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.

Wednesday Evening Update

Lauren is still asleep. She had a head CT today and it came back negative, so that is good. We are talking to her a lot and trying to get her to wake up. Her numbers are getting better and she is holding her own. I'm sorry, but I am tired. I will try to write more tomorrow.

Tuesday Update

Lauren has been doing fairly well today. We are still waiting for her to become more responsive. She does open her eyes when the nurses turn her. Mark stayed overnight at Bruce and Kristen's and Gio and I slept in the room with her. When Mark came in this morning, Gio and I went down to the cafeteria for breakfast and brought something back for Mark. Bruce and Kristen both came to see her this morning. Bruce had been on-call all night and went home to sleep. Kristen was working in the pre-op holding area today which is in the same building as Wo is. Mark stayed with Lauren while Gio and I went to Bruce and Sis's house to get showers and rest a bit. While we were gone, he showed her some YouTube videos and read all your nice comments to her. When we came back, Sis was already here because she was done with work. She said Dr. Sonnenday and Satish stopped by and thought Lauren was doing well. Mark and Gio left to go home and work for a few days before coming back up. I know that will be so hard for them to be away from Wo, but life has to go on. I think it will be good for them to focus on other things, too. Kristen is sitting next to me in a recliner taking a nap and Lauren is still taking the longest nap ever!!! I wish she would wake up!! They started feeding her through a tube in her nose. If she doesn't digest it, they might have to put a tube in her intestines to give her nourishment. Poor kid hasn't eaten since last Tuesday, so I bet she is starving. We keep telling her to hurry and get better so she can eat pizza. She is still on the ventilator, IVs, and dialysis. My Mom, Dad, and sister are coming to visit and stay a few days. It's nice that I don't have to be alone. Someone is always around. That is about it for now. I will post tonight if anything new happens. If not, it will be tomorrow. Thank you for all the support.

Love,
-Pam

Mon. Afternoon Update

Lauren is back from her trip to the OR. They took the packing out of her, washed her out, checked her liver and all the repairs, and then closed her up. It took a lot of doctors to take her down and bring her back up to the SICU. I think she is priority #1 around this place. She has her own nurse and sometimes two that only take care of her and boy, do they run their butts off!!! They are so amazing. Her nurse today is very happy with her progress since returning from the OR. They have shut off her sedation, so she might wake up. She has had so much that it will take time. Her nurse cleans her mouth with this toothbrush suction thing and Lauren opened her mouth when she asked her to. So, she is hearing us. Lauren still has all of her IVs and is still on continuous dialysis. We want to jump up and down that she is stable, but are scared to be too optimistic. So, we are cautiously optimistic. Please keep praying that Lauren comes back to us and makes a full recovery. Thank you.

Monday Morning

Lauren did well overnight. The liver team was around this morning and Satish (pronounced Sa teesh), the liver fellow and the one that assists Dr. Sonnenday in Lauren's surgeries, said her numbers were improving and that she would go to surgery this morning at around 11. Please pray that things continue to improve. Thanks. I will update after surgery.

-Pam

We Are All Having A Hard Time

The stress of all this can sometimes be unbearable. I think all of us have had a breakdown at one time or another today. I think we are all just so tired. Ryan and Stephanie went home today. Gio and Mark are still here. Dr. Sonnenday told us that some of Lauren's tests are looking a little better. He is planning on taking Wo back to the OR tomorrow to check things out and close her back up. He thought it would be too traumatic for her today. They encourage us to talk to Lauren even though she is sedated and on a ventilator. I think she has 12 IVs running and her dialysis. She is still very sick and if she makes it through this will be recovering in the hospital for a long time. Sis and Bruce have been so helpful in explaining things to us, but it is so hard for them knowing all they do. With all the equipment in Lauren's room, the poor nurses were always bumping into us or vice versa. I don't know what doctor decided Lauren needed a larger room, but they moved her to a huge room that can handle all of her machines plus two chairs and two recliners!!! This way Gio can stay all night with her too. We can all sit back with her and include her in everything, even though she is asleep. Mark read the paper to her today!! He is so good with her. He wipes her face and eyes with soft cloths and talks to her all the time. When the nurses reposition her so she doesn't get bed sores, she opens her eyes. It doesn't look like she is looking at you or anything, but kind of makes her seem more like herself. I guess she can hear us, but once she is woken up, will not remember a thing. I am more tired than I have ever been, so I will leave you for now. I will update after her surgery tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers.

Love,
-Pam

Another Update

Sorry for leaving you all in the air. Lauren is still very sick, but better than yesterday. After her surgery yesterday morning, Dr. S. hoped everything would be ok. He took a vein from Lauren's leg and rebuilt her hepatic artery. She went back to the SICU and was on a ventilator and sedated. At around 5:30 in the early evening, her blood pressure crashed and they thought she was bleeding. They didn't think she would make it to the OR, so luckily Dr. Sonnenday was close by with about 30 other doctors and nurses that sprang into action. They opened her up right in the SICU and repaired an arterial stump that had come loose. They were successful, but we were all sitting at the nurse's station right outside the room watching. I know we were all traumatized and what they show on tv is nothing compared to the feelings you feel when it is your loved one. Even Kristen, who sees trauma all the time, was very upset because it was her sister. Lauren is more stable today, but still very sick. She is on a ventilator and sedated and is also on dialysis to help rid her body of acids. They left her abdomen opened, but packed it and covered it in case of other problems. They will take her to the OR and close her up once she is more stable. The doctors and nurses here are unbelieveable. I hope this helps a little and I'm sorry for not posting sooner.

Love,
-Pam