Sheriff Sarah

Sheriff Sarah

Friday, June 26, 2009

Say goodbye to One More Med

After this week's labs, we are able to remove nystatin from Sarah's daily regimen. It was a four-time-per-day med so that deserves a WOO HOO. It's the small things that bring joy these days.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Further Encouraging News

Patty returned from clinic today with more encouragement. Sarah only needs to have clinic every other week! WOO HOO! She still needs labs completed every week but this is a wonderful sign that everything is going well. She continues to gain weight, eat well and all her liver labs look wonderful. 

We are so encouraged by this news and watching Sarah thrive first hand. She is now moving around the room, though not technically crawling. She scoots herself backwards on her tummy and can turn around in circles. She is able to lay down and sit back up on her own. Right now, she is just in a really fun stage.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

A Short Stay

Good news- it appears the girls will be returning home Wednesday. Sarah has made adequate progress that the docs are convinced the blockage is no longer a problem and is dissipating. She nursed without incident and now her NG tube and monitors have been removed.

While these "surprise" visits to Children's can be exasperating, its important for us to keep in mind that these little hiccups will continue to occur from time to time in Sarah's post-transplant life. The important thing to remember is that we get her care as soon as she shows any signs of sickness so it can be addressed quickly. It is definitely a balancing act.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Evening Update 6/8/09

Here is the latest:

Sarah does have an intestinal blockage of some kind. So, she cannot eat any food / breastmilk until that clears or passes. They already had her on IV fluids anyway and the NG tube has been draining the stomach, so that should expedite the blockage clearing. Patty and the docs don't seem overly concerned and they told her this happens all the time and most people never even know it is happening!. Pretty wild.

I will send another update tomorrow once labs come back to see if they nail down the culprit as bacteria of some kind or a virus. They explained it to me that a blockage only comes about when the intestines stop flexing, thus creating the "backup" that can result in vomiting since there is no place for the food to go.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Kirk

Sarah 11am update

OK, Sarah and Patty finally have a room after over 8 hours in the ER.

Here is where we currently stand: Currently checking stool for CDIF, Rotovirus and white blood counts; docs will be placing an NG tube to clean out her stomach and to clear out the obstruction if one is present. So, as usual, we remain in a holding pattern for the cause. Sarah still has a low-grade fever (100.4) and is simply exhausted trying to stay awake and watch what everyone is doing. Little Miss Curious!

This visit is a little different because of the vomiting. Thank God the liver is functioning normally though.

Thanks for your prayers.

Kirk

Hopping Back on the Rollercoaster!

The latest from Patty: Sarah's lab numbers are high, so they are wondering why: gallbladder, blood clot, infection? Being admitted at Children's again :( Praying for God to quickly reveal reason...

Temp was 101.3 when they checked at 3:30. They have also taken their standard chest x-ray. Sarah was sleeping comfortably when I left, with an IV in her foot. Waiting to see WHAT this is and HOW LONG she may be in the shop.

God be praised. At least we didn't wait for her vomit all SEVEN times!

More later...

Kirk

Sarah Update 2:50am

Firmly planted in the ER at Children's. Sarah's heart rate is 199 and she is very dehydrated after vomiting six times since 1230am. She hasn't had a wet diaper since before 8pm. Right now, her temp is around 99.3 so hard to tell what is causing her problems.

Vomiting Episodes

Sarah has vomited three times in the past hour. She is now dry heaving and we don't know why. The oncall GI doctor said to bring her in if we are concerned. She currently doesn't have a fever but she may have caught something. We need to be on the safe side. Will update more later here and on Facebook.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Latest

As summer heats up, we certainly are wishing we had purchased one of those portable air conditioning units for our house. Yikes - it was 85 degrees on our second floor today. But we are also grateful to the Lord for the sunshine, remembering how cold and snowy this past winter turned out to be. We even ventured out to Red Robin as a family today just to reach some of that A/C!

Sarah continues to thrive. She is going ga-ga over her baby food. So far she is eating rice/oatmeal, green beans, mixed vegetables, carrots and bananas! She continues to put on weight and is closing in on 17 pounds - 16.72 this past Tuesday. And a great bit of news is that we can skip the Thursday blood tests due to her Tac level being so good. 

God has been so good to us and we continue to pray for health over Sarah and the other kiddos and that her body fully accepts this liver for the remainder of her life.