Scopes, X-rays, and Tests... Oh! My!

This has definitely been one of the busiest mornings we have had post transplant. Things have happened quickly in order to determine the course for Ashley's care today. We have already been scoped, cultured, and x-rayed not once, not twice, but now three times. Our sweet nurse has really been working hard.

The pre-lim results of her scope are good. Ashley's new bowel looks text book beautiful. There are no ugly spots or signs of rejection as far as the pictures go. We of course won't know the cellular results of biopsy until tomorrow but it still looks good regaurdless of the little red flags that seem to be waving. I am more than grateful for this. I feel as though He is protecting Ashley's gift of life. I really believe we are going to get through this tough spot, but it is not going to be easy. Ash is doing it the hard way.

The surgeons believe that Ashley is fighting a virus in her new bowel. This is resulting in a tremendous loss of fluid that includes all of the elements her body needs to function. We are racing to keep up with her losses by giving replacement fluids. She may struggle for weeks until one day it just goes away. Every course is different.

The major issue we are facing at this point is respiratory distress. Ashley has definitely lost ground in this area. Apparently Ash had been aspirating into her lungs for days and this has caused pnuemonia to develop in both lungs. She is fighing to breathe and the doctors are fighting to open up the collapsed areas. Her left lung is really bad this morning. This is our most critical area today. Nothing else can take place for Ash until we stabilize her respiratory wise. We must get through this and get her breathing on her own again. We will not go down to CT scan today because it is too risky.

Once Ash is stable in her lungs then we will face the issue of trying to feed her without using her stomach. We do not want to take the risk of starting all over with the vomitting that seems to have led to this. We will once again attempt to place a G-J tube into her bowel to feed her and eventually get her off of the TPN.

As scary as all of this is and has been this morning, we are still o.k. We are still blessed. We are still trying to hold it all together. I feel better at this point now that so much of this mornings activity is behind us. He is with us today and I feel Him in the room with us. I know that may sound so cliche' to some people, but if I could only find the words to explain how I know that He is with my daughter. Every day, every moment, every breath, that Ashley has is given to us by the One who loves her most. I wish I could tell you of all the wonderful things He is doing, but the words just won't come. I am looking for better days to come. We just first have to get through the bad. Ashley is blessed and she is loved. Thank you for not growing tired of her story. It is because of your prayers that I know we are not alone. Your words and your faithfullness to us and to Him during this time can not be measured. To love Ashley is easy. To keep up with the daily ups and downs can be difficult and I know that it is too much for some. That is o.k. I love you guys for loving her and for caring.