7/30/09 Band-aid Day

Yesterday was a day of battle and today was a day of rest for Jenna. It was a Band-aid Day. A recap of yesterday goes something like this:

6:00 am 1st "tinkle" diaper-(EUPHORIA...her kidneys aren't dead!)
1:00pm start dialysis
1:20 Jenna spikes a fever (So much for that surgery yesterday to replace a catheter that was supposedly the cause. darn it.)
1:45 Full doses of dopamine necessary to maintain adequate blood pressure (that's not a good start..hang on)
2:00 Additional oxygen in the form of one of those scary bag and mask things to bring her oxygen up to minimal levels (here we go again!)
2:30 A Massive dirty diaper and subsequent bed change (yuk...poor kid).
2:45 Vomit 2X (That's new..not in a good way)
3:00 Doctors consult and decide dialysis is not going well and should be discontinued.
3:15 Jenna's blood is clean but total liquid output is only 200ml, far short of the goal of 500ml. (disappointment with adrenaline still surging from the process)
5:00 Getting ready to leave to attend Kate's party and discover little Jenna is sitting in a BIG pool of blood. Docs are called, fast. The needle/line stuck in her forearm came out. Because of the way she was sitting nobody could see the blood leaking out under her. They stopped the bleeding and cleaned up her bed once again. (we will call that the "cherry on top" of a rough day)

Yesterday left us all on a down note (docs included). The unexpected severity of the reaction to dialysis was a real blow to the progress she had made on other fronts.

So, with strength provided only by God and the support of our family, friends and a top medical staff we picked ourselves up and dusted ourselves off to ready for the fight today. Only there really was NO FIGHT TODAY. (I guess it had been called off and nobody bothered to tell us.) Today was largely uneventful and not blighted by an incidence or two of panic that have become too commonplace. It was a day to regroup, heal and calm down. Today was essentially a Band-aid to wounds and panic of yesterday.

Without the challenge of dialysis, Jenna just looks better. She has more energy and has a chance to be a little get back to "herself". She produced about 5 "tinkle" diapers today with roughly twice the total liquid produced by the dialysis process yesterday. That is great! Her kidneys are waking up, and starting to clear her system of liquid. They are not yet "smart" in the sense they are not cleaning her blood. The docs tell us that could take days, weeks or months. My bet, hope and prayer is that her kidneys will recover sooner than later.

So, as I try to extract a little clarity from the past couple of days, the best I can come up with is that we all have "crosses". The "crosses" are heavier or lighter from time to time. When you fall (and we all do), ask for strength, spit the dirt out of your mouth and get back up. The strength to move forward with hope will come from outside you.

We have now heard at least 2 doctors refer to her as a "miracle". Scientific types in an ICU don't throw these terms around lightly. We know this to be true and are humbled by the experience and so happy for Jenna.

We humbly ask that you continue to give thanks for her progress and pray for an unexplainable, grand recovery for her kidneys. Please pray for the recovery all those little people that are in the care of the special medical staff of Cincy Children's.

Stay tuned and EXPECT GREAT THINGS!