A Turn for the Worse

I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night, so I’ll make this quick. We've been up since around 4am with lots of commotion and coming and going.

6:30am: Drew blood and took x-rays this morning. Lab results this morning were not believable because they seemed too low, so they attempted to draw new labs to confirm values. It took no less than three attempts just to get something useable. The x-rays were seemingly as bad or worse than yesterday (no improvement shown). Explanation coming soon hopefully.

7:30am: Been trying to draw blood for the past hour; four people have been unable to find a good artery. They’re ordering a transfusion for her now because she has lost a lot of blood in the past 24 hours. X-rays confirmed: no improvement.

8:15am: She still hasn’t been able to rest. We are trying to let her sleep right now. New info: she apparently has an accumulation of blood on her right side between her ribcage and her lung. If this doesn’t drain by today, they will have to remove it so it does not become a clot. This will be a minor “surgery.” They will be watching her closely over the next 6–8 hours to see how her body responds to the transfusion and to see if her labs improve. If they don’t, then there is something else going on. Possibly a slow bleed coming from somewhere inside that needs a stitch. Within eight hours she could be in the operating room again to remove the accumulation and repair whatever needs repair.

9am: Blood just arrived. They’re hooking it up now. Labs will be drawn again in a few hours. If there is no improvement in her lab values, then it could be a bit more serious.

Olivia’s 8pm Update

We have been able to hold her for the last several hours. After removing so many IVs and such, it is easy(er) to get her in and out of bed.

On the subject of pain medication, I have arranged to have leapfrogging medications. The two main meds are ibuprofen and oxycodone, with small quantities of morphine for breakthrough pain. The first two have 6 hour cycles; so I have asked to give one at hour 1 and the other at hour 3 and the first again at hour 6 so her pain is minimized continually. It also means that when one is peaking and waning, the other is getting ready to kick in.

But, again, we are watching her body’s reaction to what she is receiving: intestinal activity, breathing ability, lethargy, and the like. It’s important not to give her body more than it needs for pain control, but provide enough relief so the person is resting and can do what it must to progress with the healing process.

Thanks to some awesome friends on the homefront, Amy has been able to be at the hospital with us since about 3pm.

Oxygen saturation levels: Olivia is sitting now in the 90–95%, which is great. Prior to the surgery she was between 75–80%. Besides her color change, this is one of the main indicators that the surgery was successful. However, it will take a while for her body to self-regulate that high of an oxygen level due to it having to “re-learn” a new route for pumping blood throughout the body. For comparison, regular folk have an oxygen saturation level of about 100%.

Olivia’s 2pm Update

2pm: They removed the arterial IV in her wrist (that sucker is a bleeder), took out her catheter, more pain meds given, the IV in her neck is still in. Just got word they are keeping her another night in the ICU; too much fluid in her lungs to move her to a regular room yet. Breathing treatments every 6 hours, maybe more often.

Strike that: the IV in her neck (intrajugular PICC line) is coming out right now. She won't like this, so I'm gonna help.

Olivia's Surgery Complete

Noon: Olivia's surgery is complete. They are stitching her up. She will not have staples in her chest like last time; only dissolving stitches and a bandage covering.

No complications during surgery! Over the next two hours the hospital staff will wean Olivia off her anesthetic, take out her air tube, maintain pain meds as necessary, give her a sponge bath, and keep her as comfortable as possible. We'll meet with the surgeon soon and be able to see her within that two hours.

I'll see her first just to get a feel for whether Amy will be able to handle it right away. Last time Amy almost passed out because she is quite a sight: tubes, IVs, beeping machines, a ventilator, swollen appearance, and the like. She should be awake for a bit today. though.

On Bypass

10:30am: Olivia is on full bypass, all the old scar tissue has been cut away, and the surgeon is about to start sewing in the Dacron tube into the inferior vena cava.

Good morning to ya!

I haven't posted here in over six months, mostly due to schooling and staying busy with the family. But today, Wednesday the 8th, we took Olivia (3 years old) in for her pre-op processing. She'll be having another heart surgery on Thursday, July 9th, which should be when you are reading this post.

Pray for her during this time. It'll be quite a big deal. More details on that later.

Here's a few pictures for before the surgery. I'll be posting throughout and some after shots as well. Click them for the mural-sized view.




On this one above, notice the blue webbing pattern that sits just below the skin. This is quite pronounced in person, but still noticeable here. I wonder how much this will go away once she has completely recovered. She also has a dusky gray/blue color on her skin called cyanosis.





Stay tuned for more updates throughout the surgery and the subsequent month of recovery. And thanks for praying for her.

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

You could call it a goal, a desire, or a calling. I would like to retain my sanity as much as possible under impossible circumstances—four kids under 4 years old, all vying for the same loud toys the others have in a 960 square-foot house. This means minimizing the toy cacophony. How do you make toys quieter without raising the children's suspicions?

Enter: clear tape. I know clear tape’s cousin, duct tape, receives most of the accolades when it comes to fixing things, but let’s show a little love and give a little credit where it’s due. You see, kids can see duct tape pretty easily. Not so with clear tape. The clear stuff is incognito . . . covert silencing ops, if you know what I’m saying. You know it’s quieter, but the kids have no clue. That’s my kind of win–win situation. Merry Christmas and a quiet New Year.

The Day After

It’s amazing how much the day after Christmas in a house full of kids is like being in Vegas: out of nowhere, there are blinking, glowing, noisy things demanding attention, but there’s no real interest in any of it, and you can’t stop thinking, “Oh no! What have I done?”

Madeline’s Birthday

Our wonderful Madeline turns three on Wednesday. In the past few months she has turned a corner to become one of the most voluntarily loving kids that we have. She regularly kisses everyone within arm’s reach—even if they are too busy to be stopped in their tracks. She’s a great girl.

Happy Birthday, Maddie.

The “guess what I’m thinking” look

The “about to lick the zoo glass” look

The classic look

It's A Boy!

Yes, one and all, we are having a boy! The sonogram was conclusive. Thanks for playing "Guess the gender".