Shawnell was diagnosed with RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) when she was 23. Thanks to some medication and many prayers she has experienced few symptoms for years. The last year or 2 some changes were made due to some negative side effects from her medication. The RA seemed to come back some the last few months and she had a flare up on Feb. 12. After a visit to the ER and some treatment she felt a bit better. On March 12 they were back in the local ER with a fever of 104.8 and a very low white blood cell count. She seemed to get a little sicker each day and her blood counts kept dropping. After a couple of days there with few answers, it was decided it would be best to get to Stanford University Medical Center in the bay Area. Donovan’s went to Stanford on March 15 where they did a full auto immune work up. Lots of testing, ct scans etc. They have a large team of doctors working on her case. She has been diagnosed her with HLH (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis). HLH is extremely rare and can by caused by several things, including a severely weakened immune system, high fever for an extended period of time etc. They think there is more than 1 auto immune disease she’s dealing with and them working against each other created several infections, resulting in HLH. They’re working on managing the HLH symptoms but they need to determine the root cause and come up with a plan of treatment for that. Her white blood count is extremely low. She’s also had some bleeding ulcers in her mouth and down her esophagus which is very painful and makes it hard to swallow or talk. Her fever comes and goes throughout day. Shawnell is very sick. We ask for your continued prayers for her, Donovan and their children. Also pray for the team of doctors that there can be a diagnosis of the root cause and treatment plan that they can feal comfortable with. Thank you for the support and love shown. We feel your prayers...
