The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 23 COVID patients today, 24 Monday. Other significant numbers:
- 12 with the active virus today, 13 yesterday
- 4 in ICU, 4 yesterday
- 1 on a ventilator, 0 yesterday
Key points from today’s guests:
Stephanie Pfeil, colon cancer survivor
- In 2006, Stephanie was 27, pregnant and had terrible pain and symptoms that something was wrong with her colon.
- Her local doctors chalked it up as pregnancy complications, but Stephanie knew it was something worse.
- Eventually, they delivered the baby three weeks early and 11 days later she was hospitalized and diagnosed with colon cancer.
- She was given an eight percent chance of survival with the aggressive cancer spreading.
- Stephanie finally found the right doctor to treat her after doing some extensive research and Dr. Joaquina Baranda put her on a path to recovery.
- Both Stephanie and her 17-year-old son are healthy and she continues to be an advocate for listening to your body.
Michael Schnabel, Stephanie’s dad and author, Daddy’s Girl
- As a father, he thought he could try and help tell the story of who Stephanie is in case her son would not be able to meet her.
- He started a journal and tried to capture everything that we were going through. Because she had an eight percent chance of living, they just didn't know if this child was ever going to know her.
- He wanted to capture her essence and what we were going through how hard she fought to live for him and for the family and for herself.
- It is now a book called Daddy’s Girl and is available at bookstores.
Dr. Joaquina Baranda, medical oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- We had to make sure that Stephanie knew that we're all in this together. It's not just her journey -- it's everybody, the nurses, the person who checks her in every time she comes in for chemotherapy.
- Stephanie is extremely lucky for having such an incredible team around her with her family. With every visit, they are so engaged with what's going on with Stephanie.
- We're seeing younger patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, so younger people should not ignore the symptoms, like blood in the stools or abdominal pain that's not going away.
- Don’t always accept the diagnosis -- looking for more information is very important. You have to ask your doctor and get the answers you are looking for.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, The University of Kansas Health System
- A Washington Post article says that pinkeye may be a COVID symptom, but there is no solid evidence of this.
- Pinkeye is an irritation of the eyes that can be caused by several factors including allergies, bacteria and viruses.
- A new variant of Omicron is being monitored now which is a combination of a few different other Omicron variants.
Wednesday, April 26 at 8 a.m. is the next Open Mics with Dr. Stites. From allergies to Alzheimer's, inflammation contributes to all kinds of problems.
But it's also a fundamental immune response meant to protect us. New research is changing what doctors think about inflammation and what we should be eating.
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