A Chest Tube

After about 36 hours of decline in Mahaela's breathing, they inserted a chest tube on her right side. She was just listless today. Nothing could make her smile or even talk. She was just exhausted and lousy feeling. I kept saying she just looked completely depressed.
After a good try with the lasix and getting a lot of fluid out of her, her xray looked even worse this am. So this afternoon she had a chest tube inserted that drained out 370 ml (1000 ml=1 liter). That is a lot of fluid in the right chest of a little girl!
She was sedated and had the tube inserted right at her bedside. She did ok, with one scary looking spell--blue, o2 sats in the 40s, not breathing, needed her airway opened, got bagged. It was quick, and she came around quickly. She is in such good hands, I just wasn't worried (yet.) Daddy was right there to help her and I was holding her foot, praying for my little sweetie. She woke up after a while with pain and was given morphine--a big dose, according to Bill. So she is still sleeping. Her breathing has slowed a lot--to near normal at the moment, and her o2 sat is up--but she is on high flow oxygen still. She had an echo earlier to make sure that none of her symptoms were cardiac related and it looked good.

We are praying that she continues to improve as she is able to get rid of this fluid around her right lung. I am praying that the left side improves or we will do the same again tomorrow with a left chest tube.
She is being amazing as far as being so patient and brave. She looks so sad which is just heartbreaking. She is very dehydrated (on purpose to get rid of fluids) which makes her eyes very sunken looking. Just a day ago she was all puffy, swollen face, with sausage fingers and toes.
I am so grateful for all our friends and family who are holding her up in prayer. One thing I know for sure is that Jesus is with her. Jesus has my little girl in His big, loving hands...and I am not afraid.