Tuesday Update

Lauren has been doing fairly well today. We are still waiting for her to become more responsive. She does open her eyes when the nurses turn her. Mark stayed overnight at Bruce and Kristen's and Gio and I slept in the room with her. When Mark came in this morning, Gio and I went down to the cafeteria for breakfast and brought something back for Mark. Bruce and Kristen both came to see her this morning. Bruce had been on-call all night and went home to sleep. Kristen was working in the pre-op holding area today which is in the same building as Wo is. Mark stayed with Lauren while Gio and I went to Bruce and Sis's house to get showers and rest a bit. While we were gone, he showed her some YouTube videos and read all your nice comments to her. When we came back, Sis was already here because she was done with work. She said Dr. Sonnenday and Satish stopped by and thought Lauren was doing well. Mark and Gio left to go home and work for a few days before coming back up. I know that will be so hard for them to be away from Wo, but life has to go on. I think it will be good for them to focus on other things, too. Kristen is sitting next to me in a recliner taking a nap and Lauren is still taking the longest nap ever!!! I wish she would wake up!! They started feeding her through a tube in her nose. If she doesn't digest it, they might have to put a tube in her intestines to give her nourishment. Poor kid hasn't eaten since last Tuesday, so I bet she is starving. We keep telling her to hurry and get better so she can eat pizza. She is still on the ventilator, IVs, and dialysis. My Mom, Dad, and sister are coming to visit and stay a few days. It's nice that I don't have to be alone. Someone is always around. That is about it for now. I will post tonight if anything new happens. If not, it will be tomorrow. Thank you for all the support.

Love,
-Pam

Mon. Afternoon Update

Lauren is back from her trip to the OR. They took the packing out of her, washed her out, checked her liver and all the repairs, and then closed her up. It took a lot of doctors to take her down and bring her back up to the SICU. I think she is priority #1 around this place. She has her own nurse and sometimes two that only take care of her and boy, do they run their butts off!!! They are so amazing. Her nurse today is very happy with her progress since returning from the OR. They have shut off her sedation, so she might wake up. She has had so much that it will take time. Her nurse cleans her mouth with this toothbrush suction thing and Lauren opened her mouth when she asked her to. So, she is hearing us. Lauren still has all of her IVs and is still on continuous dialysis. We want to jump up and down that she is stable, but are scared to be too optimistic. So, we are cautiously optimistic. Please keep praying that Lauren comes back to us and makes a full recovery. Thank you.

Monday Morning

Lauren did well overnight. The liver team was around this morning and Satish (pronounced Sa teesh), the liver fellow and the one that assists Dr. Sonnenday in Lauren's surgeries, said her numbers were improving and that she would go to surgery this morning at around 11. Please pray that things continue to improve. Thanks. I will update after surgery.

-Pam

We Are All Having A Hard Time

The stress of all this can sometimes be unbearable. I think all of us have had a breakdown at one time or another today. I think we are all just so tired. Ryan and Stephanie went home today. Gio and Mark are still here. Dr. Sonnenday told us that some of Lauren's tests are looking a little better. He is planning on taking Wo back to the OR tomorrow to check things out and close her back up. He thought it would be too traumatic for her today. They encourage us to talk to Lauren even though she is sedated and on a ventilator. I think she has 12 IVs running and her dialysis. She is still very sick and if she makes it through this will be recovering in the hospital for a long time. Sis and Bruce have been so helpful in explaining things to us, but it is so hard for them knowing all they do. With all the equipment in Lauren's room, the poor nurses were always bumping into us or vice versa. I don't know what doctor decided Lauren needed a larger room, but they moved her to a huge room that can handle all of her machines plus two chairs and two recliners!!! This way Gio can stay all night with her too. We can all sit back with her and include her in everything, even though she is asleep. Mark read the paper to her today!! He is so good with her. He wipes her face and eyes with soft cloths and talks to her all the time. When the nurses reposition her so she doesn't get bed sores, she opens her eyes. It doesn't look like she is looking at you or anything, but kind of makes her seem more like herself. I guess she can hear us, but once she is woken up, will not remember a thing. I am more tired than I have ever been, so I will leave you for now. I will update after her surgery tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers.

Love,
-Pam

Another Update

Sorry for leaving you all in the air. Lauren is still very sick, but better than yesterday. After her surgery yesterday morning, Dr. S. hoped everything would be ok. He took a vein from Lauren's leg and rebuilt her hepatic artery. She went back to the SICU and was on a ventilator and sedated. At around 5:30 in the early evening, her blood pressure crashed and they thought she was bleeding. They didn't think she would make it to the OR, so luckily Dr. Sonnenday was close by with about 30 other doctors and nurses that sprang into action. They opened her up right in the SICU and repaired an arterial stump that had come loose. They were successful, but we were all sitting at the nurse's station right outside the room watching. I know we were all traumatized and what they show on tv is nothing compared to the feelings you feel when it is your loved one. Even Kristen, who sees trauma all the time, was very upset because it was her sister. Lauren is more stable today, but still very sick. She is on a ventilator and sedated and is also on dialysis to help rid her body of acids. They left her abdomen opened, but packed it and covered it in case of other problems. They will take her to the OR and close her up once she is more stable. The doctors and nurses here are unbelieveable. I hope this helps a little and I'm sorry for not posting sooner.

Love,
-Pam

Lauren Back To The OR

Lauren had to go back to the OR early this morning. The doctors had been watching her labs and were concerned with some. They wanted to check her liver and were thinking it may be a blood flow problem that they could repair. She is stable, but we haven't heard anything else yet. I will update when I know more. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Love,
-Pam

Lauren's Surgery Update

Hi Everyone,

Just a note to let you know that Lauren made it through surgery and is in the ICU. She is doing great. I will let you know the full story when I am feeling up to it. I am drained from all of this. Thank you so much for your support. Love you all.

-Pam