Update on Vivian - 7/9

Today has been a mixed day for Vivian, though I would venture to say that the positive aspects have far outweighed the negative.

The best news I have to report is that this afternoon Vivian acted very much like I would expect Vivian to act if she awakened in a strange place, with tubes in her nose, with her arms restrained and with much pain in her left arm and throat, i.e., she was NOT happy. I've never been so glad to see Vivian unhappy, however, because it was the strongest sign I've seen yet of her regular self.

Robert, my mom and I met with Dr. Matson for a long update today. Vivian's latest chest x-ray, while not optimal, was much improved, especially factoring in her removal from the ventilator. Vivian's fluid levels were largely balanced again, with most of her labwork numbers approaching normal levels. Dr. Matson plans to aggressively begin removing Vivian from the various medications she has been receiving while hospitalized. All of this is in anticipation of discharging Vivian to a children's rehabilitation hospital, hopefully early next week. Dr. Matson does not see any reason to perform an MRI or EEG on Vivian right now because he thinks the best measure of her capabilities will be to see what can be accomplished in intensive rehabilative therapy.

Dr. Sandell, the wonderful compassionate doctor who admitted Vivian to the PICU two weeks ago, returned today after a week's vacation. She was clearly delighted to see that Vivian was off the ventilator and in such better health. Her reaction was a welcome reminder of how far Vivian has come.

The most difficult part of the day came in the late afternoon and evening when Vivian became quite restless and agitated. It was not clear whether this was due to pain or to withdrawal from her medications, as they can present similarly. Vivian's left arm, however, became increasingly swollen and hot, likely due to her thrashing around, and when I pressed Vivian about what was hurting, she was able to say "arm." Vivian also ran a fever of about 101. Dr. Fanning ordered a dose of morphine in addition to some Toradol, and he restarted her antibiotics. Vivian is now resting very quietly. She has an exceptional nurse named Susan caring for her tonight which enables me to go home feeling confident that Vivian will be in good hands.

I don't pretend to understand the efficacy of prayer, but clearly your petitions to our Heavenly Father are yielding results. Please offer praise that we are seeing positive signs that Vivian will recover. Kindly ask God to provide Vivian with relief from her pain, to heal her left arm, and to enable her to come off of as many medications as necessary so that she can be transferred to a rehabiliation facility. Continue to pray for the health and recovery of Vivian's brain.

I am humbled and amazed at the outpouring of support our family has received. Your prayers and your love have sustained us through this difficult time. Thank you.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1