Nothing but good news today! Everything is looking good, and he is improving quickly. God is so good and the power of prayer is truly awesome!
We walked into his room this morning to discover they had removed some mattresses to lower his bed a little (he had been raised rather high because it helps with the blood flow through the ECMO, but that wasn't necessary anymore). They had also changed his sheets and blankets which are now covered in Hawkeye logos. For those of you who don't know, the Hawkeye's are the U of I football team and being a fan of them is practically a religion for this side of the state of Iowa. And considering we are in the U of I hospital and can see the stadium from Elijah's hospital room, it is a big deal...
So we spent our day wandering back and forth between Elijah's room and the waiting room. We've been spending most of our time on the couches there, using the computer, reading, doing crossword puzzles, etc... Today however we had a little excitement with the Hawkeye game on in the morning. It was funny how when the game came on all the families gathered together in the lounge to watch it and everything seemed to be normal for a little while...
The days are seeming to go by a lot slower lately. The first few days we were in the hospital were so hectic we had a hard time keeping our heads on. But now that we are in the waiting period we have been getting a little restless. We are just so anxious for Elijah to be able to wake up and respond to us. We miss him so badly, there aren't even words.
Like I said, things are continuing to improve. They lowered his ventilator today and he did great with that. They will probably lower it a little more tomorrow and see how he does. He's real close to being at the point where they can switch to the smaller ventilator. It sounds like that may be possible tomorrow or the next day, but we will see. Then I'm not sure how long he will be on that ventilator. Once he's off them altogether he will need to be in the PICU for 24 hours after that, and then he will be moved down to the regular pediatric unit.
Your prayers are making all the difference. His improvement is phenomenal. No one who saw him 5 days ago would have guessed that he would be where he is today. God is healing him miraculously fast and we are so thrilled and so grateful. Please keep praying!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
September 11th
I know today is the 12th, but I never gave an update yesterday so I am just writing it a little bit late. That way if anything changes today I will update tonight as well.
So yesterday there weren't too many changes, his oxygen levels are remaining great. His CO2 output was a little high but they got that down and that has been totally fine since. His left leg was pretty swollen and they did an ultrasound to see if there were any clots, but they didn't find any in his leg except for a little one around the entry site for his arterial line, which is common. So they elevated his leg a little and that seemed to help. They also, later in the evening, put in a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter)to replace the arterial line in his left leg. Basically it's a catheter they put in his thigh and threaded it up to his heart, so it's a more central placement. This kind of a line can be left in for up to a month and there is a decreased chance of clots.
They also mentioned once that his liver was enlarged and they were watching that. They said that can happen often due to the pressure of the ECMO and other things they have been doing. So they don't seem too concerned about that. I asked this morning and they didn't have any new information for me.
We still haven't heard the results of the viral tests, but we did miss the rounds this morning, so we are hoping they have the results and we will find out this afternoon. (Just asked and they don't have any results yet today.)
Last night I was in the room with Elijah while they were placing the PICC line. They had a hard time getting it to work and had to poke him many times. They were concerned that I wouldn't be able to handle it and I was just thinking that it was nothing compared to watching the doctors desperately trying to get air in his lungs...
Also he was twitching quite a bit last night as his paralytics were wearing down a little bit. It was so precious to see his little toes wiggling. And then while I was holding his hand he would wiggle it every now and then. It was just great to be able to feel him move and know that he's doing ok in there. I am so excited for him to be awake again! They said that as he progresses they may be able to let him wake up a little, which means he will be able to open his eyes and look at us. That is fantastic! It's possible he won't be able to handle that and may resist the breathing tube, so they will have to see how it goes.
I think that's about all that's new for now. If anything happens today I will update later. But as I've said before, we are in a waiting period right now so we don't expect a lot of changes for a while now. But please, please, please keep Elijah in your prayers. We've been seeing miracles and we are still hoping for more. Your prayers have made all the difference, keep them coming!
So yesterday there weren't too many changes, his oxygen levels are remaining great. His CO2 output was a little high but they got that down and that has been totally fine since. His left leg was pretty swollen and they did an ultrasound to see if there were any clots, but they didn't find any in his leg except for a little one around the entry site for his arterial line, which is common. So they elevated his leg a little and that seemed to help. They also, later in the evening, put in a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter)to replace the arterial line in his left leg. Basically it's a catheter they put in his thigh and threaded it up to his heart, so it's a more central placement. This kind of a line can be left in for up to a month and there is a decreased chance of clots.
