Alissa Abbey Alissa's Journey

Two weeks ago in the morning hours of Monday, October 31, our
daughter Alissa, was taken to the ER at Duke University Hospital after she
suddenly became critically ill due to complications from Cystic Fibrosis
Related Diabetes.  Thankfully, the
skilled physicians and nurses in the ER were able to stabilize Alissa and to
them, we will be forever grateful.  The
seriousness of her medical emergency, however, left her in a coma and required
her to be transferred to Duke’s intensive care unit.  Alissa is still in the ICU and remains in a
coma, but we find great comfort in knowing she’s receiving care at one of the
top hospitals in the world.

At this point, the obvious questions we have simply can’t be
answered.  We don’t know when Alissa will
regain full consciousness, or if she will have a full recovery, or how long her
recovery will take.  The only thing her
doctors are able to tell us at this point is that in most cases, recovering
from a coma is a long and difficult process. 
That said, we do want everyone to know Alissa has been showing some signs
of improvement.  Over the last few days
she has shown “signs of awareness.”  At
times she will squeeze our hand when asked. 
There have also been times when she’ll open her eyes and focus on
something or someone.  She has rolled
over to one side or the other in an attempt to get more comfortable.  This is all very encouraging and gives us
much needed hope. 

We will share more information as Alissa progresses, but right
now we would like to ask everyone to please pray for Alissa and to have
positive, optimistic thoughts about her recovery.  We believe that prayer and positive energy
from family and friends will help give Alissa the strength she will need to get
better.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We are truly
grateful.

Alissa’s Mom and Dad