Day 1 update...

Averi is pretty much the same as yesterday. So far things are good. Her blood pressure was up and down this morning, but they have found the right balance of settings and it has stabilized. She is now on morphine because she moved her legs a little. Her sats are also fluctuating a bit, which is also normal.

They did find out that the stomach, bowel, spleen, and a small amount of the liver were up in the chest cavity.

Averi has had her first post surgical chest x-ray, and it showed that her right side was worse today than it was yesterday. The nurse said that she probably needs a chest tube, as the lung is hazy with fluid, but right now it is too risky because she is on heparin. The benefit doesn't outweigh the risk, so they are keeping an eye on it. (I should probably mention that nurses often have opinions on things and that those opinions may or may not reflect something the doctor has said... so this doesn't mean the doctor is wishing he could do a chest tube.)

To treat the fluid in the lungs, they are suctioning periodically, and also giving her a diuretic called diamox. Right now she is peeing really well, and her input/output ratio is good. (They know how much fluid is going into her, and they weigh all of her diapers to determine how much is coming out. If the output is more than her input, it indicates that some of the excess fluid is being drained.)

The doctor came in to take over for the ECMO nurse while she went on break, so Teresa and Kevin were able to pepper him with questions and get answers. He has a plan of attack, and at this point he is really happy with where Averi is. T & K are satisfied with the plan, too. He showed them the x-ray, and at this point, it doesn't look like she has much left lung at all. However, both the surgeon and the pediatric attending physician were optimistic about what they saw during surgery. That might mean that there is more lung there but that it hasn't expanded yet. PRAY for that little lung to grow and fill with air!!