Diagnosis

The doctors at Abbott have diagnosed Ma with a bacterial blood infection. People with weak immune systems due to illness (such as cancer) or medical treatment (such as chemotherapy) are more prone to develop blood infections. It is a condition called Bacteremia where a bacteria enters the blood through a wound or by infection during a medical procedure (like an abdominal tap).

The first night in the hospital Ma was given an antibiotic intravenously and the type of antiobiotic given was meant to fight off a wide range of infections. This was due to the fact that the doctors had not yet identified the type of infection. Once they identified the type as bacterial, the treatment was shifted to a combination imipenem and cilastatin. These are antibiotics administered intravenously and used to treat bacterial infections.

We have no word yet on how long she might be in the hospital. First we will need to hear from the doctor about how the treatment is working. We should find this out sometime on Saturday.