Our 3 year-old granddaughter was admitted to the hospital on Thursday night with a severe case of pneumonia. They were not able to halt the infection and her left lung filled up with fluid. They transported her to the Scott and White Pediatric ICU Saturday morning in order to drain the fluid from her lung and she's there now. This is an incredibly painful procedure for an adult, let alone a little bitty girl. She now has a large tube sticking out of her tiny little chest and she is in a great deal of pain.
The doctors have been unable to find the right antibiotic to kill the bacteria in her lung and her lung continues to fill up with fluid as fast as they can pump it out.
Please pray for these specific things:
1) That the doctors are able to find the right medicine to kill the infection. That is the most critical.
2) That the drain they've placed in her lung pumps out the fluid better so that they don't have to put in an additional tube to drain the fluid. As I said, it's very painful and we don't want her to endure another.
3) That she will have as little pain and as much peace as possible during this week. As you can imagine, she reacts to the adults around her. Pray that everyone around her is full of faith and optimism and encouragement for her.
4) Pray that the next two days are as stress free and pain free as possible. The doctors have said they will be much more aggressive in their treatment during the next two days, which means she's going to be in even more pain because of the things they plan to do. Lift her up during this time.
5) Obviously, anything else God might lead you to pray for as she and her Mommy and Daddy need all the prayers they can get. They are all hurting and exhausted, but our little kitty cat most of all.
We do have an amazing blessing in all of this. Her doctor has actually had this same procedure with his own lung....3 times. He is incredibly attentive to her and very compassionate about her situation. He's made sure that she is as comfortable as they can possibly make her. And he's been very helpful in explaining not only the medical things that are going on, but telling us all how she's feeling and what she will and won't want to do. He's been checking on her repeatedly during the day and even came in today and sat with her for 45 minutes. Having this man dealing with our case has been wonderful for her parents and really, all of us.
However, glimmers of our feisty little pumpkin pop up. Today Veritas and Vision made up a little song for her to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, because she has a little red monitor on her toe. She's got tubes and wires everywhere. Oxygen in her nose, IV in her arm, tube in her chest, heart monitors, blood pressure cuff on her leg, plus this thing on her toe that lights up red. The song went something like, "Kitty, the red-toed kitty cat, had a very shiny toe, and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows..."
And she started grinning and sang, "All of the other reindeer, told her she was pretty, brave and sweet..." She made up several very flattering verses for herself. Vision made her a camera video of her dog, Cooper, which made her giggle. Veritas made her a phone video of her kitty, Twinkie, which also made her giggle. Valentine made her a picture book of everyone, including all the cats and dogs, and she requested that the picture of her and Daddy making macaroni be the one on display today.
We are all just happy to make her happy and smile for a little bit. Again, please pray. The next few days are critical.
OH, Lana! She is in my every prayer!!! Please keep us posted!!!
Posted by: Shaila | February 16, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Lana we will pray.
Ron
Posted by: Ron | February 16, 2009 at 05:43 PM
Thanks Guys! I appreciate it so much and God is definitely answering our prayers. Our baby is much better today. Not great, still in an unacceptable amount of pain, but much, much better. She's just tough as a boot, ya'll, and keeps gutting it up and making progress. Twice now, I've seen her reach out and actually comfort others during all of this. It's amazing.
Hey, it occurs to me Shaila, Ron is also your cousin you haven't met yet. Shaila is Uncle James' daughter, Ron. (Wilma's brother) I mention that so that you can get it right in your email! *LOL*
Ron, meet Shaila. Shaila, your cousin, Ron. Ron, you'll have to explain how we are related. The details are a little fuzzy to me.
Posted by: Veritas | February 17, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Last comment was Lana. I'm tired and didn't check. I'll be sane in a week or two. *g*
Posted by: Lana | February 17, 2009 at 10:38 PM