Daily prayers still flying from me for sweet Sam and her family!
(((HUGS)))
Daily prayers still flying from me for sweet Sam and her family!
(((HUGS)))
Nice to hear some more good news. :) The prayers continue for little Sammy and her wonderful family!
The prayers never cease for little Sammy and her family.
God is with you all every step of the way.
I'm glad things seem to be more positive for Samantha.
Hugs and prayers,
Kelly
Samantha is still in my prayers.
Samantha is still in my prayers. ((((hugs))))
Even I think there is nothing that makes you more tired than a whirlpool, how much more Sammy must feel that:)
Loved to hear about that diaper;)
:)
June 15, 2005 at 07:38 AM EDT
Sam won't go to the whirlpool until later today,
but I wanted to share a moment I had with her last night.
She was opening her eyes here and there, and
I was talking and singing to her;
she looked like she was trying to mouth words,
but I couldn't tell exactly what.
Then I leaned close to her ear and said, "Hi, Sam!"
And then she--very clearly--mouthed "hi" right back to me.
She's still in there!!
Thanks,
Jessica
-------------------------------------------------------
"HI!" Right back at you, Sammy!!
How heartwarming!! :D Lotsa hugs for Sammy.
Oh, God bless that little baby. :)
Oh my gosh.......LES......:( :( God bless this little child and hold her and her family in his loving arms.
:)
June 15, 2005 at 06:03 PM EDT
Whirlpool went well again, and Sam's looking better, too,
with a lot of the swelling gone.
She's opened her eyes several times today,
and she looks around, and moves her arms a lot.
They might do the trach tomorrow, or else Friday.
Other than that, no news is good news, and she's hanging in there.
Jessica
------------------------------------------------
More **GOOD** News - the kind we like to hear! ;)
Sammy, sweetie, we're all still praying for you! Keep up the good work and plenty of spunk!
June 16, 2005 at 12:24 PM EDT
I was told after today's whirlpool that Sam's skin is looking a lot better,
and that overall, some progress is being made.
They've stopped a couple of the antibiotics,
as too much of that just contributes to yeast/fungal infections.
They are doing the trach this afternoon sometime,
and they might continue grafting on Saturday, so it's a busy time for Sam. The plan after the trach is to let Sam be awake and interact more, while keeping her as pain-free as possible.
I'll post again after the trach.
Thanks,
Jessica
--------------------------------------------------------------
*Prayers* for a successful surgery!
More prayers for Sammy!
Prayers continue. Thanks for posting the updates, Phred. While I'm working, I don't get the emails.
Keep getting better, Samantha!!!! :)
Gosh, this is so much for her to have to go through. You're in my thoughts, little Sammy.
Hugs,
Kelly :)
You are still in my prayers Samantha and family ((((hugs)))))
A 6 o'clock update from the CarePages:
All day, all night, angels watching over you, sweet Sammy, all day, all night, angels watching over you!Quote:
Change of plans: the plastics doc has decided to do more grafting tomorrow, so they're planning on having the trach done at the same time to avoid 2 separate surgeries. At this time, I'm told it will be in the morning, so keep strong, positive thoughts & prayers coming in for Sam!
Thanks,
Jessica
:)
June 17, 2005 at 12:14 PM EDT
Both procedures went fine, and Sam is back in her room sleeping.
She looks a lot better w/out the tube --
you can see her whole face again, which is nice.
The plastics doc is pleased w/how things are looking, and
grafted her butt area today; he also redid part of one leg,
but said that most of the prior grafting took pretty well. He said the whirlpool treatments have been beneficial, as the skin is looking a lot better; she will resume whirlpools in about a week, after today's grafting has a chance to heal. He's hoping today's session was the last "major" grafting, and that he'll only have some small fixes/clean-ups left to do.
Let's hope!
All in all, a good morning for Sam; let's hope for a restful weekend.
Thanks,
Jessica
----------------------------------------------------------
*GOOD* News is Good to hear!!
Feel Better, Sammy! ;)
Oh yeah, that sounds good!
So good that you are in good hands- at a real good hospital. :)
That's real good to hear ! You're a strong little girl, Sammy! :) I know you can make it. Prayers still going strong for Samantha and family! ((((hugs)))))
Just when my faith gets shaky and I wonder "why?" about things - the strength and love for and about Sammy just makes my heart swell warmly.
Great news! :D Sammy is such a miracle child. The prayers for her continue.
What great news!!! :) Its time we had a nice update on little Samantha.
Hope the weekend is just as good, if not better.
Hugs,
Kelly :)
So great to hear such good news.
Still thinking about and praying for little Sammy! :)
This is wonderful news!!!:D Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are still being sent to Sammy and her family.
:)
June 18, 2005 at 05:54 PM EDT
A quiet day for Sam--nothing wrong with that!
She's been mostly sleeping, but has opened her eyes a few times,
and looks right at us.
She has a little fever, but nothing too major.
A dressing change is scheduled for tomorrow,
so we'll hope the graft sites look okay.
Thanks,
Jessica
------------------------------------------------------------
A little <LOOK> at Dad tomorrow
will be a nice "Dad's Day" Gift!
