Thursday Evening Update

Hi Everyone,

I wish I could tell you something different, but Lauren is still sleeping. My Mom, Dad, and sister came to visit yesterday and today. My Mom and Dad went to dinner with Sis and Bruce and stayed overnight with them. Linda, Lauren, and I had a slumber party in her room. Linda and I slept in recliner chairs and Wo was in her nice, comfy, warm bed. It is super warm because she has what is called a bear hugger laying over her. It is an inflatable blanket that has a fan running through it with warm air. Her body temp is rather cold because all of her blood is filtering through the dialysis machine. We all feel like we are sitting in a sauna. Linda tried her hardest to get Lauren to wake up with her loud voice, but it didn't work. We all take turns talking to her to try and get a response. She does grimace and frown when she gets her mouth cleaned or her vent suctioned. They also reposition her every two hours so she doesn't get sores. They have a cloth under her called a lift sheet. It has straps that they hook to metal things coming from the ceiling. It lifts her off the bed and she hangs like she is in giant sling while they pull pillows out from under her and place them in different spots. They can also pull her up higher in the bed because she tends to slide down. She opens her eyes often when she is lifted off the bed. Just like with her previous surgery, she is very swollen. They are now running the dialysis so that it is taking more liquid off her than they are putting in, so hopefully some of her swelling will go down. They have to watch her so closely because if they take off too much fluid her blood pressure can drop. She is still getting blood products to help with her platelets and clotting factors. It is so complicated with all the stuff they are doing and what can go wrong. I am trying to stay strong for her and remain positive. We all are. It doesn't help one bit to fall apart and be crying all the time. We all try to laugh and keep a positive attitude around Lauren and let her know how much we love her. We want her to come back to us so much. I am here in the room by myself with her tonight. Her nurse is never far away. She still has her own nurse every day. We saw Dr. Sonnenday today and he said that today was not a great day. She didn't get worse, but she didn't get better either. Mark thinks she will wake up tomorrow. I sure hope he is right. Mark and Gio will be coming back for the weekend tomorrow. I know it about kills them both to be so far away from Lauren. I told Wo she better wake up so she doesn't have to listen to Mark read the newspaper to her again!! Please continue to pray for our sweet girl. We miss her voice and beautiful smile so much.

We can't wait to see that beautiful smile again.