Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Update on Chrissie 2/24, 11PM

Chrissie is in PICU at the Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio.  She is doing much better right now, but she'll probably be here for a few days.

Chrissie had a rough day filled with coughing, fever and no rest today.  I decided to take her to our pediatrician again this afternoon to see if she might have pneumonia.  Her oxygen sats were at 60%, so off we went to the ER.  We wanted to go to Methodist in SA since that's where Chrissie's cardiologist is.  (Matt was on his way to Wimberley at the time, so we hooked up with him and Chrissie and I jumped into his truck.)  Shortly after we left, Chrissie went into respiratory distress in the truck.  We called 911 and a Wimberley EMS met us at Hays City Store in Driftwood.  By the time they arrived, Chrissie had stopped coughing and was able to talk.  Her oxygen went back up to 70% on its own.  The Wimberley EMS people can't go to San Antonio, only Austin, so they gave us a tank of oxygen along with a peds mask for Chrissie, and sent us on our way in Matt's truck.

Chrissie did OK on the ride, and when we arrived at the ER, they ushered us through STAT!  They immediately put Chrissie into a trauma "revival" room and a team of about 10 staff flooded through the doors!!!  Chrissie announced that she had to poop, so we left the room with an oxygen tank to go to the restroom, LOL!  The staff looked shocked that I left them all hanging to take Chrissie to poop, but if she had pooped in her pants, they never would have heard the end of her wailing in distress!!!  So, after Chrissie took care of "urgent" matters, back to the trauma room we went.  Chrissie had a fever of 103.7, along with major coughing and an oxygen sat rate of 64%.  Her lungs were getting very little air and were crackling.  They ended up giving Chrissie an IV with steroids, an IV antibiotic, oxygen, a one hour long Xoponex breathing treatment, and a chest x-ray.  They drew blood and tested for RSV and Influenza, both of which were negative.  They're currently testing for about 10 viruses and such, but it will take a few days to know what's causing this.  The chest x-ray showed no pneumonia, but they're suspecting it might actually be pneumonia after all. 

Chrissie is doing so much better now.  They're keeping her on oxygen, steroids, antibiotics, and breathing treatments.  She will remain in PICU until they're able to figure out what's causing all of this and get her stabilized. 

Dr. Porisch (cardiologist) is here, and she said they won't be able to do surgery March 22 because this is such a severe respiratory illness.  So, we're looking at mid-April for surgery now.

Through all of this, Chrissie has remained a happy girl!!!  She handled the trauma of the ER like a champ (better than she did Saturday's pre-op blood draw!); it all happened so swiftly that she didn't have a chance to really freak out.  (Yes, she cried and was scared, but Chrissie is one brave girl! She kept saying, "I love my mommy, I love my daddy!")  So sweet!  Chrissie even smiled through her breathing mask, and the staff laughed at our little princess who refused to wear the strap of the mask, so Mommy had to hold it for her for an hour, and both Mommy and Daddy tickled her arms and feet throughout the process.  It was "Spa ER"!!!  As extremely ill as Little Chrissie is, one wouldn't know it by looking at her. (Although she was very blue/purple, but still smiling!)  She's a fighter, that's for sure!!!

Stephanie is holding down the fort at Forgotten Saw Ranch.  She and her girls are an amazing part of God's plan in our lives.  We are so grateful for them and all they do to support our family.  No matter when, where or how, The Halls are always ready to serve!!!  Thank you Stephanie and Emily and Samantha, too!  We love you!!!

PS  Matt and I will be staying round-the-clock with Chrissie since she's concerned about our leaving her.  God is using this to show Chrissie that we will NEVER EVER leave her, just as our Father promises to never leave us.  Faithfulness.  God is good.  Thank you, God, for allowing us to show faithfulness to Chrissie, and thank you, God, for your faithfulness to us. 


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Omgosh! I had no idea all of that had happened! I'm so scared, but that was hilarious what Chrissie did with the oxygen tank and the potty! :-) that stinks that her surgery had to be postponed (for the 3rd time!!) I'm praying and so is everyone in Youth Group and Team Kid and Pastor, everyone! We miss you and love you.
Mattie Patterson

PS tell Chrissie I love her!!

Amy said...

Oh sweet family- I am so sorry you are going through this. Chrissy you are such an amazing little girl and I can clearly see God has big plans for your life. We love you guys and we are praying!

Trisha Huddleston said...

As I've been praying, I sense that God is using this to heal Chrissie emotionally. How great it will be when she comes home with you from the hospital! Maybe this is part of God's preparation for the surgery so that she won't be so scared next time. Praying for you all!

Anonymous said...

Patterson family,
We are praying for all of you. God will help you through this trying time. We feel as if we know you through Amy. We are still amazed at what Mattie did to help them with the Pass It Forward fund. We will keep on praying and hope to meet you all sometime.

Amys Mom and Dad (The Wests)

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