ChloeWatts.com

Thursday Afternoon 12-3-2009

December 4th, 2009 Posted in Daily News Post

Running on empty. That about sums up this family today. Dana and Sandy have been the night watch…AND the day watch. They both have been on reserve today for sure.

Chloe had a huge wave day. The morning started out hopeful. She kept signaling, “What time is it?” This was because she knew the MRI would be at 11:30 and her tube would be pulled shortly after that. Then the MRI was pushed to 1:30 and then 1:45 pm. Chloe was anxious to get it over with.

Right at 1:45 they came for her. Dana and I followed her down the elevator to the MRI room. Sandy stayed behind to catch a catnap. Rev. Barb met us in the waiting room and was great company. The MRI went well and took less time than I had expected. Chloe slept on the ride back to the room.

In order to remove the tube she had to prove she was breathing on her own and her blood gasses had to come back satisfactorily. Both happened in due time so the procedure was readied. Chloe wanted to help in the tube pulling. It was arranged. The nose tube came out first. The ventilator has a bit more preparation to make sure all is just so.

On the nurses’ timing they pulled this short tube from her lungs and began the suction of all the gunk in her mouth. She was a rag doll as the nurses tried to keep her positioned to get everything. Things went down hill fast. Chloe wanted to breath but couldn’t get much air past the remaining gunk. It sounded like she was drowning. She blacked out and turned gray. The room got full in a hurry as they suctioned and then bagged her to get the O2 flowing again. They got her stable and called the team in to re-intibate and nose tube her. They moved Dana and me from the room for this procedure. Needless to say it was a tense period of time.

Back in the room they explained what they had done and assured us Chloe was safe now. Dr. Quint was on duty and he went over the scary possibilities of what happened. However, he did say that Dr. Dorsen would look at the MRI and come talk with us as soon as he was out of surgery. That was good as we had questions for the master.

Dr. Dorsen arrived about 9 pm and checked on Chloe. He started by saying he had seen the MRI and was gratified by what it didn’t show. We were ushered into a computer room for a look. We aren’t the experts but we couldn’t see any remaining tumor and we could see the divot that was cut from her brain stem.

One of our main concerns, after breathing concerns, is the fact that Chloe can’t see very well. Her vision is impaired and her eyes dart around when she tries to keep them open. She describes it as being scrambled or scattered… without being able to actually say that. Dr. Dorsen didn’t feel that could be as a result of the surgery but he didn’t have a good idea what it was about. If it was actually double vision then it could be related to pressure from the swelling. Whatever it is we are hoping it resolves itself over a short period of time.

He told us that none of the things we had spoken about were off the table… that Chloe was still in a dangerous place in time. Whatever damage she has is not really known yet and what will be able to be reversed is also in question. We are hoping for a full and complete recovery… so that’s what we’re holding on to.

Chloe did get to settle down. She was asking for sleep medication when I left. I’m hoping all three of them can get some rest tonight. God knows they need it.

Today was not the best of days but it did have its moments. Chloe endured a lot. She had a catheter removed, replaced and removed again. She had two tubes removed. She went out like a light and had two tubes reinstated. And she had boughts of pain, discomfort, frustration and anger. She also had some times where she smiled and would have been laughing had there not been a tube stuck down her throat.

So, it was a day of ups, downs and sideways. When the downs come it’s like getting hit by a wrecking ball while leaning up against a steel wall. But somehow we all get back up and look toward the future when we are able to bring Chloe home and have her continue being a fun kid on her way to a great adulthood.

By the way… Prayer works.

Blessings,
Ron