They also mentioned once that his liver was enlarged and they were watching that. They said that can happen often due to the pressure of the ECMO and other things they have been doing. So they don't seem too concerned about that. I asked this morning and they didn't have any new information for me.
We still haven't heard the results of the viral tests, but we did miss the rounds this morning, so we are hoping they have the results and we will find out this afternoon. (Just asked and they don't have any results yet today.)
Last night I was in the room with Elijah while they were placing the PICC line. They had a hard time getting it to work and had to poke him many times. They were concerned that I wouldn't be able to handle it and I was just thinking that it was nothing compared to watching the doctors desperately trying to get air in his lungs...
Also he was twitching quite a bit last night as his paralytics were wearing down a little bit. It was so precious to see his little toes wiggling. And then while I was holding his hand he would wiggle it every now and then. It was just great to be able to feel him move and know that he's doing ok in there. I am so excited for him to be awake again! They said that as he progresses they may be able to let him wake up a little, which means he will be able to open his eyes and look at us. That is fantastic! It's possible he won't be able to handle that and may resist the breathing tube, so they will have to see how it goes.
I think that's about all that's new for now. If anything happens today I will update later. But as I've said before, we are in a waiting period right now so we don't expect a lot of changes for a while now. But please, please, please keep Elijah in your prayers. We've been seeing miracles and we are still hoping for more. Your prayers have made all the difference, keep them coming!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
September 10th
Going to be a short one tonight, for some reason I can't pick up the internet on my laptop at the Ronald McDonald House, so I am on one of their computers, but would much rather be in bed right now...
So I just wanted to reiterate my posts on facebook today in case some of you didn't see them. This afternoon around 2:00 they went ahead with the surgery to take Elijah off of the ECMO, so they took the tube out of his neck and closed that hole and got the huge machine out of the room so he already looks better! The surgery was successful, they were a little concerned afterwards because he was putting out too much CO2 and they wanted to get that down, but it got better as the night went on. His oxygen levels remained great, so that was a huge deal!
So now he is on a bigger ventilator and they are going to work on weaning him off of that slowly and then they will place him on a smaller ventilator and wean that until he is breathing all on his own again. He will remain in an induced coma the entire time he's on the ventilator just because we know he will want to rip everything off of his face and out of his body as soon as he gets the chance... So the time period right now is looking like at least one week and I assume even after they get him off the ventilators it will still take some time to really make a full recovery.
They still do not know what caused this and that is the big question mark right now. We really need them to find out what it is so they can be sure that they are treating it correctly and making sure it is totally gone before they send us away. Also, so we will able to prevent this from happening again. They are still waiting on test results back, including a test for H1N1 which they weren't concerned about in the beginning, but they seem to be leaning towards lately, so we will see. No one we know has been infected at all so it will be quite a surprise if that is the case.
We've had lots of visitors and it has been wonderful. Our church sent out an email yesterday inviting everyone to come pray for us and we had quite a large group of people come by tonight and lay their hands on us and pray and it was so amazing. We are continually impressed every day by the love that has been shown to us and to Elijah. We cannot thank you enough. Please keep the prayers coming and the encouragement as well, it is such a blessing to us. Thank you!
So I just wanted to reiterate my posts on facebook today in case some of you didn't see them. This afternoon around 2:00 they went ahead with the surgery to take Elijah off of the ECMO, so they took the tube out of his neck and closed that hole and got the huge machine out of the room so he already looks better! The surgery was successful, they were a little concerned afterwards because he was putting out too much CO2 and they wanted to get that down, but it got better as the night went on. His oxygen levels remained great, so that was a huge deal!
So now he is on a bigger ventilator and they are going to work on weaning him off of that slowly and then they will place him on a smaller ventilator and wean that until he is breathing all on his own again. He will remain in an induced coma the entire time he's on the ventilator just because we know he will want to rip everything off of his face and out of his body as soon as he gets the chance... So the time period right now is looking like at least one week and I assume even after they get him off the ventilators it will still take some time to really make a full recovery.
