She's Home

For those of you who haven't seen Annie's blog, she's home again! This time she is free of all lines/IV's, etc. Yay! I got to talk to her on the phone, and she sounds a lot better. I can tell she's still really weak b/c she runs out of breath just by talking. Hopefully, though, she'll keep eating well and keep healing. Keep resting, Annie! I love ya!

This, too, shall pass...right?

Well, I keep hearing good news. Not great news, but good news. So, I'll take the good and be happy with that. Who said trials/sicknesses/afflictions go away overnight? Annie is improving, albeit slowly. She is eating enough now so that they took her off of one of her IV's. One less annoying needle in her is good. The not so great news from the last couple days is that she had an allergic reaction to the original antibiotic she was given. The poor girl just can't catch a break! They have since changed her medication, and I believe the reaction has now gone away. Anyway, if she keeps eating, the doctors are hopeful that they will not have to insert another pick line and thus her exposure for further infection will be reduced. She goes through spurts of being able to eat and keep it down and then spurts of not being able to do it. As of my last update, she has been eating well. (But, given the daily ups and downs of her recovery, I wouldn't be surprised if that changes.) Also, if she continues to get her nutrition on her own, the doctors may release her from the hospital so that she can try to recover at home. We are hoping for that, especially considering each day in the hospital costs upwards of $3,000.00 and unfortunately they hadn't had an opportunity to get insurance coverage yet!

In answers to some people's questions, yes, she is coherent....usually. It just depends on the hour of the day and whether she had some crazy medication issue. :) I've talked to her on the phone a few times, but you can hear the weakness in her voice. She is too weak to really do anything on her own, which is another reason why my parents are needed there. Shelby has been doing well. She loves her grandparents and her daddy. Annie has been pretty sad about not being able to play with her during this time, but I think Shelby is enjoying getting away with things she wouldn't normally get away with. :) Plus, Shelby has been on a Disney kick lately so she has watched movies with her mom.

I'm grateful that Annie is improving. I feel so helpless being so far away from her though. I take comfort in knowing that at least my prayers reach her. I appreciate all of your comments, as they have given me strength as I've struggled to keep the faith that everthing will be okay. I always want things to be fixed right away, and Annie has been sick for about a month now. So, for now, I'll hold onto the little victories she has in this big battle against sickness.

Annie Updates

Well, apparently the infection is a yeast infection instead of a staph infection. They say it is a nasty thing to have, but luckily they caught it pretty early and so it may not be as bad as it could have been. Still, she has to be on antibiotics for two weeks. We are not sure whether that means she has to be monitored in the hospital for two weeks or if they will let her out and be able to take oral antibiotics. Oh, and they took out her pick line b/c of the infection. So far, there is no definite plan to take Libby right now. Another good thing is that Annie is eating a little and having success keeping it down. If she can continue that, then they might not need to do another pick line. So anyway, she's a bit better now but still has a ways to go. Thanks for all your support!

Rollercoaster Woes

My sweet sister Annie just can't catch a break. She was at home and doing better, but not necessarily good. She was stable for a while, but last night she took a bad turn and is now back in the hospital. Her blood sugar levels are elevated, her fever returned, and she had some violent vomiting. They are not sure what is wrong, but they suspect that she has a staph infection in her pick line, which is apparently in her heart (or just around it, I don't know for sure). They are drawing 60ccs of her blood today and we won't have an actual diagnosis for 72 hours. They were hoping to keep the baby in her until she reached 36 weeks, but if she continues to deterioate or if she does in fact have a staph infection, they are likely going to take Libby.

So, right now, it's just a waiting game. Hopefully, she will stabilize again so that Libby can have some more time to develop those lungs! Anyway, I was thinking I'd have to fly out there today to see her, but my parents assured me that she isn't as bad as she was when her lungs collapsed.

Please keep Annie and Libby in your prayers. She's very sick! I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers, and I think the more people who pray for her, the better. I appreciate your support, and I know Annie does too. Keep fighting Annie!

Home Sweet Home

Annie got to go home yesterday! Yay! She still has the stint in her and Jon or my dad have to hook her up to her IV for 12 hrs at night. It's a little scary since it's connected to her heart, but I'm sure they can handle it. Libby is still doing fine. Annie just needs to be able to eat more. She's lost 15 pounds, which is not good when you're trying to make a baby! She's really weak, but doing better. I'm so relieved.

Finally, some good news

Well, they changed Annie's medications, and that has seemed to do the trick! She is now totally breathing on her own without any oxygen. Now she only has to keep down 1200 calories and she can go home. She was having trouble keeping anything down, but once they changed her medication, she has been able to eat a little bit. If she is able to go home, they will still keep the stint in her so that they can administer mediations and hook her up to some nutrition if she isn't getting enough. They have decided to wait to see if she continues to improve before taking the baby. Once she has the baby, though, she will have to have her gallbladder taken out. Yikes! Hopefully, she stays on the road to recovery because she has been like a rollercoaster for the past 2 1/2 weeks! Thank you all for your support. I know if we keep praying for her, she will continue to improve.

Another setback

Well, Annie is still breathing on her own, which is great. But, now she has more gall stones, which is what set all of this in motion in the first place. The doctors are worried that the same thing will happen and that her lungs may collapse again. So, they are now considering taking the baby. Annie is only 30 weeks along. Jamie had her twins at 30 weeks, and they survived, but spent at least a month in the NICU. The doctors estimate that Annie's baby is about 3 1/2 pounds and would need to be in the NICU for at least 6 weeks. Once they take the baby, they would then be better able to assess what the problem is with Annie's gallbladder and see if they need to remove it. Anyway, I'm still worried about both Annie and Libby. Please continue to keep both of them in your prayers.

Annie Update

I truly believe in the power of prayer. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Annie. She turned a corner yesterday and is now breathing on her own. She is still in the intensive care unit, but she is at least stable and slowly improving. Please continue to keep her in your prayers, as I know they are helping her. We love you Annie! Keep fighting!

More Prayers Please!

Annie's lungs collapsed last night. She is on a respirator. Please pray for her and her baby! I'll continue to keep you updated.

Pray for Annie

For those of you who believe in the power of prayer, please pray for my sister and best friend Annie. She has been in the hospital for over a week. She had gallstones, then pancritis (sp?), and she can't breathe and her heart is beating too fast. Then, to top it all off, she is 6 months pregnant and keeps going into premature labor. She seems to get better and then have relapses. I have faith that she will make it through, but she has to fight right now. So, please keep her in your prayers. Thanks.