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It was a long night for Brea but today is a new day and things are looking a lot brighter! She has slept a lot because she has had to have her dressing changed several times throughout the night on her art line in her wrist due to bleeding. With each dressing change she needs more sedation because she is such a fighter and she doesn’t tolerate being held still very well. The amount of bleeding is caused by the Heprin that she is on to keep the blood from clotting in the Berlin Heart. Preventing clots poses its own set of dangers so for the time being Brea will not be getting her nails cut (I’m sure she is thinking that this is a bonus since she doesn’t like getting them cut anyway). A tiny knick from cutting her fingernails too close could be BIG trouble so later today I’m going to tackle her nails with a fine emory board.
Brea’s blood pressure has been very high throughout the night and all morning but it is finally coming down to a normal range. At one point her systolic rate was 171 and we were extremely worried but we are so thankful that there are medicines to manipulate the blood pressure.
Today the doctor put her ventilator settings in the back up mode so she is now doing all the breathing on her own but the vent kicks in when she doesn’t breathe enough. They have also said that she might get her chest tubes out in the morning since the drainage has slowed significantly.
It has become habit to touch Brea’s little toes throughout the day to see if they are cold. Cold toes are a sign of poor profusion in her extremities so warm toes are always a welcome thing with a heart patient. Well, today Brea has consistently had toasty warm toes! This means that plenty of blood is reaching her lower body and her organs too. Cold toes and fingers can also mean that she has a fever but thank God, her fever has not returned and so far all of the blood cultures are coming back negative!
Last night as I was walking to Brea’s room a gentleman from Louisiana stopped me in the hallway. He explained that he was also here from Louisiana and wanted to know what he would need to do to apply for Medicaid back home. I shared the information that I knew but reminded him to have faith in the Lord and He would provide a way. We talked for a while and then I went to check on Brea and as I walked in the door of her room the nurse handed me a stack of emails that had been sent to the hospital over the last few days. Emails are printed and distributed by volunteers so sometimes it is days before we get them but right there on top was an email from my dear friend Anita from a few days ago letting me know that there had been an inquiry from someone who wanted to donate to Brea’s medical fund. It was as if I was reading an email from God himself confirming what I had just told the gentleman from Louisiana.
Danny and I went to church this morning in the hospital chapel for the first time. Although I know that God is with us wherever we are, it was nice to be in a place of worship with other believers! The message this morning was from Mathew 11 and just what we needed to be reminded that even when we are weak, He is strong and can carry our burden for us. We left the chapel feeling a little sad because we miss our home church, our church family and especially the music that is like food for our souls each week. We look forward to the day that we can return to our church as a family of FIVE.
Keep praying dear friends for the nurses, doctors and support staff working with Brea. Pray that they will be blessed with the knowledge and skills to help Brea. Pray that Brea’s little body will soon work again just the way that God created it to work. Pray for strength for our family to endure these trying times and pray for those here who don’t have faith to help them through these times. His word tells us that “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” Matthew 21:22 and I BELIEVE!
Hug your children and enjoy your family today. Life is too short to worry about the small things that tend to drag us down and your life can change in an instance…just ask any of the families sitting here in this waiting room.
Good day and God Bless.
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