Barb’s Story

Site created on June 1, 2020

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We truly appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. We will try to keep this updated with the most recent information about Barb.


Barb was diagnosed with Stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver about 5 years ago. She's been relatively stable up until now, with liver checkups every 6 months.  On May 11th, she began vomiting blood and was rushed to the hospital.  They discovered an ulcer in her small intestines.  They were able to fix the ulcer and stop the bleeding.  She stayed in the hospital for about a week.  She seemed okay when she returned home, but in retrospect, there was a slow decline in her physical and mental functioning.  On May 24th, she became extremely jaundice (yellow skin and eyes).  She was sleepy, confused, and incoherent.  We rushed her back to the emergency room.  The doctors discovered that her liver is failing, probably due to the stress of the bleeding ulcer.  She's been in the hospital since that day.  If you know Barb, you know that she's a fighter.  She will do anything to get home to see her grandkids.   Please pray for her strength and for the knowledge of her doctors.  And please pray that we will make the best decisions for her moving forward.  We appreciate the outpouring of love.  Thank you from our family!

Newest Update

Journal entry by Stephanie Merker

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