that today was the day to take out my last chest tube! I asked again about flying and was originally told by this group 5-6 weeks BUT I asked them if the surgeon from Mondays rounds had left specific notes about my procedure and that there was no air/gas leaks as he had mentioned possibly 2 weeks. The doctors all looked at each other and agreed take the tube out, take an X-ray and then consult with the original surgeon/doctor and likely if he said 2 weeks then it was quite likely 2 weeks would be the answer!

Fantastic news! I took a brief nap (night time was a bit noisy) and then around 9am woke up and was told they were coming soon to take out the drain. I requested pain medicine in advance which the nurses were poking fun at (in a fun friendly way! I’ve been making them laugh as much as I can). After waiting 2 hours for a new prescription, we were ready to begin. They closed the curtain and had me turn on my side. One nurse carefully poked around and then snipped the stitch. We did more breathing exercises and then the third one they said “ok this is the one!” And I braced for pain! As they pulled out the last tube I felt it slide out and winced a little. Then there was a pinch and I took a short breathe in. The nurse dictated that she was pinching the skin at the wound and we would be done soon. I was still bracing for pain and they said “ok all done!” I giggled and said “really all done? With the stitch and all?!” And both nurses chucked and said “yeah Ms. I’m gonna wail like a baby! You’re all done!” We talked for a bit and then they went on to finish working and I rested for a bit per instruction. I woke up around 12 to lunch coming around and admittedly didn’t eat more than the cheese stick but felt so much better ! A few hours passed, during which I chatted again with my Roomie, and then I decided I was called to XRay. After this I came up and it was about 3. Losing my mind walking this same 50 ft hallway, I remembered seeing other patients tell the nurse they were going downstairs for a bit and asked my own nurse “Am I allowed to go downstairs and walk around?” They happily responded “Yeah!! Walk around just don’t get lost!” So I found my way downstairs exploring the 4-5 coffee shops, magazine/book shop, 3-4 restaurants and a little “gift shop/student shop” (this is a learning hospital). I giggled as I snapped a picture of the hospital university branded sweater and sent it to my mom. I had originally planned on buying a sweater I’m London as a souvenir so this seemed like a funny picture to send!

I also picked up some fresh British cherries and apples with peanut butter dip and a delicious iced caramel latte. My hosts had given me money to spend in case I wanted anything since I never had the chance to exchange my currency the day we landed

While drinking my coffee, I read the plaques of the hospital wall near a window display and again giggled as I told myself “well you did get to see a museum on your tour after all!”

As you can see, by reading this I am in MUCH better spirits with MUCH better health and am now anticipating the doctors predicted date of discharge and approval to fly.

I ask for continued prayers for a favorable answer as well as for a safe flight home!”

END QUOTE

Her travel group continued on to Egypt on July 22 (originally the date they all were set to travel) with her request as she had a few contacts and her host still in London if she needed anything immediately. The London hosts have been bringing her things she wants or needs from her belongings as well as small snacks and juices.

Given the weakened state of her lungs and the recovery ahead, she has decided to cancel the rest of her trip and plans to return home once they clear her for travel. Unfortunately she did not request travel insurance as she was optimistic she would have a safe, enjoyable trip. She jokingly told us now she will be an advocate for always putting travel insurance which lets us know she’s in good spirits.

She was also made aware originally that tourists received free healthcare but Monday office hours became normal again and was updated that she will be charged. Her new health insurance at her new admin job doesn’t start until 8/1/2023 so she is in between a rock and a hard place.

She has limited funds so my intent is to raise enough for her plane tickets home and necessary lodging and expenses along the way as well as paying for her medical bills and any needed medicines or aftercare.

Anything leftover outside of those things will be put toward her healing and recovery needs. Surgeons estimate she won’t be fully operational until about 6 weeks.

Brittany talks with us by text and tries to video call daily. She is trying to stay in high spirits even when her energy is low and pain is high. She is ready to come home and we are asking for help.

Anything small will help. We ask you consider if you get a coffee once a day or once a week to consider that amount of nothing else for each person who reads this.

If you are unable to help financially please share this so more eyes can see it.

Thank you

The Cook-Abreu families