Around 6:30pm, Ella hit her low point. Her blood gas turned up with cO2 of 120! If that problem was not corrected quickly, it could have been bad.

Fortunately, right before this low point hit, God had ministered to our hearts by reading all the posts on the blog at her bedside. One of them spoke to us so deeply, it seemed as if God himself put the words down. It was the exact right message that we needed to hear.

That provided a peace that was beyond amazing as we entered this scary, unknown situation with Ella.

Right after, Dr. Kays turned the corner. He shared that he was not sure what was going on with her, but something wasn’t right. After thinking about it, he made some changes to her vent, med changes, added antibiotics and told us that he wanted to replace her right chest tube.

Another component that changed today: her urine output slowed down. So, he decided to put the catheter back to start monitoring her fluid output again.

Although fluid in her chest was a partial reason for her condition, he still feels that there is something else going on. He ordered several tests and cultures so that he can rule out infection. One of his theories is that she may have vomited and aspirated some of her feedings.

Something is different based on how she is responding. Josh and I were praying fervently that God will reveal it to Dr. Kays.

He did mention that he might have to give her steroids. It is something that they try not to give babies because some studies in preemie babies have shown that steroids cause slight difference in neurological function when compared to preemie babies that did not have steroids. So if they can avoid it, they do.

About 3 hours later, and especially with all of you praying, Ella has taken steps back to the right path. Her most recent blood gas at 8:35pm and at 10:15pm were much better and her saturations have been near 100.

We had the privilege of watching Dr. Kays in action as he replaced her right chest tube. That was so incredible. Of course to him, that procedure is minor and no big deal. But it still amazes us to see him in action, using his passion and God-gifted talent.

Ella is still on quite a bit of sedation and they are watching her closely. She will be having blood gases every couple of hours to monitor her progress. As long as she can remain stable, he will not have to give her steroids.

Nurse Michelle is working tonight. It is comforting knowing that Ella is in familiar hands!

Dr. Kays admitted that he was surprised and not sure why she had such a turn-around this evening, but he is pleased. We know why she had one.

Thank you so much for praying for Ella. It makes all the difference.

We called to check on Ella this morning, and she’s not doing well. Her cO2 level is way high (89!), with a PH of 7.21. Her pO2 is low too (61). She’s also been fussing quite a bit and showing signs of discomfort.

Dr. Kays has been paged and were waiting to hear back from the nurse.

Even though we wish we could do something, ANYTHING, there is comfort knowing that He’s in control.

Please continue to pray for our baby girl.

UPDATED (10:05am EST): Just received a call from Dr. Kays. He’s going to be performing the sclerosis (scarring) procedure on her lungs immediately. He’s also going to be putting her back on the oscillating ventilator in the hopes of expanding her lungs more.

Dear Lord Jesus, we trust in you, and we surrender to you. She is in your hands. Amen.

UPDATED (12:00pm EST): The Lord just gave me this verse while getting ready to go to the hospital:

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

UPDATED (1:50pm EST): Dr. Kays replaced Ella’s two left chest tubes but did not perform any scarring at this time. He did put her back on the oscillating ventilator for now; I’m assuming to expand the lungs some more in preparation for scarring.

They’re also adding another pic line in her left arm to provide an additional entry point for medications. She is stable at this time, but also on a high flow of O2 for now. Once they’re done inserting the pic line, about 20 mins, we should be able to go see her.

UPDATED (3:45pm EST): We finally have been able to see Ella. Ella is not doing well. Her stats are stable, but are being supported with a high volume of O2 (90%).

Ella started fussing shortly after we came in. She turned very purple and her eyes darted around in distress. This was very hard to take in. The nurses gave her some meds to calm her down, so at the moment she’s ok.

We’ve not talked to Dr. Kays yet directly, but the feeling we’re getting from the staff is they’re not really sure what exactly is causing her condition. With that in mind, it’s difficult to figure out how to proceed.

Lord, how far will you be bringing us to the edge? How far? It is not for us to know, but to trust. You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and are worthy to be praised. Thank you Lord for being with us now. It is our hope that you will not take Ella from us, but let her be a testimony to the world representing your Grace and Mercy. We love you Lord. Amen

The story of Abraham and Isaac keeps running through my head (Genesis 22).

Below is the message that Tina and I listened to this morning from Dr. Charles Stanley. It’s about 25 minutes long and is titled:

Responding to Life’s Trials

It just confirms where our trust and focus needs to be, and gives us insight in how to pray to our Lord during these times. Please listen if you can. Press the play button on the left to start:

[mp3]/music/itm20070808.mp3[/mp3]