It is Friday afternoon. Again, so much has happened since our last update! I must confess that I was happier to write yesterday’s update than today’s. The short story is that Evangeline is back on the BiPap machine. She had a bit of a rough night last night. She was being weaned from sedation, and she became keenly aware that her throat was soar from being intubated. She coughed and could not settle down to sleep. Evangeline may have also been having some minor withdrawals from the sedation medicine and certainly could have her days and nights mixed up from being in the hospital. Regardless, she did not sleep well. We estimate that she may have gotten two or three solid hours of sleep. I was less than thrilled with her lack of sleep the night before, but it really did not seem to bother her. She was alert and even seemed chipper this morning.
Evangeline began to have a low-grade fever early this morning, and we were not sure if it was neurological. There did not seem to be a physical cause. Late this morning her oxygen began to go below 90%, and we could not seem to stabilize it. We were still not sure if all of this was neurological or physical. As we worked with her, I noticed that she was becoming more and more agitated. I began to suspect that Evangeline was actually reaching a place of extreme discomfort or even a little pain from whatever was happening, and I sensed that the cause was physical and not neurological. The doctor ordered a chest X-ray and did not like what he saw.
Everything happened so fast at this point, and Evangeline was quickly transferred back to the BiPap machine for additional lung support. Of course, she needed to go back on the sedation to tolerate the mask. She is now resting fairly comfortably and getting the breathing support that her lungs need. We hope that we will be able to wean her back to high-flow oxygen tomorrow. Perhaps, she just needs a little more lung support, respiratory therapy, and time. We are grateful that we did not have to return to the ventilator. That would have been a setback. This is just a little bump in the road. I am now hopeful that we can return home at the beginning of next week.
Through every step of this journey, God remains faithful. He is good, and we continue to trust Him. This is not a surprise to Him. Please continue to pray for Evangeline’s healing. We take nothing for granted!