Monday, April 26, 2010

Miracle Monday: Never a Dull Moment!

Whew, I sure do hope we're done with brushing against death's door.  Not easy. 

Chrissie is now in her PICU room, lying in her bed, still under anesthesia.  We just got all settled into the room after an optimistic report from Dr. Kupferschmid.  We were dancing on Cloud 9 when all of a sudden Chrissie's blood pressure RAPIDLY declined, which was exactly what happened last Thursday morning when "coded" (died).  Now that we've witnessed it first-hand once (and gone through our second death with Chrissie), we knew what was happening and started praying as we watched the wonderful team here step in and do their rapid response rescue.  No compressions needed, no death, just a slight flatline of 40/35 blood pressure.  Our WONDERFUL ECMO specialists responded rapidly by giving Chrissie blood and FFP's (Frozen Fresh Platelets) and the nurse adjusted some meds, and within about 5 minutes, they had her pulse back in a low, but acceptable state, and now it's hanging out around 65/50ish, so they're closely monitoring and seeing what's upsetting the princess' blood pressure.  You know, she's really finicky (the princess and the pea), and they took a chest x-ray a few minutes before she started to decline in blood pressure, which may have upset her.  It's always a huge guessing game and balancing act figuring out what's causing what...if it's drugs, too much blood loss, her heart not working properly, her lungs being clogged or a myriad of other complexities that this simple mom has no clue about!

We're in another prayer challenge as Chrissie's transitions to this new state of being.  Her heart is operating on its own at this time with a pacemaker set to 90, so if her rate drops below 90 beats/minute, the pacemaker will kick in to tell the heart what to do.  The heart is also in what they call the "sinus" rhythm, which is the God-given synchrony that it needs to be in, which is another miracle of Miracle Monday.

The ECMO cannulas are inserted through Chrissie's neck and traveling down into her heart, so the right side of the heart is still being somewhat supported by the ECMO, if I'm understanding correctly.  The ECMO is still doing what it was doing before surgery, but it's now not protruding from her chest, just from her neck.  One cannula goes in the jugular vein and runs down into the right atrium of the heart, pulling blood out of Chrissie's heart to be treated (oxygenated and other stuff), then the freshly treated blood is pushed back into Chrissie's body at her neck through the carotid artery and into her aorta.  It's complicated, and I probably have butchered what's really happening, but, like I said, I'm just a simple mom watching God save my daughter's life with very little understanding of the medical terms (relating to specific heart stuff) that are tossed around in this room every second. 

They believe Chrissie is losing a lot of blood right now, most likely due to part of her heart having a leak where a stitch might have come loose or where the cannula got moved around or something similar.  The heart will be bleeding for a while because of the various other meds that Chrissie is on that will make her blood thinner and affects clotting, thus making it harder to stop bleeding.  Since Chrissie's chest is now closed, the chest drainage tubes must suck the extra blood out, and the nurses and ECMO techs must "chase" the blood by continuously giving Chrissie blood to stay on top of the loss.  They say this is typical, but we didn't experience this since Chrissie's chest was open for 8 days after her other surgeries.

There's still A LOT to work through and get functioning, so we're far from clear, but we did have some miracles to report on our Miracle Monday:  We know for sure that Chrissie is "in there" based upon her reactions to loved ones who talked to her (on speakerphone) today, she survived another open-heart surgery, her left ventricle looked really good (the right looks weaker than the left, which is why he ended up leaving the cannula in the right ventricle), they were able to get the ECMO entry/exit switched to her neck, they were able to clean her chest out, she didn't have any unexpected bleeding, and they closed Chrissie's chest.  Huge!

Keep praying for everything.  There are just SO many variables right now, and with Chrissie being ultra-finicky, everything is like walking on egg shells.  So thankful for the excellent medical staff surrounding our daughter, as God's angels keep her protected and whisper in her ear for her to battle for the Lord!

Much to be grateful for on this Miracle Monday!  Thank you so much for fasting and praying.  Your prayers have been answered, and  we are forever grateful for YOU and our gracious Father!!!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

I just finished commenting and the refreshed to read the most recent update! I am praying now Lorraine!

