Flowing

This morning Ashley Kate's bowel has opened up and is flowing again. I can't express how relieved I am over this issue. Her bowel is not healthy by any means, and she's not completely out of the woods, but her level of discomfort over the blockage is significantly less than it has been. Her tummy is getting softer and softer and she is able to sit up again.

Her CT scan from yesterday has some suspicious areas in the walls of the bowel that they have not been able to decide about. Because of her ilius and blockage we could not use contrast for the scan so reading has given us a better picture than the normal abdominal x-ray, but not the best picture. The surgeon is suspicious of nuemitosis. He isn't sure, but is deciding to jump and err on the side of caution rather than ignore it and wait for things to get worse. Her segs and bands have moved enough over night that in combination with the pictures makes him want to add some antibiotics on board. We are surely hoping he is wrong, and he is too. We will treat her today and if her blood work looks better by morning then we may stop the treatment. If not, then we will assume he was right to attack early and hope for the best.

Ashley slept very little if any at all last night, but is resting comfortably now for the first time in days. She has been asleep for about 3 hours now. Much needed rest for her body to heal.

She is extremely dry. Her BUN is very high and her kidneys have still not kicked in. Instead of slamming her with extra fluid bolus' they have decided to give it some more time. None of us want Ash to lose her respiratory status and giving her too much fluid will do just that(according to her history). All in all we are being very careful.

The good news is that she has no fever this morning. She is resting. Her tummy is softer and more comfortable. Her bowel is not blocked at this time. Her rash has not appeared today.

The bad news is the possible nuemitosis. The lack of urine. The dehydration. The stooling out. One of the most concerning is that her stool output(now that it is flowing again) is very, very high. This makes me wonder if the treatment for the CMV is working or not. They told us we would begin to see a decrease in a few days if it was helping. Outside of the total shut down yesterday we have not seen a decrease. She is still cramping and uncomfortable, but in comparison she is doing much better than yesterday.

My hope is to get her up out of bed a little today. Give her a bath and some clean jammies. She has been naked and looks nothing like herself. I am hoping she has enough energy after napping to endure all of this. I think if she could begin to sit up again her strength may return before we lose it all together. I would love to read books on the rug with her today if she feels up to it. We will have to wait and see.

I've spent the last two nights praying and pleading for His protection over her grated organs. I so badly wanted her bowel to start moving again. I prayed and prayed all night long as I was up with Ash. My heart was overcome this morning to see the evidence of this answered prayer. I think all too often in this situation I get so very tired of asking and asking and asking. I don't know what I'm really trying to say except that my heart was blessed and it brought me to tears to see that the God of the universe took the time to empty out her bowel for us last night. I'm just so grateful.