The Latest From Children's

Today was another great day for Mac. She had a good workout in PT, OT, and SLP. All therapists were very pleased with Mac's progress, strength, determination, vocabulary, etc. The docs took Mac off all antibiotics, started a new respiratory therapy program, and personal care schedule. McKenna did a great job eating today and amazed the therapist. It is so cool to see the progress she is making. Continue to pray for her wonderful progress. God is so good.

Rock Star!!!

I am back at Children's with Mac and she did a great job PT today. She was standing by herself for about 10 seconds and did a great job with throwing bean bags at me. We set her chair about 30 feet out for her to walk to with a walker and she went past it by 60 feet and then turned around and walked back to the chair. The PT also asked her to try and walk up one step and Mac just walked right up all 5 of them. She is definitely at Rock Star status. God is doing amazing things in this little girl.

Mac wanted me to share a couple of her jokes with you:
Q: What did the apple say to the banana?
A: Nothing, apples can't talk

Q: What do you call a pig that knows Kung Fu?
A: Pork Chop

Mother's Day

What a spirit of thankfulness I have this year during Mother's Day. I'm so grateful to not have lost my own mother or my first child during the accident. Today could have looked a whole lot different had the outcome of the accident been worse. It was a day filled with humility, tears, thankfulness, and a little sadness, too.
We went to visit my mom at the rehab hospital this morning. Even though I don't think she was feeling very well, she made conversation and seemed to enjoy seeing the kids. We still have no word on if or when her gallbladder surgery will be. I hope it will be soon because her liver enzymes are up, she's looking yellow, and she's in pain to the point that she isn't able to do her physical therapy.
After that visit we went and spent the afternoon with McKenna. According to Chad she did a great job in physical therapy. After therapy they give her a blood pressure medication that makes her really tired, which that is when we came to visit. It was still great to see her. Alia laid in the bed with her today and McKenna fed her a bottle of milk, which was enjoyed by both girls. McKenna got a new baby doll and Nat played dolls with McKenna for quite a while this afternoon. It was heart warming to see Nat try so hard to do an activity that he knew would please her.
I don't think there is any new medical news on Mac. We really need prayer for all of our emotions right now. McKenna cried a lot as she watched us walk out and go home a family of 4 instead of 5 tonight. I don't think I'm done crying over it, myself. I keep on thinking the same thing over and over of this is so hard. Dustin isn't scheduled to be back with her until Tuesday, but he is going back down tomorrow instead and he will stay an extended length of time. I don't think this is the best plan for Nat and Alia who need their daddy as well, but there is nothing left that we can think of to make this go better.
My dad seems disappointed with my mom's progress and he is also stressed with trying to finish things at home, a year end at West High School, and driving back and forth to the rehab hospital. He has a great teacher and family friend who has taken up the rest of the school year for him, but there is finals and clean up left to do.
I'm still in pain, which is tolerable, but frustrating. I don't have enough patience for recovery and after 5 weeks, I just want it all to be over and better. I can't stand to see my little girl cry to be with her mommy and daddy. Please pray for us all. We're helpless to make things better quickly, but we're not hopeless that they will be better. It's just going to take time, darn it.

A Good Report

Today I went to Denver to see my orthopaedic surgeon. He said he would like me to have the fixator in for another 4-8 weeks, but he did give me full weight bearing on both legs as long as I continue to use the walker for balance. He also prescribed another antibiotic for the pin site infection. I can begin to "wean" myself from the air cast that I have on my left leg. All this is pretty good news.
After my appointment I went to see Mac at Children's. I haven't seen her since before her surgery and my goodness she was talking more than I've heard since before the accident. It is so soothing to my heart just to sit by her side, hold her hand, and look into those big blue eyes. We think the shunt is probably working since her headache and vomiting are gone. We did find out today that she has pneumonia and will be treated for that. The respiratory therapist said that the part of the brain that is damaged has to do mostly with swallowing, so we're wondering if the little eating that she has done caused the aspiration and pneumonia.
The physical therapists had a meeting today and we finally heard that they are shooting for about 3 more weeks. They are completely surprised at how well Mac is doing and at the amazing progress she has made in just 4 weeks. The therapist wanted her to walk the parallel bars one time today which she did and then she announced that she wasn't done and walked the parallel bars a total of 3 times. Such amazing progress God is allowing her to make. I'm sure it has to do with the amazing prayers of so many. We can specifically pray for her coordination and swallowing abilities and for her eyes to track and work together, since that has been a problem.
Dayspring had a fundraiser for her today where a child could pay $1 and get to wear a hat all day today in class. When Dustin told her about it today she was overwhelmed with tears and sweetly said, "for me?" I know that she is feeling completely loved by her friends and family.
Dustin is home until Sunday and hopefully will spend healing time with Nat and Alia. Chad, Dustin's brother has stepped up to the plate to stay with little Mac for a few days. I think they will get along great.
My mom is continuing to do well. She also walked the parallel bars today in therapy. She is doing all the exercises that is asked of her and is getting stronger each day. The doctors feel that she will be in rehab for about a month before she will be released home.
During these next few days please pray specifically for Mac to learn to swallow without aspirating, for her vision and coordination. Pray that my infected pin site would heal and for more comfort for me. Pray for mom's healing to continue. Pray for Chad and McKenna at the hospital. Finally pray for Dustin's relationship with Nat and Alia to be strengthened while he is home. Thanks, Guys.

