Hey Amazing People!
Here's the latest:
1.) Elena got a chest CT yesterday. Didn't see much change from the previous x-rays. Still was a small atolectosis (fancy medical terminology for "not fully inflated"...I think it makes 'em feel better about themselves with all their fancy ninja vernacular.) :-) j/k!
2.) She also still had quite a bit of pneumonia (for now...).
3.) Vitals are all still stable.
4.) O+ blood transfusion went well. Just had a small elevated temp following the transfusion, but I guess that's sorta common.
5.) Again, the bronchoscopy they did just revealed some inflamation in the lung, but no mucus plugs. 'Bronchoscopy' is fancy terminology for "scopy of the Bronch"...gee whiz... why don't they just say that! Then we'd all know what they were talking about! :-)
See one of my previous updates for my official "Grey's Anatomy" definition of Bronchoscopy. (It's getting a little annoying up here on the 5th Floor in the PICU...yeah...pretty much everyone keeps confusing me for either Chuck Norris or Doogy Hauser (you know...the child prodigy medical doctor). I wish they'd get it straight.
6.) From a strictly 'medical' point of view, here's where they're at:
A.) They did an x-ray this morning & will do another one tomorrow. (Havent seen results of it yet.) They're gonna have the Pediatric Radiologist (Dr Caruso) & the Surgeon (Dr Bryant) look at the last couple x-rays & CT scan to determine the next COA (Course Of Action). Caruso & Bryant aren't on shift over the weekend.
B.) Again, from a 'medical point of view', here are some possibilities:
1. Cortication: major surgery that would entail them going into the lung & physically scraping the inside of the lung to remove all the goop that may be remaining.
2.) Thorocoscopy: (There's that "scopy" again.) major surgery, but less invasive than #1. Go into the lung with a scope, lavage (wash) the lung with fluid that will aid in breaking down some of that goop, then sucking the krap out of the lung. Alex Freitas described it as a "pressure washing of the lung". Great analogy.
3.) MY FAVORITE COA (Course Of Action): By tomorrow morning, after they look at the x-ray done tomorrow, they come back & report that there is little to know goop remaining in her lung & that it's fully inflating (no atolectosis) and so there will be NO need for EITHER of the surgery options being considered...in JESUS name!!
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We're currently waiting to speak to her weekend PICU doc, Dr. Cartie, to see what his assessment is following his morning rounds & to hear the status of her x-ray this a.m.
I KNOW she's getting better!! Geepers crow...thanks to God & all of you amazing people...she has so many people praying for her, I wouldn't be surprised if I got an email or text from Billy Graham or the Pope!! :-) But seriously, I wish we could express more effectively our immense grattitude & appreciation for all the hundreds of prayers that are ascending up to Elena's Creator for her rapid & complete recovery. I wish I could hug every single one of you & look into your eyes & tell you "Thank you. Thank you for praying for God's little World Changer, Elena." To know that she's on your hearts & lips is incredibly comforting & encouraing as her parents. We feel the power of all your prayers. I know there are Warrior Angels surrounding my two earthly angels--Elena & Kathy.
("Hugging" sidenote: I got the "hugging thing" from my Pops, who went Upstairs last Dec. He was the best hugger I ever met. You just felt this amazing warm peace just cover you like a cozy blanket when Pops hugged you. I try & continue on with that legacy.)
So you know:
The drive from the PICU back home still feels like a cross-country trip in a slow moving vacuum tube...due to the deafining roar of silence coming from the empty car seat in the back.
And I still get hit with a tidal wave of quietness as soon as we open the door of our house. Makes me think of the old Simon & Garfunkel song whose lyrics waft in my head...so apropo I thought I'd just include them...( "Hello darkness, my old friend,
Ive come to talk with you again,Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
Fools said i,you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whisperd in the sounds of silence."
Wow...that song just about nails how I feel when my shadow crosses the threshold of our cave we call a house.
Waking up every morning is also brutally sureal EVERY time. I'm overcome by a feeling as if I just woke up IN a dream. As if when I pop open my eyes, that's actually my body's "ON Switch" for "Begin The Dream..." I feel like I'm intrusively floating around in someone else's reality...kind of like a Mary Poppins of sorts...without the black umbrella to assist my "dream floating".
I also never knew how my warrior "tribal" markings (tattoos) would almost jump off my arms EVERYday since Elena was admitted... "OVERCOME"..."FAITH"..."Y-R-U-HERE?" Wow...never knew how truly powerful (& helpful) words are...I had NO idea that I would actually draw such strength from them...
Just like the Bible Verses we taped up all over Elena's hospital bed/crib. WOW...as soon as we put 'em up last night, they're like football stadium lights in a small dark room...WOW...how my spiritual backbone stiffens everytime I read them! The Darkness cowers at the mere thought of coming near Queen Elena's bed. It wouldn't be good for their 'home team' to pull a move like that. Matter of fact, due to all your prayers, they're probably sucking their thumbs in some bushes at least a grid square away! Saints & Prayer Warriors...THANK YOU.
(Yes...I did type this whole bloomin message on my iPhone...geepers crow...the next time you see me if it appears as if my thumbs have lost weight, you'll probably be right!) :-)
We love & appreciate you all more than words.
Please continue to send prayers "down range"...it IS a WARZONE out there!!
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