Monday, November 8, 2010

Life Support

Averi received a couple of platelet transfusions and more fluids which helped her vitals return to normal and her acidity level is up to 7.32, a drastic improvement from yesterday.  They also started her on lasix to hopefully help drain most of the excess fluid from all over her body.  I had to hold her up this afternoon while they changed her bedding and she was definitely heavier with all the excess fluid.  She is so pumped full of fluid, in fact, that her tongue won't even stay in her mouth and you couldn't pry open her eyes if you wanted to.
(She's so swollen that Tiffany said she thought she walked into the wrong room the first time she saw her.)

The preliminary results came back from the lab and they found three different bacteria growing from the cultures they took from her broviac.  They found “pseudo-like” gram negative rods (which my bet will be Pseudomonas aeruginosa), a non-lactose fermenting gram negative bacteria, and probable Enterococcus gram positive bacteria.  That would explain why she is sicker this time and why she is taking longer to recover than the last two visits to the PICU.

The bacteria only grew from the cultures taken from her broviac; her arterial line was clear.  That confirms what the physicians suspected and Averi will have her broviac taken out tomorrow.  They will put in a temporary PICC line until the infection clears up.  Then they will most likely insert another broviac so we can continue her chemotherapy.

Averi is a fighter.  That is a known fact.  In fact, she is such a fighter the physicians were concerned she was expending too much energy combating the breathing tube instead of letting it help her.  The decision was made to administer Vecuronium.  For those who don’t know, Vecuronium is a muscle relaxant, or more commonly referred to as a paralytic agent.  They pumped her full of pain medication and sedatives and then she was medically paralyzed, which means she can’t even breathe on her own.  Poor Averi will not be responsive for several days until the infection has been cleared from her body.

That said, a harsh reality hit me today.  My daughter is now completely reliant on the machines to keep her alive. 
Daddy’s little girl is on life support.

I pray constantly that my little girl will pull through.  She is such a light in our family and a joy to have around.  It pains me to see her suffer.  It pains me to think there is nothing I can do to help her.  I love her.  Tiffany loves her.  Kaili loves her.  And we pray she will get better and come home soon.  She is our life support.

Who doesn't love someone like Averi when she has such a contagious smile? 
~ Dan

15 comments:

Celeste Ferguson said...

Oh my goodness. I am so sorry you guys. We love you all. And I am praying for your family, and sweet Averi. I would love to meet her in person one day! Hang in there.

Micaela said...

All I could possibly think up to say is that you are honestly in my prayers. We love you guys.

Jennifer said...

We are keeping her in our prayers everyday.

Lauren in GA said...

I can't think of anything to say that won't sound trite. I am so sorry and I will keep praying. I consider it an honor to pray for your amazing little Averi. She is a fighter. I can only imagine your heartache. I am so sorry.

Anonymous said...

Larry and I will continue to keep Averi and your whole family in our prayers.

Ellen said...

Averi and your family have been in our prayers every night and every day since we found out that she has this battle ahead of her.

Anonymous said...

Averi and your family are in our prayers every day. We pray for her speedy recovery.

Vanessa said...

She takes after her Mommy and Daddy for sure. She IS a fighter. I love you guys and pray for a fast recovery. That is the worst thing having her on life support like that. Keep on fighting Averi!

Brandy said...

We love Averi too. Such a strong spirit. Thank you for the continual updates. We are here for you guys if you need ANYTHING.

Vicki said...

Our thoughts and prayers are with you everyday.
You've got an amazing little girl, actually, two of them.
We pray she'll heal quickly and we'll get to see her amazing smile once again.

Stephanie said...

Wow, so I didn't get on the computer for a few days and so much has happened with Averi! We are keeping her in our prayers as well as the rest of you. We love you guys.

Jessica said...

I am amazed at your families strength. We will continue to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers. I wish we could do more. If there is anything that we could do please remember there are so many of us that would love to help.

Borton Family said...

We will be praying for her and the rest of your family. Keep Fighting Averi~

The other Vanessa

Shannon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shannon said...

We are praying for your family - hugs and kisses xxooxxooxx