Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,

Since our last health update in February, important improvements have occurred in Noren's condition. A follow-up sputum culture verified the efficacy of the treatment previously given, revealing no recurrence of the bacteria. Praise the Lord!

However, as often happens after massive doses of antibiotics, a nasty fungal infection moved in to fill the void. This time the sputum culture revealed that the fungus named candida albicans was the culprit. So Noren has recently completed 15 days taking the anti-fungal medication called fluconazole.

We are now awaiting confirmation from a follow-up sputum culture to verify that this threat is also eliminated. In the meantime, Noren is replacing the "good bacteria" in her body with yoghurt and acidophilis supplements.

Even though these reports are encouraging, because progress is being made eradicating various infections, nevertheless Noren still struggles with difficulty breathing. At the present time, the breathing problem seems to be mostly due to asthma rather than to infections.

Noren is also very weak, partially from the side effects of taking those strong medications over a long period of time, and partially because she is still dependent upon the bronchodialator machine every three hours, whether day or night, which means that she struggles to get enough sleep. And whenever Noren's ability to breathe becomes critically diminished, we take her to the clinic for IV treatments that are more effective than the ones that she administers to herself at home.

Thanks again for your prayers thus far. Please continue to pray for Noren's recovery according to the will of God.

Persevering in prayer,
Gioia (for Noren)