A couple weeks ago I contemplated writing an update just to let you all know that Evangeline was improving after her last hospital stay.  Her seizure activity seemed to be reduced due to the increase programed into her VNS device.  Well…as we have come to expect from Evangeline, things can change quickly.

On Monday she experienced some unusual fever activity – one side of her body was registering a significantly higher temperature than the other.  After much debate and consideration about heading to the ER, we decided to wait just a little while to see if we could get her fever to come down.  Gradually it did so.  Throughout the day she seemed to improve ever so slowly.  Tuesday morning she awoke without a fever.

Evangeline had been scheduled for a doctor’s appointment with lab work on Monday.  However, due the circumstances referenced above, we had to cancel it.  Since Eva was feeling better on Tuesday, Mom re-scheduled the lab work for Wednesday.  Therefore, yesterday afternoon she had blood drawn for analysis.  Then, just before 5 pm, the doctor’s office called to tell us that Evangeline had some concerning numbers for which they had no explanation.  They encouraged us to take her to the ER right away.  

Mom and Dad arrived at the hospital with Evangeline just after 7 pm.  The medical team spent all night assessing her condition and waiting to be admitted to the hospital.  The nurses had a terrible time getting an IV placed – it took 3 different nurses and an ultrasound device to finally get it completed!  Sometime during that process Evangeline fell asleep and slept soundly until she was moved to a room in the hospital between 4 and 5 am.  Needless to say Mom and Dad were wiped out by then!

Today has been a good day.  Evangeline seems to be doing well and the doctors are just trying to figure out what the issue may be.  The problem seems to be that she is having an issue absorbing the nutrients.   There may be an imbalance of good vs. bad bacteria in her gut – possibly as a result of the administration of antibiotics during her last stay in the hospital.  There may also be some drug interactions that may be causing some problems. 

Please pray that the doctors can figure out the cause of these anomalies.  We are entirely unsure how long this hospital stay will last so prayer for a quick resolution is appreciated as well! 

Evangeline was able to return home late Thursday afternoon.  Praise God!!  This was one of the shortest hospital stays she has ever experienced and we are thankful she is home.  The last several days have been hectic and I apologize for not updating sooner.  Thank you all for your prayers during this time. 

One of the factors that was affecting Evangeline just prior and during the hospital stay was a slight cold.  It seems that she continues to have some congestion and throat irritation from this but last night she was more alert than she has been lately.

We appreciate your continued prayers for Evangeline.  She is one special little girl!

Everything seems to be going as well as it could go in the hospital as of right now.  Evangeline had a good overnight and the hope is that she will be able to go home today.  The cardiac care team started her on a medication last evening that will be a maintenance med in hopes of avoiding any additional instances of heart racing.  They are observing her but there do not appear to be any adverse reactions to the medication so far.

Evangeline does have a small cold that seems to be contributing to some seizure activity and just generally annoying her.  The neurology care team is taking a wait and see approach to any medication changes.  We are in agreement with this plan and will help her get past the cold before we evaluate her seizure burden.  The doctors will be making some adjustments to her VNS which have been planned for a little while now.  We are hopeful that the increase in stimulation will be beneficial to Evangeline.

Thank you for your continued prayers!  We appreciate them!  Would you pray today for Evangeline to get past this cold and that all continues to go well so she can come home today?

Evangeline was admitted back to the hospital yesterday.  Her seizure activity has been deteriorating for a little while now and we were hoping to make it to a neurology doctor’s appointment that was scheduled for yesterday afternoon.  Yesterday morning we discovered that her heart was racing – our pulse ox was pegged out at 250 beats per minute!  Upon taking her to the ER their equipment registered over 270 beats per minute.  The doctors prepared and delivered a drug that they were hopeful would bring that rate down.  Thankfully, immediately upon administration, it worked as expected and her heart rate slowed.

Evangeline experienced “supraventricular tachycardia” which is when the electrical impulses to the heart go crazy causing the racing that we observed.  The drug administered is supposed to reset those electrical impulses and we are thankful that it worked.  The cardiac care team will be evaluating her over the next several days to determine what, if anything, needs to be done currently. 

As you may imagine, when entering the hospital during this era of COVID we were concerned about room availability.  We were told that the hospital has been full “for weeks”.  God provided a room for us late yesterday afternoon and Dad was able to get Mom and Evangeline settled.

Mom has reported that Evangeline is resting comfortably this morning.  She has continued to have more seizures than is normal for her but, all in all, she is doing well.  In all candor, Evangeline is as healthy as she ever has been when being admitted to the hospital.  Our primary concern is addressing the neurological issues that are driving a decrease in physical activity and an increase in seizure activity. 

Our prayer is that this will be a short stay.  Please pray with us in that direction.  Thank you!