ICU Day 1

11:53 PM (Friday): After a long discussion with the doctors and nurses, we consented to allow Myla to undergo a much needed surgery to take out her non-functioning central line and replace it with a temporary line that will also be placed in her chest. The surgery will begin sometime around 1:30 AM.

Pictures: For the complete set, check out http://flickr.com/photos/bluefork/. In the meantime, here are some "highlights":

1. More medical people than usual were in the room when Raul Matthew and I arrived this morning.
2. Here are some of the people who crowded our hospital room on the Hematology/Oncology floor. There seemed to be that many others waiting out in the hallway.
3. A chaplain was brought in to talk with us.
4. The head of the Riley Pediatric ICU was brought in to take over Myla's situation.
5. Myla not looking so with it.
6. Myla on her way to the ICU.
7. Melissa and I holding Myla's hands.
8. Myla on her way to get a CT scan for her intestines, and Melissa and I waiting.
9. On our way back from the second CT scan--this one for her head.
10. Myla on her ventilator.
11. Myla getting an ultrasound on her liver.
12. Myla getting an electrocardiogram.
13. The doctor who is about to do surgery on Myla's central line.
14. Pastor Treadway and his wife, Dawn, paid us a timely visit tonight.
15. Lisa is our nurse for this first night in the ICU. As with our regular nurses on the 5th floor, Lisa's service is first-class.

1:36 AM: Myla has been wheeled away for her surgery, which should take about 60-90 minutes. Here she is with her mask on for the short ride to the OR. Now that we have a few minutes to take a breath, I want to thank the many nurses from the hematology/oncology unit for coming down to the ICU to offer their support to Melissa. Many of them stayed well after their shifts were over to just be there an offer encouragement. Thanks to all of you! Thanks also to those of you who have left encouraging comments here on the blog during the past couple of days. This has been a boost to my spirit, even if I haven't had the time to write back. Some good news--Lisa encouraged us by saying that Myla's condition showed signs of improvement, and that she was now stable. That's the kind of big picture assessment that I found very encouraging. I can't tell you how many small picture assessments we found ourselves processing over the course of this long and difficult day, but the overall good news is that Myla is doing better now than she was yesterday afternoon. Even her coloring has started to improve, and her heart rate is now fairly steady at a much better 130 per minute.

More pictures:

1. Our empty ICU room after Myla was carted off for surgery.
2. Myla gripping Audrey's hand. (Audrey is one of our regular nurses from the 5th floor).
3. Some medical kit used to put the ventilation tube in Myla.
4. Outside the CT Scan room.
5. Stacy, our social worker, stopped by to offer her continued support.
6. Sally, another of our regular nurses, came down to the ICU to chat with Melissa.
7. Myla before being moved to the ICU.

3:40 AM: Myla is out of surgery and is doing well. The doctors were successful in taking out the old central line and putting in a new one. As it turned out, Myla had simply outgrown her old central line. It was installed back when she was less than 3 months old, and the growing she has done caused the tip of the central line to nearly withdraw from the artery it was in. Just a reminder--the central line is the tube through which Myla is given her chemo and medications. It could have been disasterous to have chemo pouring into her tissues and not into her blood stream, so it's a blessing that this was discovered. Further, the central line is also the way they draw blood samples from Myla. This way they don't have to poke her each time they need blood, which can be a traumatic experience for babies (and parents). So, the good news is that we now have a new and improved way to both give Myla medicine and to take the needed blood samples. Plus, I'm very glad that this is already over! It was a surprise to us that they would move her into surgery tonight, but this worked out well in the end. Further, Myla's vital signs remained strong throughout the surgery. That's a great improvement from earlier in the day. We learned tonight that the medical team performed sternal rubs on Myla during her first CT scan test because she was unresponsive.

The bottom line on today is that Myla has an infection that her natural defenses can't fight. That's because her ANC is down to zero due to the chemo. So, they will give her antibiotics in hopes of countering the infection and hope this stems the tide until Myla's immune system is back in action. The upcoming days and weeks will tell this story.

1:15 PM: Myla is sleeping and doing well. Nothing new to report. I was encouraged by all of the comments left on the blog, and I'll read them to Melissa today. :)