Thursday, April 4, 2013

 

7:30 a.m. Darby Kate had a pretty good night. She is very sensitive to sedation and they are constantly having to play with her dosage. All sedation that has been utilized makes her blood pressure drop. They are doing a good job keeping her comfortable and stabilizing her pressure. She will naturally have lower blood pressure than normal her entire life because the right ventricle does not push blood at the same pace as the left ventricle. It is incredibly perplexing to think of how complex and sensitive everything in her little heart is. God has not let go of her through this entire journey. We have not been able to hold her and allow her to feel our love but there is no doubt God has shown her love we are incapable of giving. She has done well with the experimental ECMO line in her groin area. I have not received confirmation about today's plan yet but last I heard, they will put the other ECMO line in a vein in her neck so they can get that chest closed. I think the outside of the box thinking by all of her medical staff and the fact that she is holding her own is a true testament to the power of prayer. Thank you for lifting my family up and please keep it coming!

10:30 a.m. I just spoke to the doctors and they are about to put a new central line in her groin to possible get the second ECMO line out of her chest. They are also about to place a pick line in her arm in order to take them out of her umbilical cord. This is being proactive against the possibility of infection. Unfortunately, her lungs are showing no signs of improvement and she will have to have another surgery tomorrow morning. They will either put a stint in the existing shunt or they will place a BT shunt in another section of her aorta. Both surgeries have their own share of risk and are considered a major open heart surgery. If they put a BT shunt in, she will not have to go on bypass but it will be a third section of her heart that gets operated on in less than two weeks. If they put a stint into the existing shunt they will have to go on bypass to complete it. The problem is, her lungs have gone into protection mode and are refusing to allow much blood into the lungs. Everyone keep your heads up! I am not discouraged because we serve an awesome God that specializes in impossibilities! I am asking you to say extra prayers for her today and tonight and ask God to be with these physicians and guide their hands and minds.

2:00  p.m. They have finished with the pick line and the second central line and she is stable. They realized that the original central line needed to be replaced with a longer tube so, they are doing that now.

9:30 p.m. As of now I am not sure if she will have surgery in the morning or not. They have tried several things to correct the problem and a diagnosis has not been made yet. I will let everyone know as soon as I am notified but the decision will probably be made in the morning. Right now her blood pressure is dangerously low and a team of doctors have been trying to get them up for several hours. Please pray!