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Monday, October 29, 2012

A fright and a treat!

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It was a rocky start for Ivy today. 
She is not going to allow hurricane Sandy to steal all the attention around here!!!! We have been trying to wake the little pumpkin but you see, trying to wake her is like trying to get full without eating! It's a very fine line. She needs soooo much sedation to be fairly still therefore she still needs vent support. But if they let her get all squirmy, she gets agitated. She panics when she feels the vent breathing for her and this causes all her sats to go wild! That just haven't been able to come up with a happy medium yet. 
Then, we had a huge scare! And I mean huge!
Ivy's blood pressure dropped in to the TEENs, she stopped breathing, and she turned the color of used charcoal. I'm pretty calm about almost all the medical stuff, and I had to run to the bench behind her bed! I had never seen her looking like this before and it was a lot to take in!
I knew right away something was wrong.
I was holding her hand and rubbing her leg as she wiggled and stretched. She was still completely asleep. The nurse had just put her stomach medicine in her line and I noticed she got perfectly still all of a sudden.   I asked her if she paralyzed her again. She said no, that was her stomach medicine. 
I continued to watch her, we both did. She got stiffer and turned dark gray. Her blood pressure was 19, 18, 15, 13....
Before I even noticed, her nurse had pulled the phone from her pocket and made the emergency call. These nurses and doctors are so FAST! She made the call and I don't think I blinked twice and there were 3 doctors and several other medical staff around her bed. I have no idea where they came from! I guess since they were still doing rounds, the timing was right. Anyway, they put something in her line (calcium mag I think) and all waited. They said when you have 13 pumps pumping meds in you at all times, you can get an air bubble in the line and all her meds were collecting behind the bubble.  When the nurse flushed, and gave the stomach meds, it must have moved the bubble through and she got all that had collected at once. Morphine, Adevan, Versed, Ketemine.... all sedative type meds. This nurse is beside Ivy her entire 12 hr shift, she is really thorough and detail oriented. I was told by the floor doctor that this happens all the time, you just don't usually have it happen with a bunch of sedatives. And Ivy is quite small so it shook her up. 
And it sure shook me up!!! 
But she is fine now.
In fact the horror story ends with a huge treat!!! 
They just did an echo and Ivy's Mitral Valve Regurgitation looks far better than they had even expected! 
It looks so good they are going to try again to wean her and this time not worry so much about her LA pressure getting a little high as we wean. They can be sure now that is is caused by agitation and will go away as soon as she is off the ventilator! 
So we are coming off the morphine and versed and then we'll spend the rest of the day slowly coming down off the ventilator! 
Our Rock Star needs a break now!! Goodness! She just amazes me!
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14 comments:

Paige said...

Bless you Mary, my heart stopped just reading,I cannot imagine your emotions!!!
Praying for you both!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Mary, I can't imagine! I think of you all so often and especially you- I wonder at the amazing faith and calm you have and am in awe. Our heart baby had surgery in China- we weren't with her and it's always been so hard for me knowing what she went through with out a Mama and Baba there- and it makes me so thankful to know that sweet Ivy has you right by her side and loving her through it all. Our prayers continue for her to wake as peacefully as possible with her Mama right by her side!

Best,
Antinette Mama to Hadley

Anonymous said...

Wow ,Mary many blessings coming to yours and Ivy"s way!! can"t wait to see her sweet shy smile again!! Had to be so frightening with what went on earlier for all! Praying always,Blessings,Cathy in Illinois!!

Rachel said...

This is such a roller coaster for you all, and God bless you for taking this precious child into your home and hearts. You truly are her angels, and God will most definitely hold a special place for all you and everything you have sacrificed!

I stumbled across your blog looking for adoption stories as I too am adopting. From the moment I started reading I was hooked, and have been ever since. I think so much of little Ivy and pray for her to have a safe and successful recovery!

All the way from the great white north (Canada)...

Bless you all.

Carrie G. in MN said...

I've been following Ivy's amazing story for several weeks now, and I must say I just had goosebumps as I read about your scare today! How awful! I can only imagine how terrified and helpless you must have felt. I'm so, so happy to hear that the doctors were close by and able to get things under control. I'm very glad you're in Boston and getting such amazing care. My daughter and I will both continue to pray for Ivy and your amazing family. We're excited to get our Team Ivy shirts and wear them close to our hearts. Wishing you peace, an uneventful night, and love.

Carrie in Minnesota

sierrasmom said...

You are a rock too and that Ivy is such a fighter!! Glad all is well now!
Kathie

Kristi said...

Oh Mary!! You both need a break!!!! What a horribly frightening thing to have to go through following "two within the past week" major heart surgeries!!!! I agree; adorable little Ivy is not going to let Sandy get all of the attention ;-)
Sweet baby!! So glad her Mitral Valve repair is looking excellent, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carmen said...

Wow Mary, she IS a rock star!! Of course I would be fighting like heck too if I had such a great family to come home to...not to mention a SUPER STAR mama.

Keep trusting and counting it all IVY JOY!

Asking God to give you a big squeeze for us. We are with you in spirit.

DiJo said...

Hey Friend!!!!

I can't wait until it's BORING again for you!!!! Life (and hospital rooms) are never dull with Ivy Joy in them!!!!
I can't even imagine how fast everything happened and how scared you must have been!!!! What a special hospital Ivy is in... They are SO on it!!!! Praying for a boring night!

Love, Diana

ashley said...

Oh Ivy, you are such a brave baby girl. Stay strong and hope to read an update soon that you have woken up. That is just what your mama needs. We all need to see that sweet Ivy Joy smile. Continued prayers.....

Luciana said...

Ugh! Sorry you both went through that. I'm glad all is better now and you're both resting. You're both Rockstars! xo

Jane Klingenberg said...

Oh, Mary! I think I stopped breathing reading your latest post. So thankful to get to the "end" and read the good part!

With love and prayers,

Jane

Laine said...

Praying!!!!! Your little Ivy amazes me too....and really GOD continues to amaze me how He is working in and through her precious life!
I can't wait to read three wonderful words...
"Off the vent"!!!!!!
I remember when we were able to type those for our little Kevin...it was SUCH a relief!
Praying for you all....

John G. said...

Sorry for what you went through Mary. Glad it all turned out well.
We are praying for a speedy recovery for Ivy.

We have no power, water, phone, or tv. We are still thinking and praying for you. We didn't forget you it is just hard to get somewhere to get access. As soon as I could my first thought was to check if you were o.k.

Blessings.
Caroline

 
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