They still do not know what caused this and that is the big question mark right now. We really need them to find out what it is so they can be sure that they are treating it correctly and making sure it is totally gone before they send us away. Also, so we will able to prevent this from happening again. They are still waiting on test results back, including a test for H1N1 which they weren't concerned about in the beginning, but they seem to be leaning towards lately, so we will see. No one we know has been infected at all so it will be quite a surprise if that is the case.
We've had lots of visitors and it has been wonderful. Our church sent out an email yesterday inviting everyone to come pray for us and we had quite a large group of people come by tonight and lay their hands on us and pray and it was so amazing. We are continually impressed every day by the love that has been shown to us and to Elijah. We cannot thank you enough. Please keep the prayers coming and the encouragement as well, it is such a blessing to us. Thank you!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
September 9th
I planned on waiting until the evening to give my updates, but we have learned some new information that I want to share right away! During rounds this morning the doctors looked at an x-ray of his lungs and they have significantly improved. They are still not healthy, but there has been a pretty big change (due to the power of the prayers that have been offered on Elijah's behalf). So because his lungs are looking so much better they have decided to try to start taking him off the ECMO, which is a huge decision! Originally they planned on leaving him on this machine for 3-4 weeks while letting his lungs rest completely. They never did get him solely dependent on the machine, he has also been on a ventilator this entire time. So since his lungs seem to be doing some work they are going to see if they can do the job just with the ventilator.
So this morning they turned off the gas on the machine for a trial period. So the tube is still in his vein, pumping blood through the machine and back into his body, but the machine is not putting any oxygen in his blood. After this trial period they decided that he is doing just fine without it so they are planning to stop the blood flowing through the machine tomorrow sometime. If he does ok after that, they will take him off completely and remove the tubes from his neck. Then he would be relying on his own lungs as well as the respirator. This morning the doctor said best case scenario is that they will get him off the ECMO tomorrow and he will be on the respirator for at least a week still to recover.
Keep in mind they still have no idea what has caused his lung failure, so it is still very important that we find that out so they know how to treat it and prevent it from happening again. Also they are keeping him on the ventilator so he is still breathing with the help of a machine. It is great news that they are trying to take him off the ECMO, putting him on that has been the most concerning event so far. We are thrilled to know that he may do fine without it.
We are very excited and praising God for this news, but this is still a serious situation and we need your prayers to continue. Please pray that he does well being off the ECMO and that they are able to take him off of it completely by tomorrow as they plan. Also please pray that they can figure out what has caused this so they know how to treat it and we have an even faster recovery.
Thank you everyone for your prayers, God is so faithful! The doctors and nurses are very impressed by his improvement. I told our nurse that there are tons of people praying for him and I saw her tear up. God is showing and He's going to continue to show His power through this trial. Praise the Lord for everything He has done so far!
So this morning they turned off the gas on the machine for a trial period. So the tube is still in his vein, pumping blood through the machine and back into his body, but the machine is not putting any oxygen in his blood. After this trial period they decided that he is doing just fine without it so they are planning to stop the blood flowing through the machine tomorrow sometime. If he does ok after that, they will take him off completely and remove the tubes from his neck. Then he would be relying on his own lungs as well as the respirator. This morning the doctor said best case scenario is that they will get him off the ECMO tomorrow and he will be on the respirator for at least a week still to recover.
Keep in mind they still have no idea what has caused his lung failure, so it is still very important that we find that out so they know how to treat it and prevent it from happening again. Also they are keeping him on the ventilator so he is still breathing with the help of a machine. It is great news that they are trying to take him off the ECMO, putting him on that has been the most concerning event so far. We are thrilled to know that he may do fine without it.
We are very excited and praising God for this news, but this is still a serious situation and we need your prayers to continue. Please pray that he does well being off the ECMO and that they are able to take him off of it completely by tomorrow as they plan. Also please pray that they can figure out what has caused this so they know how to treat it and we have an even faster recovery.