Happy Father's Day, Rob!! ;)
Rob...I, too, wish you a Happy Father's Day tomorrow. May you be graced with that precious little smile on your special day.
A quiet day is a good day for little Sammy. Dear girl, you've never strayed from my thoughts or prayers. Sleep well tonight little angel.
June 19, 2005 at 10:17 AM EDT
Well, she had her dressing change,
and the new grafts look fine at this point.
Her bps were a little wild yesterday, though, and she kept spiking fevers,
so the current plan is to put her back on the antibiotics they recently removed.
It's the same cycle: baby steps forward, and baby steps back.
The pain management team is continuing to tweak things as well,
as they want to lessen her sedation while keeping her comfortable -
it's a difficult balancing act. They haven't had rounds yet,
so I'll post again later if there is more news.
Oh, and on behalf of Sam, Happy Father's Day to all the dads,
especially her own,
as well as Grandpa Hutchins and Uncles Jay, John, Jerry and Jeff.
Thanks,
Jessica
-----------------------------------------------------
Sammy ~
You Feeling Better will be a Great Dad's Day present!
June 20, 2005 at 12:39 PM EDT
Sam was spiking fevers again, but Tylenol seemed to take care of it.
She has an infection in her stool, though, and she will be moved to the isolation room, which is right next door to her current room. That precaution is mainly to keep hospital personnel from spreading the infection to other sick kids up here. This type of infection is very resistant to treatment, but since it's only in the stool, the infectious disease folks are opting not to treat it, in the hopes that it will just exit the body on its own. Also, the drugs used to treat it can have toxic effects, so they'd rather not take that risk.
They have increased Sam's sedation and pain meds, as she often seems uncomfortable. The ultimate goal is to continue enough pain meds to keep her comfortable while weaning her off some of the sedation, but she's not ready for that quite yet.
They also want to give the intermittent dialysis
(hemodialysis) another go this week.
Her trach tube will be changed Wednesday.
Please keep up the prayers; Sam has a lot to overcome.
Thanks,
Jessica
--------------------------------------------------------------
More Prayers on the way!
This update shows us how many more wonders we still need. Oh Sammy and Jessica- my heart bleeds for you.
Little Sammy, I continue to pray sincerely for you, Feel better soon!
sheesh, look what our little samantha have been going through! (definitely much worse than my days)..
I thought, when you grow up...(as I hope these present days you're having will be the only last, hardest days you had and that you survived through most of it!! (thank goodness you're little, you don't have to remember all of these.)
this little trooper've been hanging above me in my thoughts and more are sent! glad you could update us almost daily now... take care, jessica!
Prayers and positive thoughts still on the way for you sweetheart.
From the CarePages:
42 June 21, 2005 at 10:08 AM EDT
Sam had a rough night, and was in a good deal of pain; there will be another meeting w/the pain team to iron out a better plan. It's horrible to see her like that and be powerless to help. She's much more comfortable this morning, and is finishing up a round of dialysis. The major events this week will be continued hemodialysis, a trach tube change, and more tweaking of the pain control plan. I'm thinking plastics will be checking the graft sites again, too, perhaps later this week. Hopefully they will find a way to keep Sam comfortable around the clock--that's my biggest concern right now.
Thanks,
Jessica
*******
Prayers for relief on a more steady basis from pain, oh, Sammy, we love you, and your mom and dad, too. Bless the doctors and nurses in whose care she rests, and help them help her.
Sometimes I truly have difficulty reading the updates from the Care pages.
This morning, all I could think of is what Jessica must be going through every minute - and I was ashamed of myself.
I have and will continue to pray for Sammy and her family.
Pleanty of Prayers & whisker kisses coming from myself & all my babies..
:(
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 at 03:01 PM EDT
Sam is still not doing great;
she has had high fevers since yesterday,
and they think a new infection may have set in.
She's back on the antibiotics. She's more sedated now, and on higher doses of pain medication, so at least I don't think she's hurting too much. The Dr also pointed out that at her age it's hard to differentiate between physical pain, fear/anxiety or even hallucinations (caused by the drugs), as far as when she cries. Not that any of that makes it easier to bear.
She's on her way down for a bone scan, because radiology detected a darkened region on the femur, which could be infection or just more necrosis.
Either way, it's not good.
She will continue treatment at Children's;
she will not be returning to Shriner's, mostly due to politics, and the plastics team here has done everything so far and feel it's best to continue w/the same team.
Her trach hasn't been changed yet; ENT is busy in another ICU pod.
Her hemodialysis went okay again; they may not come again until Friday.
At this point, whirlpool should resume tomorrow, and the plastics team
is also supposed to look at her again at that time.
I wish I had better things to report,
but Sam is having a rough time.
Please continue prayers.
Thanks,
Jessica
--------------------------------------------------------------
{{{Hugs}}}, Jessica - for you, Rob, and of course, Sammy.
Prayers on the way.
/s/ Phred
We are still here Sammy- with the PT web of thoughts and prayers especially for you. I am sure that you can feel it like the softest of blankets.:)