January 30, 2013
Greetings everyone…a quick update regarding our dear friend Cheryl Yellowbird as I spoke with Nelrene, Cheryl’s sister, recently. Cheryl is now residing with Nelrene in Minot who has been caring for her. She said that Cheryl is doing a lot better but is still on oxygen 24/7. Nelrene said the she knows Cheryl wishes to be back in Minneapolis again but with her health problem it would only be for a visit. Cheryl had a check-up at the Mayo Clinic in September and she is stable, the lung condition is not improving significantly however not getting worse either.
I also received an email from Cheryl…she said she is able to speak well…can’t walk too far due to her lungs, but is walking around and will sneak downstairs to do laundry when Nelrene isn’t around…LOL says Cheryl.
Below is the address of where she is staying if you’d like to send her a note or card. Cheryl’s email is also – cjyellowbird@yahoo.com – she would love to hear from people!
Cheryl Yellowbird
2002 8th Street NW
Minot, SD 58703
We continue to keep Cheryl and her family in our prayers and join us at the Cherish the Children Pow wow Feb. 9th and 10th as we will be sponsoring a Tiny Tot’s Special in honor of Cheryl.
Miigwetch,
Deb
July 12, 2012
Boozhoo everyone. I was sitting in my office last night when my phone rang, picked it up and the voice said “Hi Deb, it’s Cheryl.” I about fell over! After so many weeks of worrying it was just so heartening to hear her voice. We had a very nice chat, she wanted to catch up and she talked a little bit about how she’s doing. Seems she is still on oxygen, however is able to speak fairly well and is able to walk short distances. The problem is still getting enough oxygen into her lungs, so still working on that. She asked if she came back would we hire her back I said “absolutely, so you need to get yourself up and about and back here 
!” What a lovely thought that was. Something we all can continue to pray for.
Otherwise, she is wanting to hear from people, here is her new address if you’d like to send her a note:
Kindred
1000 – 18th Street Northwest
Mandan, ND 58554
ATTN: Cheryl Yellow Bird
Miigwetch all…
Deb
June 18, 2012
Greetings Everyone, I am thrilled to say that I SPOKE to Cheryl yesterday (Sunday the 17th) and her first words were something like “is it too late to come back to work?” and then laughed! She is now in a long-term health care facility, her lungs are still struggling however she is looking to be able to eat food soon and is able to get up and walk around with assistance. Cheryl still has the tracheotomy but they’ve taught her how to speak with it and she’s clearly much more alert and aware. Family says that she still gets disorientated and confused at times and they are trying to figure that out.
But the great news is she’s able to connect with her family and it was so wonderful to hear Cheryl’s voice!!
Let’s keep praying!! I will post the address of her new location as soon as I receive it.
Miigwetch all,
Deb
June 4, 2012
Nelrene and other family member were here Memorial weekend to take most of Cheryl’s belongings back to ND where they have a house where some of Cheryl’s family is now staying. The latest is that Cheryl is sitting up a little more and is able to play tic tax toe for a few minutes. She definitely recognizes people when they lower the sedation and will knod her head or wink, which is a blessing.
Nelrene and the family again express their gratitude for all the prayers. She also wanted to let folks know that if anyone would like to make contributions, that they now do so to the American Lung Association as Cheryl continues her fight.
As always, we are staying in touch with Cheryl and the family and will be sending the poster from the Open House with pictures and well wishes.
We continue to pray for healing and strength for Cheryl.
May 17, 2012
Boozhoo…we received a text last night from Nelrene (Cheryl’s sister) stating that the Dr. has been lowering sedation drugs to help Cheryl be more awake. They sat her up on the bed last week for a very short time but she is very weak. The family was with her on Mother’s Day although Cheryl was asleep the whole time. The next few days will tell more as the Dr. continues to lower the sedation.
Nelrene also wanted to make sure that everyone knew how thankful and how much she and her family appreciate all the prayers and support!!
May 7, 2012
Here is the hopsital address for Cheryl if you’d like to send cards or other gifts:
For – Cheryl Yellow Bird
St. Alexius Hospital
900 East Broadway
Bismarck, ND 58501
May 5, 2012
Deb just received a couple of texts from Nelrene and she said the Dr. has put Cheryl on some new medication and she is awake and smiling and responding to people around her. Just now Nelrene said that Linda says she’s moving her arms and feet, even folded her arms, is asking for people and wants to write. She can’t talk, but is trying to form words.
May 3, 2012
Boozhoo…with the permission of Cheryl’s sisters, Nelrene Yellow Bird and Linda Gonzalez, we at the Ain Dah Yung Center would like to let the community know what is happening with our dear friend and collegue Cheryl Yellowbird. Today I receive a couple of phone calls from people stating that they had heard that Cheryl had passed. This is NOT true…
About five weeks ago, Cheryl went home to ND to visit with her Mother and family…we sent her off with well wishes and said, “we’ll see you in a week.” Since then Cheryl became ill with a pneumonia known as “Interstitial Lung Disease.” She was in and out of the hospital for a while, and then we got the news that her condition had become severe and she is now on induced life support. The latest is that she continues to be under deep sedation most of the time, she has a tracheotomy which enables her to mouth words when they reduce the sedation and is able to connect with people around her during these times, however, these moments are limited. The doctors are now trying to periodically reduce the oxygen levels to her lung to enable her lungs to work on their own with hopes that her lungs will do some healing.
The Ain Dah Yung Center is maintaining her health insurance, has been facilitating an internal fundraiser and assisting with Cheryl’s expenses, we had a ceremony last Friday evening and are praying for a miracle daily. We now ask that our communities join us in prayer…as she continues to fight for her life.
Our hearts are heavy and we miss Cheryl dearly…starting next week we will have a posting on our website for updates on Cheryl’s condition…visit this update on www.acycenter.org.
Chi Miigwetch,
Deb
