Truly Difficult News.

This is Jamie, Betsy’s husband. I know many of you have come to know me through Betsy’s writing. Sadly, I now must be the one to write this latest post as she cannot.

Betsy had written about how COVID had set off her latent asthma which struck while she was walking the Camino Portugues in April. In mid-August, an exam revealed it was actually lung cancer. She started treatment with chemotherapy and a monoclonal antibody in September at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Center. We were very happy that we seemed to have caught it early.

On October 10th, Betsy had a sudden onset of severe shortness of breath and immediately realized that she was experiencing a major pulmonary embolism(PE). She had actually expected this might happen due to risk factors of cancer, chemo, and family history. We raced to the University of Washington Hospital ER. She was stabilized and admitted. Over the next two weeks her condition seesawed between better and worse with the overall trend being downward. Her lungs had been battered by the cancer and the PE and now were developing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), ironically one of the major factors in the mortality of COVID 19.

Early in the morning of Saturday the 26th, Betsy was transferred to the ICU. Her lungs were no longer able to supply her with sufficient oxygen and she was sedated and placed on a ventilator to breathe for her. She is currently stable and seems to be slightly improving. My heart is breaking for her.

Throughout this ordeal, I have come to know our medical system far better than I ever wanted to. For all its faults and difficulties, I have watched some of the most exemplary care from extremely knowledgable and dedicated professionals. I know we are truly blessed to be here in Seattle and have the UW Hospital and the Hutch for her care. They are two of the top institutions in the world and I wish everyone had access to such places. Sadly, they don’t. This has been what has driven Betsy to serve communities of need, and to write this blog.

Betsy asked me to write this post before she was placed in the horrid limbo she now occupies. As she has written in her most recent posts, the future of medicine hangs in the balance on this election. Access to critical and affordable care is literally on the ballot. With a week to go we must all redouble our efforts to get everyone to participate and vote. It is one the tool we have to make change and we must use it!

I also ask you each a favor. I ask that you sing a song, read a story, extend a kindness to another in Betsy’s name and honor. We must all continue Betsy’s life’s work and in the process we’re going to sing her back home and to health.

Forward.

Jamie