Thank you everyone for your prayers, God is so faithful! The doctors and nurses are very impressed by his improvement. I told our nurse that there are tons of people praying for him and I saw her tear up. God is showing and He's going to continue to show His power through this trial. Praise the Lord for everything He has done so far!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
September 8th
There hasn't been any change in Elijah's condition today. They took one x-ray of his lungs in the morning and it was the same as the previous ones. They were discussing taking another one this evening, but decided that it wouldn't be much extra help, plus they don't want to move him if they don't have to, so they are going to wait until the morning. They are definitely taking an x-ray every morning. They let us listen in during their rounds every morning so I stood there while they talked and it sounds like they aren't really going to do much of anything right now. They are monitoring everything and adjusting small things such as drug doses and feeding doses and body temperature and such. Other than that they haven't done anything different today. Just watching and waiting and seeing what happens.
The doctors are still stumped at this point. I believe there are more test results that haven't come back yet, they said they would let us know when they learn anything. I'm sure we will find out anything there is to find out tomorrow morning at rounds.
The last 2 nights Chris and I slept on some couches in the family lounge at the hospital but tonight we have gotten a room at Ronald McDonald House, which is only a few blocks from the hospital. We will be staying here for a while, but we are on a waiting list to get into the Rossi House, which is a similar facility that is located inside the hospital. That way we will have a private area to sleep and shower and rest during the times we are not with Elijah. We are looking forward to that so we can be in the same building with him. Even though there is nothing we can do and there is no way to interact with him, it is still incredibly difficult to be away from him.
We have gotten so much encouragement and support from friends and family, we are just overwhelmed. Please continue to pray and even though we don't get a chance to respond to everyone's messages, trust me when I say that we are incredibly grateful for each and every one. Every little bit of encouragement helps us, and every person who says they are praying for us is an incredible blessing.
Anyone who is in the area, feel free to visit. We love having visitors. Elijah is in the Pediatric ICU, 7th floor, in room 3. We are usually in the family lounge down the hall.
I keep thinking I should write about how Chris and I are feeling, but I just can't find the words. We are resting in God's faithfulness and trusting Him. There are many scriptures people have sent us and I am grateful for those and we are always happy to get them, so if you have a word please send it. I don't have a specific verse that is on my mind, but there is a song that I have been singing over and over in my head and that is "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns. I will end this post with the lyrics to this song and although the lyrics are fantastic alone, I encourage everyone to listen to the song because it is very powerful.
I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
The doctors are still stumped at this point. I believe there are more test results that haven't come back yet, they said they would let us know when they learn anything. I'm sure we will find out anything there is to find out tomorrow morning at rounds.
The last 2 nights Chris and I slept on some couches in the family lounge at the hospital but tonight we have gotten a room at Ronald McDonald House, which is only a few blocks from the hospital. We will be staying here for a while, but we are on a waiting list to get into the Rossi House, which is a similar facility that is located inside the hospital. That way we will have a private area to sleep and shower and rest during the times we are not with Elijah. We are looking forward to that so we can be in the same building with him. Even though there is nothing we can do and there is no way to interact with him, it is still incredibly difficult to be away from him.
We have gotten so much encouragement and support from friends and family, we are just overwhelmed. Please continue to pray and even though we don't get a chance to respond to everyone's messages, trust me when I say that we are incredibly grateful for each and every one. Every little bit of encouragement helps us, and every person who says they are praying for us is an incredible blessing.
Anyone who is in the area, feel free to visit. We love having visitors. Elijah is in the Pediatric ICU, 7th floor, in room 3. We are usually in the family lounge down the hall.
I keep thinking I should write about how Chris and I are feeling, but I just can't find the words. We are resting in God's faithfulness and trusting Him. There are many scriptures people have sent us and I am grateful for those and we are always happy to get them, so if you have a word please send it. I don't have a specific verse that is on my mind, but there is a song that I have been singing over and over in my head and that is "Praise You In This Storm" by Casting Crowns. I will end this post with the lyrics to this song and although the lyrics are fantastic alone, I encourage everyone to listen to the song because it is very powerful.
I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
Elijah's Condition
For those of you who are interested, I've decided to write a note to fill everyone in on the situation with Elijah. So here goes...
