Good Progress Today!

Hi everyone,

Today I got to sit in Ella's room a lot and see how the nurses took care of her. We haven't gone into her room a ton because we didn't want to be in the way, but today I sat in the back and watched and listened to what Ella experiences every day.

We have quite a few updates:

-Ella had a brain bleed yesterday and it was categorized as a grade two bleed but has unfortunately gone up to a grade three. We don't want it to get any larger or it has potential for brain damage... (I know... just add it to the list 😊) Also, when the daytime doctor arrived this morning, he noticed that she has swelling in her cheeks and neck that wasn't there yesterday. We had an ultrasound done today and found that this swelling is due to a blood clot near her IVs. They decided to take out two of her IVs this evening. One in her neck and one that was in her armpit. They are hoping that by removing these, the blood clots will be able to move and break apart on their own. They don't want to give her any blood thinners because of the bleeding in the brain. So please pray for this to work as we hope.

-Ella has been getting weaned off of the ventilator! The doctor said that she is setting herself up nicely to have it removed on Tuesday! We have learned that all of the dates that are given to us for different things are flexible and depend on her condition, so it may not actually be on Tuesday, but it would be amazing if it was! I am so excited to see her face a little more and kiss her little lips and nose again. It was sad to see her sad and cry but no sound come out. Once this is out, I'm sure she will be letting us know when she's upset! She's a little spitfire!

-Her urine output has improved which is going to help with her swelling. They upped her diuretic today and she did great! It was so weird hearing that she was going on Lasix because that's what we gave to Eli for his heart for the first year of his life. It was almost as if we forgot about that! Funny how things trigger memories.

-The nurses are now giving Ella 1mL of breast milk an hour!!! She has been responding well to this! It is a teeny amount, but I am just excited that something that I am doing (pumping) is helping her!

-The amount of the painkiller that they've been giving to her has been cut in half so she's a lot more alert which has been good to see. Matt and I were able to see her eyes a lot more and have her grab our fingers more today. It was sweet to see her eyes!!!

-Ella's left lung has had a little bit of a collapse so they removed the left chest tube to help make more room for the lung to expand.

-Her liver numbers are stabilizing and getting better all of the time!!!

Lots going on, but not all bad! The nurses were really happy with the progress she's made today. We have taken little steps in the right direction! Please pray for the blood in the brain to subside, the clots to remove themselves, and for Ella's oxygen levels to improve so that the swelling goes down.

We are thankful for all of our prayer warriors out there! God is doing amazing things through our little girl already. We have seen light in the midst of darkness for sure! We can't wait to see what else He has in store for her!!💜