Praying for Healing

Tonight Mahaela cried out in pain as if she had been stabbed in the chest. Her chest tube had just started draining more in a few moments than it had drained in a few days total. It must have shifted where the chest tube was positioned in her chest. It was so sudden and severe. I had that completely helpless feeling. I couldn't take away her pain fast enough. She hadn't slept since very early in the morning, so she was exhausted. Once the pain subsided enough after Motrin, Benadryl, and a narcotic, she finally fell asleep. Grandma and Grandpa Kincaid were there and as mom said, it just confirms that she is still a little girl recovering from a major surgery--she is still sick. And that she still needs prayer. Earlier today she walked and rode her bike, so she did have great moments today. She started her day off with this same severe pain and we had to wait for the drugs to kick in. The unfortunate thing was that her chest xray looked worse than yesterday with more build up of fluid on the right side, so the chest tube did not get pulled. Now the tube is draining a lot and will most probably not get pulled tomorrow either. As her surgeon said today, she is acting like a Fontan patient (Fontan is the name of the procedure) and viewed as a Fontan patient and not on the fast track. In other words...these issues happen with Fontans and we shouldn't really expect different from Mahaela (although everyone was hopeful in the beginning that she was on the fast track to discharge, without complications.) Mahaela needs prayer for rest, tolerance for exercise, decreased drainage from chest tube and improved/normal chest xray. Her nurses are all so sweet. She is wowing them all with her personality...you just can't help but love her...I'm so proud of her and amazed by her ability to connect with so many people. As one of her nurses said, "You can't help but smile when you walk in her room."