More details from Abby's Momma

I just got off of the phone with Kelly and here are lots of details on Abby.

Abby's "collapsed" lung is not like an adults collapsed lung, but rather the little tissues in the lung have collapsed on each other. There is also fluid in her lungs. They have put Abby on a more powerful venilator/oscillator that emits lots of "puffs" of air to help strengthen and ultimately heal her lungs. Originally Abby did not like this ventilator, but she is now tolerating it.

As previously mentioned, Abby is receiving 100% oxygen. Kelly said that it is not good to have Abby receiving that high of amounts of oxygen as it can cause, hearing, vision and lung damage. However, Abby's blood saturation levels (amount of oxygen in the blood) were really low. When the saturation numbers hit 90, then the oxygen levels can be decreased. Keeping that in mind - tough, little Abby is now at 55% oxygen.

Abby was suppose to have an MRI today, but that was postponed another 6-8 weeks. Abby has a sort of metal clip on her heart valve & the MRI could tear the clip off. She did have a brain scan this morning and it showed that the hemorrhage has not gotten worse. The neurologist said that there is a 95% chance that it will not bleed again. Abby had the circumference of her head measured today & it was slightly larger than yesterday; meaning that there is swelling in her brain. Kelly explained that spinal fluid runs through your brain & the blood can block the fluid & then the brain swells. The first step to attempt to relieve this pressure is a spinal tap. Which Abby will be receiving this Tuesday. If that does not succeed, there are additional steps that can be taken. Ultimately the blood will be reabsorbed by her body, but until that time, the swelling has to be relieved.

Abby was able to receive a little bit of Kelly's milk yesterday. This is done not for nutritional value, but rather to see how well her digestive system is working. Given the events of last night into today, they have stopped giving her mik for now & are focusing on Abby's more "critical" systems. Abby's heart rate is very good & her blood pressure is stable. Kelly said they had quite a scare last night, as Abby had to be "bagged" which is the last step in helping her stabilize.

I asked Kelly how many minutes she was able to hold Abby - her reply was "TWO HOURS - and it was heaven." Because Abby is so critical now, Kelly doesn't think she will get to hold her again anytime soon, but was so grateful for what she got.

Kelly sounded good. She said the Ronald McDonald house was really nice - but a bit of a "reality check." She said that, "the Ronald McDonald house is a place where you volunteer your time or donate to. I never thought I would have a sick child, fighting for her life and have to stay here."

Kelly has been able to read the messages that have been posted and she really appreciates them. She said that they look forward to being able to visit with everyone in person, but they really appreciate being able to just focus on Abby right now. They are at the hospital all day & if possible sneak out for a "bite" in the evening. Kelly would also like to get a picture of Abby for all of you posted on the site. We will get that posted as soon as we receive one from Ryan.

I asked Kelly if she cared about how much detail we share on Abby's website and her reply was, "Share it all - maybe the more information you put out there, the more people will get down on their knees for Abby."