August 21, 2006
Dear Folks,
We praise our mighty Lord for the great things He is doing! We come to you with hearts less burdened after a difficult Thursday and Friday. In our hour of need, our Father sustained us and carried our burdens as He promised. Your prayers truly helped sustain us and our little Alison.
Thursday was a difficult day of ups and downs for our precious daughter. The doctors worked with Alison to try to begin to wean her from her oxygen and she did not respond well. So her attending neonatologist valiantly backed up a little and began a different path of treatment Friday and our little girl began to respond.
Friday afternoon brought a welcome sense of relief for Stephanie and me as Alison began to stabilize, rather than decline as she had Thursday afternoon. As Stephanie earlier reported, Alison’s oxygen support returned to 95 after dipping to 78 earlier in the day. She was eventually raised to 100 percent to provide her body the oxygen it needed. Her tiny body continued to swell—which was a painful sight. But this turn of events gave the doctors needed information to help figure out exactly what treatment Alison needed.
A slew of tests were ordered for our precious daughter that provided fresh insight into her condition. An echo test was ordered to first check the status of her ongoing bout with the pulmonary hypertension. Alison’s doctors said the results showed that the pulmonary hypertension was receding. Her attending neonatologist and cardiologist ordered that her blood pressure medicine be reduced in small increments to see how she would react. A lasix therapy was ordered to help reduce the swelling in her body. A chest x-ray was ordered to check the status of her lungs. From the x-ray results, her doctor ordered a steroid therapy to help reduce the tissue swelling in her lungs from the oscillating ventilator. A renal ultrasound and a cranial ultrasound were also ordered.
As we were preparing to eat dinner Friday at the hospital, Alison’s neurologist excitedly called and told us that her cranial ultrasound had shown no hemorrhaging and good matricular flow throughout her brain (an answered prayer).
The renal ultrasound showed that her kidneys, liver and intestines were functioning properly (an answered prayer).
Alison’s neonatologist also began to reduce the use and treatment with the paralytic that had so worried her neurologist, Stephanie and me.
Saturday brought about a new day of hope as Alison responded well to the slow weaning of the medicines used to treat the pulmonary hypertension. Her blood pressure and blood gas remained stable, so the doctors removed Alison from the oscillating ventilator and put her on a conventional ventilator (an answered prayer). This change helped end the aggravation to her lungs that the oscillating ventilator can cause. It also allowed the use of the paralytic to be discontinued and we were able to see our daughter move her hands and feet (an answered prayer). Further, her blood gas began to stabilize and then slowly climb.
The doctors continued to wean her blood pressure medicine and, eventually, the use of one of the medicines was discontinued. Her relative stability after being removed from the oscillating ventilator and reduction of the blood pressure medicines led the doctors to believe that her pulmonary hypertension had subsided.
This led the doctors to believe that most of Alison’s continued struggles were mainly related to her lungs. She potentially has neonatal chronic lung disease, which can be treated over time (hopefully with minimal long-term problems). Her steroid therapy and lasix therapy were increased and we were told it would take 10-15 days for the lung tissue inflammation to recede. The one side-effect of the steroid therapy is that it increases the chance of an infection for our daughter. Please pray for the continued healing of Alison’s lungs and the steroid therapy.
Alison’s cardiologist said that the pulmonary hypertension was clinically gone (an answered prayer). In the place of the paralytic that had helped limit Alison’s movement while she was on the oscillating ventilator, the doctors are now prescribing a non-narcotic to help her sleep (an answered prayer). Her oxygen content and her blood gas have continued to slowly climb (an answered prayer).
Sunday, the attending neonatologist continued to wean Alison from her last blood pressure medicine and her dependence on the nitric oxide that was necessary to help treat the pulmonary hypertension. Her treatment with the nitric oxide was reduced from 20 units to one over several hours (an answered prayer). The nurses began to move her little arms and legs to help assist her body in reducing the swelling. Her blood gas and vital signs remained stable and moved up and down a little throughout the day.
Alison opened her eyes for her daddy for the first time Sunday morning. I was able to put my index finger under her hand and she then squeezed my finger. It truly made me cry out with thanksgiving to our Father in Heaven!
Stephanie and I stood by her and watched with amazement as the nurses allowed our daughter to begin to slowly awaken from a long sleep. We were able to see her make a pouty face and move her legs for the first time. Praise be to the Lord!
Today, our daughter celebrated her two-week birthday! Her attending neonatologist gave her the day off to rest and let her body continue to adjust and gain strength from her valiant work on Saturday and Sunday. Her vital signs and blood gas continued to rise ever so slightly, so our Alison will begin her journey anew tomorrow. Please pray that she will be able to maintain her momentum from the weekend. In addition, please pray for her little lungs and brain that the Lord will continue to bless her body with His healing touch.
We continue to sing the praises of Alison’s doctors, specialists and nurses. They are caring professionals who have gone above and beyond in their care for our daughter. Baton Rouge is truly blessed to have Woman’s Hospital located here. Please continue to pray for added strength, love and wisdom for these gentle folks as they continue to work with our daughter. To our daughter’s health professionals, Stephanie and I are truly grateful for what you are doing for our precious Alison.
We continue to depend on your beautiful prayers to our Lord on our behalf. The Lord has honored your prayers by touching our little girl and helping her weakened body to heal. The journey is still underway and Alison is still considered critical. But she is now stable and slowly improving, and we owe you a debt of gratitude for your continued investment in our daughter and family. Once again, thank you for what you are doing on a daily basis on our behalf. Please continue to pray for us and our little girl.
Blessings to you,
Langston and Stephanie
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