Looking Good and Fiesty!

Today has been a long day. After the troubles this morning, Kyara has been stable the rest of the day. She has even broken through the medications a couple of times and opened her eyes. She gets quite fiesty and the nurses have nicknamed her Houdini because she has escaped their restraints a couple of times. They have her in soft restraints because of the breathing tube, NG tube, and chest tube. When she breaks through the medicines, she tries to pull the tubes out! Understandable...I wouldn't want tubes down my nose and throat either!

She is quite swollen in the face, hands, and feet. The nurses say this is from a fluid shift. They are giving her lots of fluids, and right now her body is not "processing" them. It just makes her look very puffy. They plan to give her Lasix tomorrow to help her pee these fluids off. She still has fluid pooling over her right lung. When the nurses turn her to that side, a lot of fluid drains off. This leads them to believe the chest tube was the right thing to do this morning and that she is not ready to have it taken out yet. We will see how she does tonight and in the morning. The doctors had discussed placing a PIC line in her, too, but when the nurse came with the ultrasound machine to find a good vein, she was unable to find one that was large enough to hold the catheter. Kyara has had 2 lines before and the sites have created some scar tissue which limited the places she could use for a line. The doctors are going to discuss how to address this and hopefully I will know something tomorrow morning. she still has 3 IV sites, so it is not a major problem right now. The good thing about the PIC lines is that they are more stable (secure), they can be used to draw blood from, and the TPN (IV food) doesn't hurt the veins in the PIC line like it does through an IV. The doctors said there are still other options, so we will see what they decide.

We are number one on the waiting list at Ronald McDonald House, so hopefully it will open soon. Some people have asked about sending Kyara cards...because she is changing rooms so often, it would be best to wait until we either get on the main floor or in the Ronald McDonald House. I will post an address as soon as I know something. Sorry about the delay, I would hate for anything to get lost; it is a HUGE hospital!

I have been at the hospital most of the day today, my mom is there with Kyara now. I am going to get some sleep before another big day tomorrow. The doctors make rounds around 7:00am, so I plan on getting to the hospital around 6:00am. I don't want to miss the doctors! I have heard some rumblings that they may extubate (take out her breathing tube) tomorrow night. We will see....Keep your fingers crossed!

Thank you for all of the sweet comments on Kyara's blog. I have really enjoyed reading them and they have really lifted my spirits! I have read them to Kyara, and I will read them to her again when she wakes. Thank you, we love you!