14 Sep Sept 14 Update on Mamei Simbo

Billy Simbo sent the following update on his wife, Mamei, on Tuesday, September 14. Billy is serving a three-year term with Global Ministries in Sierra Leone, where he holds the title of Bishop of Sierra Leone Conference.

Mamei is still in the Coronary Care Unit at Abington Memorial Hospital (Abington, Pa.). They are keeping her because her heart rate is too fast and her blood pressure too erratic.

We originally took Mamei to the ER on August 30 because of the tremendous pain in her knees; she hadn’t been out of bed in four days. Tests revealed a bacterial infection in her right knee, and in a port installed to administer chemotherapy to treat the multiple myeloma she has had since 2007. It was also discovered that she had developed and passed kidney stones. A few days later, it was discovered that the infection had attached itself to one of her heart valves, prompting her transfer from the oncology unit to the coronary care unit for monitoring.

Since then she has undergone surgery twice to remove the bacterial infection in her knee. All this time, she has received antibiotics and strong pain medication for the excruciating pain.

This past weekend, we became concerned that perhaps she was being over-medicated. The doctor agreed to reduce the pain medicine and watch her for 24 hours. By Saturday night, we could see changes in her demeanor and she became more alert. Today (Sept. 14) she was actually refusing pain medicines because she did not need them.

A feeding tube was inserted because she has difficulty swallowing and they are afraid she might get stuff into her lungs by forcing her to eat or drink. She has adjusted to it, and the results show that she is digesting what is being given. This is good news, because she did not have an appetite for a long time and did not eat.

The news from the orthopedic surgeon is that Mamei is not a candidate for knee replacement, because putting any metal or plastic would just increase the risks for infection. He consulted the infection doctors. They won’t do any more cleaning in the knee, because every time they work in there they cause more inflammation, which increases her pain and discomfort. They will draw fluids from the knee in a week or so to see if any bacteria remains.

We marvel at how the knee and infection issues have taken over all the other health problems.

To date, Mamei has received four chemotherapy treatments. The great news is that blood drawn after her last treatment (August 26) showed that the protein level in her blood had dropped from a high of 5000 to just 1000. This was extraordinary news, confirming that chemotherapy was the right way to go.

Please continue to pray for Mamei and for all of us as a family.

1. That her heart issues will be resolved so that she can be returned to the Oncology Unit and Rehabilitation will start. The grandchildren cannot visit her in the CCU, and this saddens her and the children.
2. That her physical progress would increase. She needs to start serious physical therapy so she can regain her mobility.
3. Pray for us the care-givers, that we may have added strength and wisdom as we help her recover. A lot of things have been put aside to tend to Mamei’s needs.
4. For the work that is going on in Sierra Leone. That God will give wisdom and enabling as we continue to do what we can and direct things from over here.