DISCHARGED!!!

We are just waiting for the paperwork at the hospital and then we will be on our way home. Avery's oxygen was hanging at 87-91%, which was on the low side, when she was napping. But awake she was easily at 95% or above. The funny thing is that as soon as they took all the stuff off her - oxygen sensor, canula, and PICC line - she absolutely pinked right up. Sarah is beyond happy about going home. I will stay in the background as they are back together as family. Abby will go to daycare again tomorrow so that will make it easy on Sarah to concentrate on taking care of Avery. I will mostly be able to help out as needed -- and be home again. It is good in ever so many ways....

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Please remember all those other little ones with this RSV. Their little lungs just can't handle it so let's remember them all.

update

Avery is completely off the ventilator and the tube is out. She is breathing on her own and doing well. Last night she was also given a pacifier and she could both breathe and suck, which is a requirement for release. She is still on oxygen, but that is a small price. I am SO happy! I am going out there today. It will be good to see all of them with my own eyes.

Keep praying, as we want Avery to be strong when she comes home. Thank you!

The rollercoaster

Seems like it is 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Yesterday Avery's chest x-ray showed that her right lung was completely filled with fluid. As if that were not enough, she now has H flu, which is something that kids at daycare can get but they are vaccinated against it. She is too young for the vaccination, so they are giving her antiobiotics for 2 days. Sarah says the drs are not too worried about it.

But then the morning report was better again. The BIG news is that Avery is off the ventilator. She is breathing on her own, which is AWESOME! Apparently they are going to remove the tube this afternoon. She will have some steroids first so that it won't be so hard on her. She has had one dose already. There is some thought that the tube may be exacerbating her lung problem.

And the other BIG news is that Sarah got to hold her last night. It was a precious time for both of them. Her heart rate just leveled off when she was in Sarah's arms. There is truth to that theory of the connection between a mother and a child....

Again, I thank all of you for your prayers and words of support. We are thankful for this morning's good news and ask for your continued prayers for the family, as Avery heals.

Yay!

Avery is doing better! The ventilator is set at 30 breaths per minute and she is doing 50, which is good. Apparently she had a lung infection AND part of her right lung collapsed. It is healing. They will be coming home sometime. In the meantime, I will be there by the weekend, to help with Abby -- and to do the laundry.... Thank you for all the prayers and support. She, and all the other little ones who have this virus, need your continued prayers as they heal and get stronger.

Good News!!

Ah, yes, the power of hundreds and hundreds of people remembering other people in prayer....

As of a couple of hours ago, the doctors have said that Avery no longer has the stiffening and they are no longer worried about the possible brain damage. They have just placed a new feeding tube in her, bypassing the stomach? I think that is what Sarah said. And they have also place a PICC line in -- an IV that goes directly into the heart. They expect that she will need the IV for another week. So, from this end, I will just wait until we know more about when she will go home before I make plans to go back out there.

Thank you for your prayers and support. I know we will all keep on praying. Please also remember all the other little littles who are suffering from this virus this year.

Avery update

It is hard being this far away from family, especially when they are in distress. The good news is that yesterday they cut Avery's oxygen level from 100% to 55%. This means that part of the breathing is being done by Avery. I am sure that over the next few days they will be weaning her off the ventilator. That will mean she will be less sedated too. She did open her eyes yesterday.

Abby was able to go and see Avery yesterday. She was a little frightened by all the apparatus, but said, "Shh, baby sleeping. Hi baby!" Sarah said the staff was fabulous with her, even giving her a beanie baby and a couple of other toys that she can keep. We will certainly be giving back to the hospital after Avery comes home.

Avery is still being suctioned. She is so little that I have no idea where all the junk is coming from! The most frightening thing, for me, is that she has some of what the doctors call stiffening, which is a sign of possible brain damage. We are hoping and praying that all will be well but sometimes things seem bleak.

Another good thing is that George does not have to go back to work today. He got word from the owner of the company for which he works that he can take the time he needs. I wish all employers were like this! I, for one, am SO thankful. I know that it takes a lot of pressure off of both of them.

So, while our little Avery is not really out of the woods yet, she is still fighting. And we are still praying mightily.....

more on avery

I wonder how many tears a person can produce. Seems like I have spent a lot of time crying in the last twelve hours. Ever since Avery went into the hospital on Wednesday, she has been on oxygen. The oxygen monitors kept going off because her oxygen saturation went down below the safe zone. We found out she has apnea, which is (hopefully) a treatable thing at this point. Avery got transferred to an infant ICU at about 4 PM our time yesterday. She just could not breathe. She went downhill in a matter of moments - she turned blue. She was intubated and then the doctors asked Sarah for permission to do some blood work and a lumbar puncture. They think she has a secondary infection. I do not know the results of this at this time. What I do know is that she is now quite heavily sedated. And maybe, between the ventilator and the sedation, her little body will get a chance to rest and heal. One positive: Thursday and Friday she had taken the bottle from Sarah, who has been pumping to provide for Avery, and was up to 7 lbs 9 oz. So that little bit of weight gain should help her too. Please pray for all of them and the doctors and nurses too, as they work to help our little girl heal.

I will be going back out there to help them. We are just going to take things day by day, as to when I will go. Sarah said that her condition seems to just change so quickly. Yesterday morning she was doing so well and then suddenly she wasn't. So, we don't know how it is that these things work exactly but we do know that God is in control.

Meanwhile, if you want to know a little more about this disease Avery has, check out this website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bronchiolitis/DS00481

Back home, but...

We made it home on Wednesday, Feb. 4th. But that day, shortly after we left Sarah and George's, Avery was admitted to the hospital with bronchiolitis, caused by RSV, a respiratory virus. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't eat -- her lips were purple. Tuesday she had a stuffy nose and had been at the dr; 24 hours later she had lost 7 oz. It is tough. Thursday she was moved to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital for a higher level of care. She was on oxygen, IV, and had mega-suctioning going on. As of now, as far as I know, the IV has been removed. They can go home when she has gone 24 hours without IV, oxygen, or suctioning. So the time is not yet... Sarah is tired and wants to go home but won't leave Avery. Abby has come to the hospital but they have not let her see Avery. She gives her mommy LONG hugs every time they come up. She has been staying with George's folks, who live just a couple of miles away from Sarah and George. It is hard to be here, so far from what is happening. But we are confident that each day Avery is stronger and more able to cope. We look forward to hearing that they can go home. In the meantime, we are praying like crazy!