The PICC Drama

It was great to get out of the hospital yesterday and spend some time with Shawn and our friends.  I had some good laughs and managed to get rid of some junk from my house during a white elephant exchange!  I received two calls from the hospital while I was away, both with poor reports on Hope.  The first said that she was running a fever, but it came down after they unwrapped her and left it at that.  The second was early this morning as Hope's oxygen levels were going down and the fluid in her lungs had recollected.  Hope's room today has been a revolving door ever since.

No one is quite sure why Hope's lungs continue to collect fluids.  She is back on a high dose of diuretics and will likely be too dry in the near future.  I had begun fighting to have Hope's blood work limited to save her some of the pain.  As a result, the nurse came in this afternoon with a list of things they needed blood for.  All the different departments had to wait to be sure the blood was only drawn once.  This meant we needed over 2mls of blood.  The nurse connected to the PICC line, as per usual, but could draw nothing out of it.  Many different people and doctors were called, but nothing has worked.

They truly need this blood work to be sure Hope is not too dry, too fluid overloaded and does not have too many blood thinners on board.  They called some of the top nurses in to draw blood from anywhere on Hope's body.  Five pokes later, they admitted that Hope's veins were too difficult and this would not be possible.  As a result, we need a new line to draw blood off of.  Hope just came back from an ultrasound to check on the clot at the end of the PICC line.  They need to make sure the clot is gone in order to pull this line if they put in a new one.  This would also mean a trip to the OR and we're not even sure they'll be willing to take her.

We are asking people to pray.  Please pray that this line would miraculous begin giving blood once again.  Pray that the clot would be dissolved and would not pose a risk to Hope if the line needs to be pulled.  If we do need to go to the OR for a new line, please pray that they would be successful.  If you still have some time, pray for my own heart.  I am truly getting tired of seeing my little girl scream while they try to draw blood from her damaged veins.  We need a break from hospital life to allow her body time to heal.  God, would you please make my little Hope strong and let us bring her home?