Saturday night we noticed that Elijah was looking sick and starting to wheeze. Since he was hospitalized in March with pneumonia and influenza we didn't want to take any chances so we brought him in to the emergency room about 9:00 Saturday night. They ran some tests, his level of oxygen in the blood was good at about 98%. They did an x-ray and saw a little fluid in his right lung. They also looked in his ears and determined that both of them were infected. They said he had a little pneumonia and sent us home with antibiotics and a nebulizer for regular albuterol treatments. He made it through that night ok, coughing and wheezing and a little fever, but nothing too concerning. The next day he seemed a little better, still wheezing and coughing and sounding congested, but eating fine and playing a little bit. Later in the evening we put him down for bed and heard him waking up occasionally and crying and going back to sleep. Finally around 10pm he woke up again and we picked him up and noticed that his chest was heaving, his nostrils were flaring, and he was turning slightly blue. We immediately left and took him back to the hospital in Cedar Rapids. They did tests right away, his oxygen level was barely 50% so they immediately started a constant albuterol treatment. They took an x-ray and realized that his right lung was completely collapsed, a hugely significant change from the night before. They decided to transport us by ambulance a half hour away to the University of Iowa hospital in Iowa City.
When we got to UIHC they brought him directly to the pediatric ICU and spent the night mostly trying to keep his oxygen level up. We were allowed in early in the morning after they had him mostly stabilized. They continued doing tests to determine why his lungs were failing, including putting a camera into his lungs and asophagus and looking for foreign objects that may have clogged his airway. They found nothing. All they could see was that his lungs were very red and swollen and there was a lot of pus, which they also discovered had no bacteria in it. So they were ruling out a lot of scenarios, but not necessarily getting any closer to determining what the problem was. They were still assisting his breathing by manually pumping air into him, but since his right lung was completely collapsed, his left lung was working too hard and they were afraid it could burst or fail or a number of things could go wrong if they continued to force air into his lungs.
They finally reached a point where they told us they were going to have to put him on an ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) which is basically a machine that takes over his lung function. They insert a tube into his jugular vein and his blood is pumped through the tube into the machine which puts oxygen into it, then it is pumped back into his body. They went ahead with this surgery Monday afternoon, the surgery went well but he still wasn't getting enough oxygen through it, so they put him on a ventilator as well. The ventilator is not working as hard as it would without the ECMO machine, but together they are both working enough to keep the right amount of oxygen in his blood. This means his lungs are still doing some work, but not near as much pressure is on them as it was when they were pumping air in. Their original goal was to slowly turn the ventilator off until he is getting enough oxygen on the ECMO alone so that his lungs can be completely shut off, but they were talking this morning and the two working together are doing the job just fine without making his lungs worse so they may keep him like this for a while and see what happens. Initially after the surgery they did some x-rays of his lungs and they had already improved, there is some function in both of them, but they are not near healed, just a small improvement. However since that initial improvement, they have been at a stand-still. So now we are at a point where we are just waiting to see what is going to happen. They are constantly monitoring him, someone has to be in the room at all times. They are doing frequent x-rays of his lungs to see if there are any changes. They are also still completely stumped as to what has caused this and are waiting for some more test results to come back. We will be in a waiting period now for several weeks before we know anything.
He is out of immediate danger because he has enough oxygen and his body is not fighting anymore. However, in order to use the ECMO his blood has been thinned and that means extra risk of internal bleeding, so we have to be on the lookout for that. Also, he is completely dependent on this machine for life right now. If he doesn't heal on his own there will be a point where they have to turn the machine off. The doctor told us to be prepared for this situation. He also told us that it is only a 50/50 chance whether Elijah will be able to survive again without this machine.
I know that because he is currently "critically stable" people have a tendency to forget he is in danger, but I cannot stress enough that he is in extreme danger and we need you to keep praying, please don't forget!
Chris and I are desperate for your prayers and we appreciate so much all the support we have gotten from everyone. We cannot tell you how much it means to us. We are extremely scared but we can tell that people have been praying for our peace because we are at peace and we are believing and having faith that Elijah will make it through this. We know that God is greater than this illness and we know He can defeat it. We are trying not to be afraid, because fear is not of God. Elijah is in His hands and that is enough for us.
Thank you again for everything, we will continue to update if anything changes. I will either update on here or on my facebook or both, so if you are interested or if you are praying please read them so you can stay informed.
Again, this is going to take several weeks, so please don't forget us or give up on us. Please keep Elijah in your prayers.
