Elena Update: 10.20.09, Tues, 11pm

Date: October 20, 2009 10:52:42 PM EDT
To: Noble Gibbens <noble.gibbens@gmail.com>
Subject: Elena Update: 10.20.09, Tues, 11pm

Ok everyone...here's the latest & greatest as we know it right now...(some of this may be review):

1.) 0330: Drew another blood sample. Elena (& parents) were pretty thrilled about that...since we had all already gotten 'loads' of sleep & Elena is a big fan of getting pricked & stuck by complete strangers at zero-dark-ridiculous.

2.) Kath & I stayed up off-&-on throughout the night w/Elena--we alternated. Elena was pretty uncomfortable--with an elevated temp, raspy cough, hooked to an I.V. & a couple other different beeping lighted gizmos. It was tough for her to sleep.

3.) 0900: X-Rays (2nd set. 1st set was yesterday.) It was a little high adventure. She wasn't too big a fan of sitting in a few different contortions in front of this big mobile noisy mechanical eye, called an x-ray machine.

4.) 0940: Our doc came by to check her breathing & evaluate. Pretty quick & painless.

5.) 1145: First dose of Rocephin (antibiotic) for the day.

6.) 1545: Dr Bryant, General Surgeon, came by & told us the following:

a.) She's got a pretty serious case of pneumonia.

b.) Blood work results: White T-cell count isn't as high as would typically expect: a "6" or a "7" (which would make one think that it would be more of a viral infection than a bacterial infection); however, Elena is putting out "bands", meaning her body is creating new baby white T-cells (which is an indication of a bacterial infection), SO...he thinks it could possibly be a combination pneumonia: both viral & bacterial...he said Elena could quite possibly be here for 8-10 days. Great!...I thought...living in a hospital room is very very similar to staying in a plush presidential 200 square foot Ritz Carlton closet & the hospital service is also very similar to the Ritz. (Ok...a small hint of sarcasm there.)

c.) 2nd set of x-ray results: not any significant change. He saw the fluid in her R lung, but he thinks it still looked pretty fluid (which is good), as opposed to coagulated (which is more serious, & therefore, not good).

d.) He said that if the pneumonia were to progress, they would need to do a chest tube on Elena to drain the fluid or even a more invasive surgery to clean the krap out manually. I assured him we wouldn't need to sweat either of those options b/c she will/is definitely improving. He assured us that he's a very conservative surgeon & wouldn't recommend either of those options unless it was absolutely necessary. I told him that was the correct answer. :-)

e.) He said we need to monitor closely her status over the next 48 hrs. If there were no improvement or it worsened, he'll need to schedule a CT scan to get a more in-depth look into her lung & make a determination on what to do at that point. Again, I assured him she is/will continue to improve & there will be no need to do a CT scan on our 2-yr old.

7.) 1800: Respiratory "exercises" were 'fun'. They filled this mist/steam producer full of medicine & then stuck it right in front of her face so she could inhale it (unlike former President Bill Clinton). The medicinized (not sure if that's a word) steam/mist is to help her loosen up her cough so she can cough up the krap in her lungs. We're supposed to capture a phlegm specimen once her cough really loosens up so they can evaluate it in the lab & grow it (which takes 24 hrs) in order to create a specific antibiotic for that specific strain of bacteria...so they can combat it even more specifically.

8.) Elena was fairly miserable all day. On a 'Suck' scale from 1-10..."10" being the worst...she fluctuated between a 7-8 today. That's bad enough to be at a suck level of 7 to 8, but it's been pretty brutal on Kath & me too. It's been tough seeing your first & only kid, who's only 2, feeling so miserable. We feel pretty helpless. I've kept my sleeves pretty busy rubbing my 'sweaty' eyes on them. (Just being honest.) She's the most comfortable being held...plus it's easier for her to breathe from an upright position vs. laying down. So, we alternate holding her throught the entire day/night...to also ease some of her uncomfortableness.

9.) 2100: Elena got her 2nd respiratory exercise/treatment...along with her next dose of Rocephrin & some other antibiotic, that starts with a "Z", I think.

10.) Her next respiratory exercise/ treatment is in about an hour, at midnight. And every 4-hrs from then on.

11.) The nurse assistant comes in consistently (almost hourly) to check her vitals.

Again...I absolutely cannot tell you all how much we've appreciated all your prayers, texts, voice messages & emails. They've been so encouraging. Sorry I haven't been able to answer everyone's individual texts, emails or calls; that's why I blast out the updates to everyone.

Please continue to pray for her speedy (& God-willing) less uncomfortable recovery.

Thank YOU!!

Sincerely,

Noble (& Kathy & Elena)