You know it always gets you when you say things are going well.... Not really, God is sovereign and has gone before us into this ICU room.
The first antibody therapy caused a lot of respiratory distress for Esther, so most of the day we were watching for that. About an hour after I wrote last night Esther's blood pressure continued to decline. She had also been getting pretty puffy, all a concern her capillaries were leaking. She continued to have a high fever. There was also a concern about her not being able to pee all day, so they had to place a foley bag.
In the night the nurses had to turn off her pain medicine and the antibody therapy. They gave her a couple different things to attempt to get her blood pressure to rise. Another factor is making sure she has enough blood to maintain a good blood pressure, so she was getting a blood transfusion, but had a reaction. She still is having low blood pressure and a very high fever.
I'm not sure what will transpire the rest of the day, if we will continue with the therapy or not. At this point, her blood pressure needs to recover and fever respond to meds.
Please pray for her to rebound from this quickly today and for wisdom in moving forward. Pray I would be a good advocate for Esther and ask the right questions. I really miss having our normal nurses and doctors on the floor. I felt uneasy a lot of the night. I know these nurses and doctors are highly trained in what they do and red flags for them are different than red flags for oncology care providers. One of the fellows (doctor pursuing a specialty in oncology) we've seen a lot through this journey came in pretty early this morning and it was all I could do to hold myself together, it was so good to see her.
This is reminder for me that our care providers are secondary, and God is a good Father who cares for Esther and knows our hearts in all of this.
***I just talked in depth with the fellow Dr. Beth, and the oncology attending physician this week, Dr. Eisenman, and there is a plan laid out in the protocol for moving forward if these side effects continue. The goal for today is to see her blood pressure rise and get her pain under control. We'll then start the infusion again at a lower rate and watch her more closely. I feel comfortable with the plan for today. Dr. Beth said she was so happy to see who the attending physician and fellow in the ICU this week because they are really good. That makes me feel better.***
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We love you and we are praying. I'm sad that the treatment is so painful and stressful. I'm praying for Jesus' peace and presence to prevail for you and Esther. Love, Erin
ReplyDeleteHard to read that, and we are praying for you dear friend. Thank the Lord for those Dr.s who know you and good doctors on the floor. Praying she can finish the treatment and everything will go much better. Love you.
ReplyDeletePraying!
ReplyDeleteOh I wish I could come hug you - know I'm praying.
ReplyDeleteWow, Sam. What a difficult and discouraging night. As I thought about your struggle with your daughter through the night and the questions I know it leaves ahead, the Lord reminded me of the verse in Ps. 139 "even the darkness is not dark to you." Thanks for the specific requests. We will be praying and trust He will feel so very near to you in the darkness of this whole battle. Love you!
ReplyDeletePlease know that our family is holding you up in our prayers daily. We have come to love little Esther thru praying for her, even though we have never been blessed enough to meet her. Your journey has touched our hearts and even though we didn't know you all that well at Summitview, we love you guys and will keep praying every single day! Please know, too, that if you ever need anything at all, we would be honored to be of service to your family.
ReplyDeleteMuch love from the Metzger family...