Saturday night we noticed that Elijah was looking sick and starting to wheeze. Since he was hospitalized in March with pneumonia and influenza we didn't want to take any chances so we brought him in to the emergency room about 9:00 Saturday night. They ran some tests, his level of oxygen in the blood was good at about 98%. They did an x-ray and saw a little fluid in his right lung. They also looked in his ears and determined that both of them were infected. They said he had a little pneumonia and sent us home with antibiotics and a nebulizer for regular albuterol treatments. He made it through that night ok, coughing and wheezing and a little fever, but nothing too concerning. The next day he seemed a little better, still wheezing and coughing and sounding congested, but eating fine and playing a little bit. Later in the evening we put him down for bed and heard him waking up occasionally and crying and going back to sleep. Finally around 10pm he woke up again and we picked him up and noticed that his chest was heaving, his nostrils were flaring, and he was turning slightly blue. We immediately left and took him back to the hospital in Cedar Rapids. They did tests right away, his oxygen level was barely 50% so they immediately started a constant albuterol treatment. They took an x-ray and realized that his right lung was completely collapsed, a hugely significant change from the night before. They decided to transport us by ambulance a half hour away to the University of Iowa hospital in Iowa City.
When we got to UIHC they brought him directly to the pediatric ICU and spent the night mostly trying to keep his oxygen level up. We were allowed in early in the morning after they had him mostly stabilized. They continued doing tests to determine why his lungs were failing, including putting a camera into his lungs and asophagus and looking for foreign objects that may have clogged his airway. They found nothing. All they could see was that his lungs were very red and swollen and there was a lot of pus, which they also discovered had no bacteria in it. So they were ruling out a lot of scenarios, but not necessarily getting any closer to determining what the problem was. They were still assisting his breathing by manually pumping air into him, but since his right lung was completely collapsed, his left lung was working too hard and they were afraid it could burst or fail or a number of things could go wrong if they continued to force air into his lungs.
They finally reached a point where they told us they were going to have to put him on an ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) which is basically a machine that takes over his lung function. They insert a tube into his jugular vein and his blood is pumped through the tube into the machine which puts oxygen into it, then it is pumped back into his body. They went ahead with this surgery Monday afternoon, the surgery went well but he still wasn't getting enough oxygen through it, so they put him on a ventilator as well. The ventilator is not working as hard as it would without the ECMO machine, but together they are both working enough to keep the right amount of oxygen in his blood. This means his lungs are still doing some work, but not near as much pressure is on them as it was when they were pumping air in. Their original goal was to slowly turn the ventilator off until he is getting enough oxygen on the ECMO alone so that his lungs can be completely shut off, but they were talking this morning and the two working together are doing the job just fine without making his lungs worse so they may keep him like this for a while and see what happens. Initially after the surgery they did some x-rays of his lungs and they had already improved, there is some function in both of them, but they are not near healed, just a small improvement. However since that initial improvement, they have been at a stand-still. So now we are at a point where we are just waiting to see what is going to happen. They are constantly monitoring him, someone has to be in the room at all times. They are doing frequent x-rays of his lungs to see if there are any changes. They are also still completely stumped as to what has caused this and are waiting for some more test results to come back. We will be in a waiting period now for several weeks before we know anything.
He is out of immediate danger because he has enough oxygen and his body is not fighting anymore. However, in order to use the ECMO his blood has been thinned and that means extra risk of internal bleeding, so we have to be on the lookout for that. Also, he is completely dependent on this machine for life right now. If he doesn't heal on his own there will be a point where they have to turn the machine off. The doctor told us to be prepared for this situation. He also told us that it is only a 50/50 chance whether Elijah will be able to survive again without this machine.
I know that because he is currently "critically stable" people have a tendency to forget he is in danger, but I cannot stress enough that he is in extreme danger and we need you to keep praying, please don't forget!
Chris and I are desperate for your prayers and we appreciate so much all the support we have gotten from everyone. We cannot tell you how much it means to us. We are extremely scared but we can tell that people have been praying for our peace because we are at peace and we are believing and having faith that Elijah will make it through this. We know that God is greater than this illness and we know He can defeat it. We are trying not to be afraid, because fear is not of God. Elijah is in His hands and that is enough for us.
Thank you again for everything, we will continue to update if anything changes. I will either update on here or on my facebook or both, so if you are interested or if you are praying please read them so you can stay informed.
Again, this is going to take several weeks, so please don't forget us or give up on us. Please keep Elijah in your prayers.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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