Johanna (Cataholic) & Sister Jessica continue to Request Prayers for young Samantha

[Albea]

Sweet, beautiful Sammy, those are such great news!
Many gentle hugs going your way with best wishes for the recovery to continue so you can go home soon.

[gini]

This good news just warms my heart. I can imagine how it must make you and your family feel.

What a precious little girl.

[Barbara]

VERY good news. Sammy- life is getting a little more normal again

[Karen]

I'll blow kisses your way, Sammy! Onward to Rehab, a new group of people to charm! Keep getting better and better, Sammy!

[Karen]

From the CarePages, today at 12:06:

Of course, like the weather in Cincinnati, the plans for Sam change by the hour, too. Shortly after I posted yesterday, I learned that since they can't do dialysis on the floor in rehab, they were having difficulties scheduling Sam once she transferred: the dialysis unit has a tricky schedule, and the nurses there don't deal with trachs a lot; the other choice was to bring her back to ICU for dialysis, but that's a major headache in terms of expense for room turnover and things of that nature. (Not to mention that once Sam vacates a room, everything has to be scrubbed down/sterilized/burned/thrown away due to the infection in her stool.)Anyway...the new plan was to move her tomorrow, right after dialysis; that way, the kidney docs get a last dialysis in before the transfer--they want to then try to let her go a week w/out dialysis, and see how she does. That would all have been swell, except that her admitting rehab doc won't be in tomorrow, and--just to add another twist to the saga--she's vomiting again (puked so hard her feeding tube fell out), so now they've scheduled an upper GI for this afternoon, so they can make sure there's nothing anatomical causing this. Of course, it's better to tie up all these loose ends before the transfer, and we want a resolution as far as the vomiting. Everyone agrees she belongs in rehab, though, so it's just these few last-minute snags...arrgh...but the plan, at this minute, is to transfer her Monday morning, 9 weeks after her admission to the hospital. Other than that, she ran a fever last night, but brought it down on her own again, w/no meds. She had a nice bath this morning, and we gave her a much-needed shampoo, and then I made my best effort at braiding her hair, so she now looks like a little Swiss Miss. She's also getting quite good at brushing her teeth by herself, and really enjoys it when I "dance" w/her by moving her arms around--she was all smiles for that. Send some prayers her way for a quick fix for the GI problem, and a calm weekend in the ICU before she begins the next chapter. I'll try to post again later if I get any news today.
Thanks,
Jessica

*****

Still in our prayers, we're so glad you're getting more and more time off from dialysis, and hope that the tests show your kidneys are working as they should!

Oh, Mommy Jess, we need Swiss Miss Sammy pictures!!!!!

[Barbara]

Oh how difficult that must be- one one hand Sammy being healthier and wanting to be more active, on the other hand all these "loose ends". And of course it's better safe than sorry.

So a little more patience is required (something I never have )

[popcornbird]

Little Sammy, you are still in my prayers. {{{hugs}}}

[wolflady]

Originally posted by sasvermont
I have just finished reading all of the patient updates. What a story. Oh my gosh.

I will never complain about anything, ever again. This family has gone through so much. I will never forget this family and their precious child Samantha.

It will take me weeks to comprehend what is going on with Samantha. What a sweet, innocent child. Oh my.

This truly puts things in perspective.

Gosh, for me too! Bless her little heart! Loads of healing prayers and thoughts are on the way to dear Samantha. I can't even imagine...

**hugs**

[gini]

Sammy and her family are constantly in my prayers.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Friday, July 08, 2005 at 09:57 AM EDT

The good news is that the upper GI showed nothing;
the bad news is that she's still vomiting.

They're not sure what's causing it --
maybe the meds, maybe some reflux...who knows.

I just hope they can get it under control soon, and
that this won't change her transfer plans.

She'll have dialysis this afternoon, and
then no major plans until Monday.

I'll post again Monday, hopefully after we relocate!

Thanks,
Jessica

-----------------------------------------------------------

Prayers Offered for an end to the Upset Tummy ...
AND a successful *Transfer* to ReHab.

GO, Sammy!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

[luvofallhorses]

More prayers on the way. {{{hugs}}}

[Karen]

Today's update:

July 11, 2005 at 01:43 PM EDT
Well, we're still in ICU, but the latest word is that we'll move to rehab tomorrow. Sam continued to vomit over the weekend, but she's not vomiting food--only bile/secretions. She mainly vomits when coughing or having her trach suctioned; they think it's just due to a very sensitive gag reflex. They gave her a slightly different trach tube to see if that would help. They're also considering feeding her through a tube in the stomach, so she won't gag on the tube up her nose--now that she's more alert, she's trying to pull on it, and she's also moving around so much that her central line keeps coming out a little, so they will probably remove that as well, and do dialysis, when needed, through a belly catheter, if the plastics doc says the skin is healed enough. They thought the central line was infected (just the skin), but it appears that her frequent vomiting just made the area messy, and it's probably fine. One idea being tossed around is removing the trach in the near future, as the reasons for traching her no longer exist: she has no surgeries/procedures planned anytime soon, and she's off the vent. We're all for that, as she could talk again, and eating would be easier, so maybe that can happen once she's in rehab. She had dialysis today, as some of her numbers were elevated, but they may wait a while before doing it again; some tests are being done to see how much her kidneys are clearing, but no results are back yet. She starts a new formula today as well, w/less protein--a more "kidney-friendly" type, so her kidneys don't have to work as hard. They've taken away her special air mattress, and she now just has a regular big-girl bed, as her skin is no longer as vulnerable. (One of those metal crib-baby jail beds is sitting outside her room; I don't know if they're planning on using it or not.) She sat with both mom & dad over the weekend, and just a little while ago, she was sitting in her bouncy seat on the floor, playing w/mom, until she fell asleep. I also got a big smile from her earlier today, which always makes my day. Soooo....that's where we are at the moment. Plans are subject to change any minute, though, but we'll still cross our fingers for tomorrow.
Thanks,
Jessica
PS A big Happy 10th Birthday to my nephew Bud (aka Jordan)

[Barbara]

Oh Sammy, we hope so much you can go to rehab soon and get rid of that trach. Only a little patience, sweetie. We still keep our fingers and paws crossed.

[popcornbird]

Still praying for you, Little Sammy!

{{{Hugs}}}

[luvofallhorses]

You are still in my prayers, Sammy. {{{{hugs}}}} Stay strong!