What an incredible fighter and precious child of God!

I praise God for the miracles He has performed on her behalf today!

yes, He hears our prayers and is answering them!

Love,
Jill

Kritter Krit said...

Okay, I'm just going to set up camp at WOW! I find myself saying it continually as I'm reading your posts. It's just amazing what God has done today through the hands of skilled physicians!! WOW!

So much to be thankful for. So much to stand in awe of. Our God is mighty to save, and it just takes my breath away to see Him at work in the life of your sweet little Fighter!

Thanks so much for the updates. It really helps to clarify what specifically to pray for. Man...I'm with you - a LOT of medical jargon flying around. Thank goodness God knows exactly what's going on and it doesn't matter if I mutilate the terminology!

If you guys knew how much you are thought of and prayed for during the day, it would make your head spin. (I feel a bit like a stalker, I'm checking your site so often!) I think it's just so wonderful and exhilarating to see the body of Christ at work!! Will continue to pray.

~Kristy

“…Rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things!” (Joel 2:21)

Unknown said...

Bedtime prayer from 3 year old Ella:
Dear Dr. Jesus please help fix Chrissie's broken heart. Help it to be all better and please help her daddy and mommy too. (Dr. Jesus, I just LOVED that!)

llghoney said...

I sweet lady on my FB page has been posting your blog & asking for prayers for Chrissie. I just wanted you to know that your family & your daughter are in my thoughts & prayers.

God Bless
Lisa

Sarah said...

Still praying and so grateful for all that God has done and is doing.

Blessings,
Sarah

Anonymous said...

Thank you Lord Jesus for the miracles you have performed in Chrissie today! Thank you for continuing to strengthen Chrissie, Matt and Lorraine. God we praise your mighty name and give you all the glory! Lord, thank you for the loving and caring medical staff that you have surrounded Chrissie with. Heavenly Father, thank you for the wisdom you are giving her doctors and nurses. Father, we anxiously await and thank you in advance for the next miracle in beautiful Chrissie's life! What an awesome and mighty God we serve! The Lord God omnipotent reigneth!!! Thank you Lord Jesus, thank you.




Matt, Lorraine and precious Chrissie,
You are constantly on my mind and in my prayers! I hope you all sleep well.
Much love, Regena

Lisa said...

God sure has heard ALL of our cries and prayer requests this past week. He has been so faithful to answer them and give us more then we have asked for. Today is truley Miracle Monday, now on to Miracle Tuesday, and all thru the week. Father God Thank you sweet Jesus for everything you have done for Chrissie and for all that you have done for the so many that have brought so much closer to you and the throne. You are MIGHTY to SAVE, MIGHTY to HEAL! Thank you please watch over this sweet child as she rests and heals tonight and the on comming days. Thank you so much for sharing your child with all of us.

Anonymous said...

We won't let our prayers slow down one bit, Sweet Chrissie! Today has been so special as we've fasted and prayed for your special Miracle Monday, but we'll be praying every single day until you get to go home!

We love you!
Karen Stone and family.

Kat said...

Praying and will continue to pray. So thankful that God's Hands have touched Chrissie so obviously today. Praying God cradles her as she sleeps in His healing Hands.

Anonymous said...

So thankful to hear the good news!!! This is a miracle in the making, thanks to our Heavenly Father. This child will be a walking testimony. I pray that the Lord keeps his angels around this babys bed,and keeps his healing hand on her,and we will forever give him the Praise and the Glory in Jesus name we pray amen!!!God Bless ya'll and I am calling tomorrow Testimony Tuesday Lots of Prayers and Love from KY!!!!!

The Jakes said...

Whew! What an awesome, but exhausting day your family has had. My human mind can't begin to wrap around the complexities of Chrissie's situation nor can I fully predict God's next move so all day I have been praying that God would do "far more than I could possibly ask for or imagine".

Sweet and peaceful dreams tonight,
Julie

Sari said...

Prayers prayers and more prayers as we spread the word around and get more people to join in and ask God to hold her tight as she heals. Hang in there -

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