Yes, we have already posted twice today, but we couldn’t resist sharing this video with you. Please note that it does require a high speed Internet connection to view.
 
We ask that you pray for Ella’s upcoming x-ray, and possible procedure related to her superior vena cava, scheduled for tomorrow (Monday).
 
Have a good night all.
 
UPDATE (1:30am EST): Just called on our baby girl. She’s doing better then last night, not as good as earlier, but good enough for us to get some rest. Praying for peace and comfort for our baby girl.

Ella did better this afternoon. Her stats looked good and she only fussed a few times while we were there. Tell you one thing, you couldn’t peel Grandma off her for nothing! Dr. Kays went to introduce himself but Grandma didn’t dare take her hands off Ella. She stood there in that position (see picture) for almost 2 hours! =)
 
Ella was really awake too. Her eyes were wide and bright and she was really engaging her audience. Angie hung Ramona the monkey above her for her to look at. How sweet is that.
 
It is always so great having Angie as her nurse. It really puts the parents at ease. It’s hard when Ella has a new nurse who’s not had her before. It’s takes them a bit to acclimate to her required treatment. Angie is just so attentive, plus you can see how she really cares for our baby girl!
 
I’ve calmed down after talking to Dr. Kays. Just having the information in his head, plus getting a feel for where he is at, puts me at ease. I’m just hoping that the communication will improve as we move forward. Having a brief phone call with him yesterday would have helped me a lot.
 
My beautiful wife isn’t doing so hot though. The bummer news is that her infection has come back again. We weren’t totally sure last night, but the pain and slight fever have confirmed it. At the moment, Tina is taking a much needed rest in bed and Grandma is socked out on the couch with Pumps.
 
Please pray for healing in Tina’s body and for our baby girl’s possible procedure tomorrow. We hope that when she has the x-ray they decide that the vein has resolved itself, but we’re ready for her to have the procedure if necessary.
 
Thanks again for all the prayer, love, and support. You all have made such a difference. God Bless!
 
UPDATE (6:45pm EST): Just spoke to nurse Angie on the phone. Ella has been sleeping ever since we left and her blood gases (cO2=44 / O2=107) and O2 saturations (99-100%) look real good . She really hasn’t required much suction either which is a positive sign. Thank you Lord Jesus for this incredible gift that is Ella Renae. May You continue to be glorified through all these circumstances! Amen.

UPDATE (7:30am EST): Shift change at the NICU and nurse Angie is on. I just feel better knowing she is there. Ella is doing a bit better right now, her stats are going in the right direction, but she’s still having a lot of secretions in her lungs. Going to catch a few more zzz’s, if I can, and then we’ll update after we see her this morning.

UPDATE (11:00am EST): Ella is doing better this morning. She’s been awake and looking around for the last couple hours. She’s only needed to be suctioned once. Another blood gas test was done and she’s definitely doing better. Nurse Angie was concerned about the O2 levels in her brain though, so she paged Dr. Kays. He made some adjustments to the ventilator, and her O2 saturations have come back up to 100%.

Dr. Kays is still in surgery so we’ve not had a chance to meet with him. Hoping to this afternoon so we can share more details. Daddy’s breathing a bit easier this morning though. Thank you Lord for your hands that hold our little girl.

UPDATE (1:30pm EST): We finally got to speak to Dr. Kays. He still feels good with her overall progress, but there is concern with her symptoms that show a possible restricted superior vena cava. It could be a clot, but he believes that that vein has become inflamed from having the ECMO cannula inserted into it. This inflammation would cause the vein to constrict, which in turn would cause her fluids to back up. This is also the reason for the large amount of fluid coming out of her chest cavity.

He would really like to verify that this is in fact the problem, and the only way to do this is with an x-ray using contrast. The challenge is, they cannot perform this procedure in the NICU. They will need to move Ella down to radiology for this procedure. The fact that Ella has had her surgery makes this move a little less risky, but they will still need to be careful.

Once they move her down, they will perform the x-ray to determine the state of her veins. If they do see that the vein is restricted, they will insert a balloon to open it up. There are risks involved with this procedure, just like any procedure, but we pray that she’ll come through it without any issues.

Mom and Grandma are spending time with her now (only 2 visitors in the NICU at once). Her stats have been more stable now then they were last night and she looks more calm. She continues to wake up and look at her surroundings.

Tina just came out so I’m going in to take some pics and video.