27 days old...

Averi is still critical, but stable. It takes her a bit to recover from things like x-rays and dialysis circuit changes, but as days go by it seems like it is taking her less time to bounce back. They now think that one of the hematomas in her liver is stable, and the other has only grown minimally.

The kids got to see Averi briefly on Christmas Day, but they and Teresa are now showing signs of being sick, so they are all staying away. (Kevin is with Averi.)

...and GREAT news! The left lung has expanded! Kevin heard "good left lung" from one of the residents during rounds last night, and that there are equal upper chest breath sounds.

Pray for Teresa to be healthy, for the other kids to be healthy, and for Averi not to pick up any germs that might be in the air. Pray for continued lung expansion/growth, and increased stability.

26 days old...

(This is as of about 11:15am today) Averi has hematoma in her brain, not actively bleeding and not worse since yesterday. It is on the part of brain that controls motor, but she is still moving/responding. She is too critical to do MRI at this point, though. They have put her on antiseizure meds, and she is being weaned off of Milrinone (a med that was to help with blood flow to extremeties.) BP, HR, sats are good, blood gases have been good.

The Gaynors had a nice time yesterday spending time with their older kids.

Thanks for your prayers! Please continue.....

...and here's a picture of the ECMO machine being wheeled away:

Friday morning (18 days old-DAY 7 on ECMO)

When Teresa and Kevin got to the hospital this morning, Averi's color was very bad. She is also continually awake, despite the fact that they are giving her sedatives that should be helping her rest. The doctor is now saying that things aren't going well and that he wants to consult with some other doctors. The main issue right now is the hematoma in the liver. It is still bleeding, but there is nothing they can do about that while she is on ECMO because of the heparin.

Please stop right now and pray for these doctors as they meet... that the Lord would give them wisdom and understanding. That He would cause them to seek advice outside of the hospital if there are experts out there that can help with this situation.

And lastly, pray for Teresa and Kevin. Pray that they would be given strength beyond measure and peace that passes all understanding.

Thursday morning (17 days old-Day 6 on ECMO)

I just got a text from Teresa indicating that they are worried that there is bleeding in the liver. I don't know the details as to why they suspect this. They are adding a hemofilter to the ECMO machine. Teresa hasn't talked to the doctor yet... just the nurse. Teresa said she's scared. :(

A hemofilter is a type of dialysis that helps to give the kidneys rest. (which will also help get rid of fluid.) The bleeding in the liver is a hematoma from surgery. It can't resolve itself until after ECMO is removed. They haven't changed anything in the vent settings because they want to let dialysis do its thing first.