Kristin Schwandt Kirstin Schwandt

First a word of explanation: most of you know Kristin as Kirstin, and over the years of her health struggles and even more years of her name being mispronounced, she began to prefer Kristin. She felt a new way of naming would be symbolic to new beginnings in her hope for improved health. 

K has struggled with her health in various ways for a good portion of her life, but shortly after moving to Norman, Oklahoma in 2006, she endured eight months of hospitalization and recovery for cecal volvulus. (basically a twisted intestine: wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvulus). Since then, she has endured the complications of a shortened intestinal system, chronic pain from lyme disease and its co-infections, dietary limitations and allergies, and the side effects from all of the treatments and remedies that were to bring relief to these ailments. She has had moments of hope and moments of setbacks throughout all of this. 

On Wednesday, July 5th, she was taken to the ER after being found unresponsive. They quickly determined she was bleeding in her brain. It was soon discovered this was caused by extremely thin blood, which in turn was caused by acute liver failure. They administered drugs to help her blood coagulate and was sent to surgery. The cause of her liver failure has yet to be fully understood. 

From being in an induced coma twice, on a ventilator for nearly two weeks, she made sufficient progress to make the next step.  On Friday, July 28 Kristin was moved from the Norman ICU to Select Specialty Hospital in Oklahoma City to begin recovery and rehabilitation.   Unfortunately, the day after she was moved there, she took a turn for the worse and needed to be intubated and on the ventilator once again!  She spent the next two weeks in the Select Specialty Hospital's ICU.  Once she was able to be taken off the vent, she was moved to the Progressive Care floor, and eventually to a regular room on the third floor.  She made such remarkable progress that on Wednesday September 6, she "graduated" to Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Center.  She is a living miracle and is making great strides at the rehab facility to date.