Good Night

Mac and I had a great night of sleep. She is alert this morning and saying that she feels "very, very good". Her head does not hurt and her stomach feels good. She seems to be better from my perspective as well. She is saying that she is hungry and would like to have some french fries. She has also called me a monkey this morning and she thought that was funny. She started respiratory therapy last night and is doing well. We have a family meeting with the PT group today to plan out the rest of her stay and I hope to have a target departure date. Continue to pray that her lungs heal and that the shunt takes.

CT Report

The doctors decided to do a CT scan instead of an MRI and the neurologists were "happy" with the scan. McKenna is still vomiting and running a fever of 103 degrees, so she is taking meds for her symptoms. The doctors are still monitoring her dilated eyes and keeping a close watch. The scan is good news. However, we still don't know if she is having a reaction from anesthesia or coincidentally got a "bug" right before the surgery. Thank you for your continued prayers for her as she and Dustin are exhausted and McKenna is still sick. We're thankful the scan looks good. I'll post more as I hear of the details.

Still Needing Prayer

I just got off the phone with Dustin and he said the neurologist saw Mac this morning. She is needing to get an MRI done sometime this morning to make sure the shunt is working and that her spinal fluid is draining properly and not building up. The other two scenarios that could be causing the delusions, headaches, and vomiting is an adverse reaction to the anesthesia or one of the surgical medications or a fever that she's had that's running about 103.5 degrees. The nurses just gave her some Tylenol that brought her fever down some and Dustin said she was starting to calm down. He was lying in bed next to her and they are going to try to get some rest since it was a virtually sleepless night. I told him I wouldn't call to interrupt the possibility of sleep, but if anything goes wrong (please pray that everything is okay) he will call. The best case scenario is that it would be from a medication. The worst case scenario would be there would be a problem with the shunt and she would have to have the surgery again. Please pray that her MRI is great and that the shunt is working and that her cranial pressures are normal. Please pray that she is able to settle down and that her fever goes down and that she and D can get some needed rest. Pray for peace over this situation and that fear would not dominate at home or in the hospital. Thanks for all your faithful love and support and prayers. I'll keep the blog updated as soon as I hear.

Post-Op Update

Okay, so mac made it through the night, but not without pulling out her NG tube and O2 and falling into the low to mid 80's. She figured out how to get out of the No-No's that keep her arms straight and from messing with things. She has been back and forth on the headache, dizzy, and upset stomach thing, but with a consistent fever. We are both working on about 20 minutes of sleep (that's when she found the op to pull her tubes), so please pray that her systems start to regulate and she can get some rest.

Surgery

Mac is scheduled to have surgery at 1pm tomorrow to have the shunt put in. Please pray that it goes well and that she does not have any issues with it. We hear from the docs that kids respond really well to the shunt and they are expecting Mac to make bigger strides once the operation is complete.

I talked with McKenna about the accident and gave her the details of the crash. Her response was "amazing". We also talked about what a miracle this was and she agreed. Please pray that we can keep this at the forefront of our minds as the work gets tougher.

A Grieving Heart

This is a call to prayer for Nathaniel. Every night before bed he seems to be opening up to me a little more and more about the accident and what he remembers. Sometimes he says stuff like, "why did you look dead, mommy when you weren't dead?" Yesterday night he told me that they had to give Alia a bath in the hospital because I bled all over her. Tonight he just crawled in bed and cried and cried his heart out. He was half screaming in anguish and half crying uncontrollably. He misses McKenna so badly and he hates it that our family is "broken" right now. He misses Dustin when he's in Denver with McKenna and he even misses the dog who is at my mom and dad's right now because I don't feel like I can take care of him. He is grieving everything that is different and everything that has been lost. Please lift him up as you think of him. This is a huge load for a little guy to carry on his own.

