Latest Update

I don't recall ever asking others to pray for pee, but I am now!  It isn't an urgent concern, but the doctor said Ella needs to produce more urine, which will (for whatever reason) get other systems to more normal levels.  That has been one of their main goals for the day.  The other thing they need to balance is the potential for blood clotting in her left ventricle.  If it clots, it could be catastrophic.  But if the medication they are very carefully & lightly administering causes the blood to get too thin, it could cause other problems such as long term brain damage.  So obviously everything is quite delicate and all the doctors & nurses have been really wonderful.

Meanwhile, the cardiologist noted that the heart did decrease in size between echo-grams, but there was no improvement in function.  The left ventricle is still not really pumping at all, only "quivering" a bit.  Her right ventricle is doing all of the work right now.  They gave her a little blood overnight because her red-cell count was low, and this morning her skin looked less pale this morning than last night to me.  On the positive side, the doctor said she should be weening off of whatever blood pressure medication she has been on because that has been doing well.

Overall, the doctor said she has taken a small step backwards from yesterday, but likely due more to these secondary conditions.   The key is getting her heart to strengthen & function.

The next time I pray for proper urine flow, I hope its when I'm about 90 years old in an effort to avoid wearing Depends... or wait, actually there should be no next time.

-Erik