So, birth is traumatic enough! And as you know, Ella has a condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. So as soon as she was born, she was unable to breathe due to her underdeveloped lungs. This is the entire reason that we came to Florida – – so that Dr. Kays and his team could work on Ella and give her the best chance of survival.
 
Upon birth and within the first few hours of life, Ella’s biggest challenge is the amount of carbon dioxide in her system. The ventilators were doing a great job at making sure that her body and brain were receiving enough oxygen. Yet, since her lungs are so immature, she is having a tough time getting the carbon dioxide out of her system. Her levels were too high. For a baby, they should be around 60-70 – – she is at 130.
 
So each hour, they have been monitoring her vitals: heart rate, blood pressure (don’t want too much hypertension from the additional stress this condition places on her heart trying to pump the blood to the lungs), oxygen levels in her brain and body, pH levels, etc. They are working diligently with 24/7 monitoring and care to try their best to stabilize her. They want to stabilize her before they perform surgery.
 
She is very sick and has done well adjusting to the various therapies and medications during this first day. Continue to pray that her vitals will improve and that she can be stablized without requiring ECMO. Keep in mind that it is very likely that Ella will need ECMO at some point during her recovery. However, her recovery will be significantly delayed and make her fight for life even tougher, if she has to go on ECMO prior to surgery, where they move the contents from her chest to her abdomen.
 
We just checked on Ella before we decided to go to bed. Her carbon dioxide levels improved, but then it swayed the amount of oxygen she was receiving in her body. So, better progress on one vital sign, but it threw off another. We have asked God to watch over her throughout the night as she fights.