Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Update on Our Sweet Little Princess

Can I say that God is good!  He truly is and we are seeing daily how He is working in Emma's life.  Last night and yesterday were very smooth.  The only problem we had last night was the excessive beeps of the alarm going off for Emma's arterial line.  This is a line in her wrist that tells them an accurate blood pressure reading.  It also allows them to draw the blood needed to send for labs.  Well, her arterial line was reading a low blood pressure during a couple hours of the night.  So they gave her some albumin to restore fluid loss in her blood...  They ended up giving her two doses of albumin and some calcium, but her blood pressure still read a little low.  Come to find out, it was just a problem with the arterial line itself.  She may have been  low on volume in her blood, but the main problem was the arterial line reading incorrectly.  This morning, they tried to fix the issue by redressing the arterial line.  It is still a little problematic, but seems to be working better.  Today has been a semi-eventful day.  She got another "pigtail" chest tube.  This one is on the other side of her chest from the one they put in the other day.  They placed this chest tube in that location because of some fluid that had started accumulating.  She has already drained over 100cc's of fluid out of this new chest tube.  Who could imagine so much fluid coming out of such a little body!  The placement of the tube went great.  They were done in roughly 20-30 minutes.  Also, Emma has been very well behaved today.  Last night and today she has required less sedative/pain meds to remain comfortable.  They even turned one of them off last night because they thought it was lowering her blood pressure, and she did fine with it off.  What a blessing to see our little princess doing better!  We know that each day, each minute, is different from the one before, and so we cherish these times when we can see improvement!  Other than these couple of events, Emma is doing well.  She is getting more nutrition than she was yesterday.  They are watching her stomach because it has gotten a little bit bigger as they have increased her feeds.  Lord willing, she will be able to continue getting more food.  We gotta pack some oz's and lbs on this sweet little girl!  All in all, she is doing good.  Each day presents more great accomplishments and the possibility for set-backs.  We are enjoying these accomplishments/improvements that she has been making over the past couple of days.

Some specific prayer requests:
1)  Pray that her lungs will continue to clear and function well.
2)  Pray for her heart to continue to function great!
3)  Pray for her to be arrhythmia free!
4)  Pray for her nutritional status.  That she will be able to process and tolerate all the feeds that they are giving to her.
5)  Pray for these tubes they have inserted to get all the fluid out that needs to be removed, and for her to stop accumulating fluid.
6)  Pray for the doctors, nurses, resp. therapists, nurse practitioners, etc. that have a hand in Emma's care.  Pray that God will guide them in their efforts to restore her to good health!
7)  Pray for her lymphatic system to heal quickly.
8)  Continue to pray for Sarah and I to have strength and peace for the road ahead!

God is good!  All the time!  All the time!  God is good!

Daddy Scott

Miss Kim, Emma's nurse practitioner, placed this bow on her after they got done putting in her new "pigtail."

Sleepy little princess. :-)

9 comments:

  1. Scott and Sara-
    I have been watching the blog daily since before Emma was even born. I just wanted you to know that all of you are in my thoughts and prayers every day. I can't imagine what you are going through, but just know that our God is good and there is nothing that He can't do. There are so many people praying for Emma and for the two of you. My lifegroup and coworkers ask almost daily for an Emma update. Thank you for sharing this journey with us so that we know exactly what to pray for. Michaelanne Fentem

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  2. God is shining through Emma! So proud of her and how hard she is fighting. May God give you the strength and the peace to carry on...one minute at a time.

    Love , The Steele Family

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  3. That sweet sweet baby!!!! So thankful things are going better. Our thoughts and prayers continue. Kendall and Darla

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  4. Scott and Sarah,
    I watch the post daily and keep you all in my prayers. Our new pastor has routine prayer with our staff and you all are lifted up daily! I am so glad to see and hear things are going better. Will be so happy to see little Emma for real some day. Love you all and will continue to keep up with the posts.

    Donna Jo

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  5. God is good he has some very amazing plans for Miss Emma. Thank you for letting us all know how she is doing. We are also praying for your hearts as well.

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  6. Happy 1 month to little Emma!
    Glad you have had better days! God is in control. Know you are being prayed for!
    Angie-Ada

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  7. Sarah & Scott,
    Just touching base with you to assure you that Stratford and Sandy & I are keeping up with you and darling Emma. You are continuously in our prayers & it's wonderful to know how faith can strengthen and support us!!
    In Him,
    Charlie & Sandy Baumann

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  8. GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS

    I cried, "God, Emma's heart is not quite full,
    I'll give her some of mine!"

    "No, grandmother," the Father said,
    I just need lots more time."

    And so I waited, on and on,
    to see what He would do;

    And I have to tell you, sometimes then,
    My own heart broke in two.

    Through pumps and tubes, IV's and lines,
    I searched for that tiny child,

    'Til one day, when I saw her face,
    My own heart beat and smiled;

    For on her face I saw a look
    I'd never seen before,

    She was looking right at me, as if
    To say, "I can handle more."

    And so she did, and so she does,
    And still she battles on;

    As her Dad and Mom pray and read,
    And even sing her songs,

    The days turn into weeks, a month,
    I pray, "It's been too long!"

    But God smiles at me, and calmly says,
    "You really must be strong.

    "I told them once, long ago,
    That a little child would lead,

    "See, your grandchild in this crib,
    Gives all the faith you need."

    So now I look into her face,
    Through lines, IV's, and things,

    And realize that the noise I hear,
    Is my heart as it sings.

    For God is good all the time,
    And all the time He's good.

    And His light shining through her eyes
    Reminds me that I should...

    Rejoice in all the folks who pray
    For our sweet Princess now,

    And thank the Father up above
    That Emma taught them how!

    --Nana
    Isaiah 11:6 -
    "...and a little child shall lead them."

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  9. Emma is such a sweet little thing! She looks like she is filling out. Your family is in our daily thoughts and prayers!

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