"Where's Mama"?

During speech therapy today McKenna was mouthing the words to pictures that the therapist was showing her. She then went on her own and mouthed "Where's mama?", we didn't quite make it out so the therapist asked her to repeat it so McKenna said in a faint, raspy, but very understandable. "Where's mama?" I couldn't help but cry. I called and told Christy about this and held the phone up to McKenna's ear and she answered Christy's questions with one-word answer that Christy could hear. Praise God!

Mac

Mac had a good restful night, but her brain pressures went up to low 20's again (MRI at 11:30am). She is almost 20 hours off the breathing tube and doing well - not sounding good, but doing well. She is able to show 2 fingers when asked and moves everything. She is not responding with a yes and no right now, but may be angry. She is watching a movie and has her eyes open to watch it about 50% of the time. Keep praying for her full recovery. This is a very difficult process and I really want to see her up and moving around soon.

Next 24 Hours

The next 24 hours will be critical for McKenna. She currently is breathing on her own without a respirator, which is a magnificent blessing. She, however is breathing too quickly and also her brain pressures are a little high. If she continues to work this hard to breathe on her own, she will be placed back on the respirator. Please pray for her as much as you feel led within this time frame that her breathing would relax to a regular rate and that her brain pressures would be normal. The doctors have again reitterated the fact that Mac's lungs are indeed strong. She will have a CT scan tomorrow to determine if a permanent shunt from her brain to her stomach would be helpful in lowering her brain pressures. Thanks to all our friends and family for their love and support.
Christy

7 Hours Out

Mac is still doing well. The docs have all come by and said she is looking good. One thing to pray for is that she has a CT scan tomorrow AM to see how her pressures are when the drains are clamped off. One doc mentioned that if there is swelling that she may need a permanent drain, but I don't think she will need that. Her pressures have been in the mid teens most of the day, so we should be good. Pray for a REALLY relaxing night for Mac and that we both get good sleep to have a great day tomorrow.

Karen is going in for surgery tomorrow, so lift her up in prayer as well for a quick recovery and that God would guide the surgeon's hands and give them wisdom through the surgery.

Christy is going in for a checkup in Denver tomorrow and will stop by Children's to see Mac for the first time, so pray that neither girl is too tired to see the other.

4 Hours Out

McKenna is doing GREAT! She passed her first blood gas test with a "perfect" from the doctor. She has held on really well. Praise God for His miracle. Continue to pray for her strength and slow, deep breathing. The next 24 hours are very important for this phase.

11:45

Start praying at about 11:45 for Mac to fly when the tube is removed. We are seeing really good signs that she will do well. We believe the report of the Lord that her lungs are healed and she is ready to get off the tube.

Mac and Today

Okay everyone, today is the day. Please be in as much prayer as you can about Mac being able to breathe on her own. She had a restless night and had a lot of mucous suctioned from her lungs. The resperatory therapist said that McKenna is strong enough to breathe on her own, it's just the mucous from the infection that may cause her to have to have a tracheotomy. Either way, she will require less sedation and we will have the opportunity to see how she is doing mentally, feed her real food from her mouth, and teach her how to talk again.

Mac has also had her brain pressures go up again so the docs asked for another CT scan tomorrow morning. Her pressures go up when she coughs and she coughs so much against the tube, so we really need to get it out.

Please be in prayer for all of this. As soon as I know anything, I'll post. Thanks All,
C

Mac Update

McKenna had a good night. She had another pressure trial and was breathing too fast again, so please pray that she can settle down for the next one and the tube comes out today. She is VERY restless today so we need to have something happen with the tube either way so she can get up a moving around.

Mac Update

Here's the dealeo. Mac did great on the trial today and they are going to another one this afternoon and tomorrow morning . They will take her off the breathing tube tomorrow and see how she does. If she does well she off, if not, then it will be a trach, so please pray that she can handle the junk in her lungs. The doc says she is definitely strong enough, just has to control the junk. She is now playing catch with the nurse with a pink bunny she has and watching Little Mermaid.

Pressure Trial

Mac is going to have another pressure trial at 8am to see if she is ready to have the breathing tube removed. Please pray that she can relax and her lungs are real strong so she can get off the tube.

The neuro doc just came by and mac was able to track with his fingers, lift her legs at the hip, and squeeze both hands. Good news.