A Momentary Setback

Dear Friends,

Grace has had a momentary setback today so please keep praying. Last night her oxygen level, which should be at 90-100%, continued to drop below 75% throughout the night which caused the nurses to give her oxygen. Last night they just had it blowing by her face but this morning they decided to give her oxygen through her nose.

We have experienced several other problems. First, her pacemaker seems not to be picking up the atrium beat and is compensating for it by pacing another beat. This causes two upper chamber beats. It is important to address this but it is not life-threatening.

Secondly, her stomach is swollen (distended) which is causing her pain. They thought that it was because her stomach was not recovering as quickly from the anesthesia. They put a tube through her nose down into her stomach to drain her stomach and relieve the gas pains she was having. Her stomach is much less swollen this evening but they still have the tube in her nose. They also have her on a feeding tube and won't let her eat again at least until tomorrow.

Thirdly, they took an x-ray of her lungs and abdomen and saw that there was some fluid build-up around her lungs. They realized that they needed to put her on a diuretic so she can expel the excess fluid in her body. However, they also had to give her fluid because she was dehydrated (It seems counterintuitive but it is a delicate balance between the two). They are doing that now.

Also, they drew blood for labs and noticed that her red blood count was low and her white blood count was high so they had to give her blood. Before anyone freaks out, I donated blood last Friday just in case specifically to be given to Grace. They have given her my blood. They believe she has an infection around her stomach but not necessarily in her stomach but they are still doing follow-up labs and tests. They are also putting her on an antibiotic.

Finally, the issue that caused her to have the pacemaker, the long QT interval, still may be an issue. The doctor ran an EKG today and will see if she needs further medication. If so they will put her on a beta-blocker and keep her in the hospital for a short time to see if she is having any negative reactions to the medication. We won't know that for sure until the cardiologist checks on her and also addresses the other pacemaker issues.

The initial plan was for grace to be back by yesterday or at the latest today (Friday). Our hope now is that she will be released sometime this weekend after all these issues are addressed. Jenn and I are at her bedside other than shift changes (such as now). However, there are indications she could be in there for as long as a week to ten days.

As of now, none of these issues are life-threatening but they could become so if they are not addressed. Things could cascade downward if things don't improve over the next couple days. We know that she is in good hands because she is in the hands of our loving Heavenly Father. God is watching over her and has directed us to the best medical doctors and the best facilities in Southern California. The medical staff has been wonderfully attentive and concerned about these issues and have withheld nothing in caring for Grace. I am so grateful for the wonderful insurance that we have through Jenn's work that has covered all but a small fraction of the costs.

Keep on Praying.

With Love,

David and Jennifer