Gracie was having a bleed out of her chest since surgery this morning so Dr. Birch came in this evening at about 5:30 to open her chest back up (her chest is always open but they sew a patch on to her opening and then cover it with a dressing, so opening up her chest entails taking the dressing off and removing the patch) He worked on her for about one hour and tried to find the source of the bleed. He found it and cotterized it. He thinks that will fix the problem.
One of the tests they were going to do on her was to test her thyroid. The results came back and the low side of normal is around .75 and she was around .56. A low thyroid can effect the ability of her heart muscle to squeeze. Babies do not usually have a low thyroid so they have to get her the thyroid medicine from the U of U. They will start to give that to her in the morning and let it run for about 48 hours. This is one of those 'last ditch efforts' I was talking about earlier. They did not expect her thyroid to come back low but it did which, if her medicine works, could be a good thing for her.
At about 6:45, Dr. Kouretas (the one who did her main surgery and the one who was here in the middle of the night to put her on ECMO) came in and checked on Gracie and came over and talked to us about Gracie's next few days. He said he had talked to Dr. Hawkins (the doctor who did her procedure earlier this morning) and that they were both on the same page in their thinking. He gave us a glimmer of hope. He said it was good that she had a pulse pressure tonight which was actually higher than last night. He also said that yesterday when he heard that they were going to try and take her off of ECMO that he did not think she would, that she was probably not ready yet. So he said we will try to take her off again in 2-3 days and see how she does. He said the chances are not high but that there IS a SMALL chance. He also talked about a heart transplant. He said that may be something we want to look in to. He will be able to give us a better outlook on a transplant after we trial her off again on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Basically, the outlook is not good BUT there is still a glimmer of hope. We will plan for the worst and hope for the best. Thanks again for all of your support!!
16 comments:
Keep the Faith and we will keep up the prayers.
With Hope and Love,
Shauntelle
Kaidence's Mommy
oh we will continue to pray for your angel.
Am I at Lagoon? I feel like I am on a roller coaster. Except we have been given more downs that ups. I hope the medicine helps her heart pump. Could this be the mystery the doctors were trying to figure out? What an amazing miracle that would be. There are miracles out there for sure. I will sleep better tonight. Thanks for the update.
All our Love,
Stef, Rob, Kinsey, Josh, Abbey and Nick.
We are still praying for a miracle, she has been a miracle what ever the outcome is-thanks for the update and we will continue to pray!
Thanks for the updates. We are still thinking and praying for you all!
Thank you so much for keeping us updated on little Gracie and letting us be a part of your journey. We love you and pray for little Gracie everyday. Those pictures are priceless.
We love you,
The Bunkers
Keep up the fight. I know the road is hard but Gracie is so strong. No matter what happens, please know that you have so many that support you and pray for you. The comment about the roller-coaster explains it all too well. We will continue to pray for your sweet Gracie and your family.
Miracles do happen, and Gracie is a testament to that. We continue to pray and hope.
I am with Shauntelle on the faith and prayers. I am so grateful you have felt the abundance of the spirit. Heavenly Father truly is aware of your situation and is surrounding your family with love.
Still sending HUGS and PRAYERS your way,
Christina
We read this post last night right before bed and it brought tears of joy to all of us! We knelt down and thanked Heavenly Father for this "glimmer of hope." Michele, we don't know how you do it, but your posts mean so much to SO many people who care. We feel the spirit so strong as we gather around the computer as a family and look at pictures of Baby Gracie and read both of your words of faith. Tom, the intensity of your love for your girls and the way you have magnified your priesthood has strengthened all of our testimonies and our love and admiration for you. Our prayers for a miracle will never cease, but even more importantly we pray for your peace and comfort during this emotional journey full of ups and downs.
With TONS OF LOVE!!!
Brendan, Leslie, Jordan, Jake, and Allison
Sometimes a small glimmer of hope becomes a bright beacon. Remember we are all praying for your precious Gracie and your family.
Much Love,
Crystal
www.noahsadventure.com
I'll take it!!! I can't help but smile a little.. Your babies in the car all sleeping together is priceless...
You guys are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing all the information - good and bad. We are hoping for the best with you and will continue to pray for your sweet little girl and your amazing family!
Love,
The Laurence family
Even though I don't post much Tom and Michele, I read your blog, pray all of the time and I too am on the roller coaster, Sunday was a rough day, so glad there is a small glimmer of hope, lots more peace and a few extra days to gear up for the worst and pray for the best. Love you guys. Katie and Family
Michelle, I am reading your blog every day. My prayers are with you,Gracie, and your entire family. Love, Dennis and Cheryl
We check your blog everyday and want to offer our love and prayers for Gracie as she endures the recovery process in the PICU.
Hugs and Prayers,
Mike & Family
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