Surgery

Aaron just called and Autumn is "on deck"...she is next for surgery. They gave her a transfusion this morning to get her blood supply back to where it needed to be for stability, and she has been fasting since 2am - they're so thankful that surgery is this morning since she is so uncomfortable right now with an empty belly.

They plan to remove both the Perinatal port and the Broviac. I'll update as soon as we hear word. Please pray for the doctors and for Autumn to remain strong.

God is faithful. We believe.

-Allison

Round 2 - Day 1

We are finally resettled back in Ann Arbor at the Mott Children's Hospital. We have met with numerous doctors and surgeons since our arrival at about 3:00 pm. Everyone agrees that Autumn's infection is being caused by one of her 'sites' - so they will perform the surgery to remove them. We signed all the paperwork and she will begin fasting at 2:00 am tonight. Unless something changes - she is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. The surgeons did remind us (as always) that if emergencies come up - things may be pushed back - up to a day. Either way, by Wednesday night she should have her ports removed and well on her way to killing this infection. I will try to update you tomorrow on what is going on. Please pray for Autumn tonight as she is going to be very uncomfortable fasting. She likes her food and needs it. She is going to need lots of lovin' tonight and in the morning that is for sure. Thanks for you kind words and prayers. You are appreciated and helpful to us.

Arrived

Aaron just called and they've arrived safely and are getting settled.

On the road again...

The caravan is on it's way to Ann Arbor. Jen is riding in the ambulance and Aaron is following in their vehicle. They finally got on the road about 1:30 after a stall this morning when they couldn't find an open bed for Autumn at Motts. But, after some shuffling around, they were able to locate a place for her.

Aaron & Jen will thankfully stay at the condo again, what a generous family to offer this to Aaron & Jen once again. Truly a blessing. Aaron said the traffic was heading quite slow about 40 mph due to snow.

Please pray for traveling safety and for Autumn's stability while traveling.

Aaron plans to update if they get a chance tonight - hopefully with some detailed info on their game plan for aggressively treating this staph infection.

-Allison

Update

One of the blessing of being in the Midland Hospital this past week has been that many of the nurses / doctors who were there when Autumn was born, revived her, and worked on her and Jen that day, have stopped down in her room to meet her and encourage us. They have shared their stories of how their lives have changed through Autumn's progress also. It has been such an encouragement to us to see these many people that we owe so much to. We are proud of their work and knowledge. The staff at the maternity floor in the Midland Hospital have become much more than just doctors / nurses to us, they have become like family and we appreciate them so very much.

The medicine that they have been using to fight the infection is not working. The doctors in Midland have consulted with our Ann Arbor kidney doctors through this whole process and have tried a few different medicines, none of which have stopped this severe infection. It is controlling it, but not killing it. As of tonight - they plan to transfer Autumn to Ann Arbor in the morning. So, unless anything major changes overnight, we will leave for Ann Arbor tomorrow. Hopefully while we are there they will perform the surgery to remove her dialysis catheter and broviac IV line (everyone agrees that one of these sites is most likely the cause of the infection).

Please pray for Autumn - that her body will begin to fight off this infection. She is so strong and we are so proud of her. She is a true angel. Also, please pray for Jayna - as you can imagine, she isn't very thrilled that Autumn is going back to Ann Arbor and we will be apart for a while again. She understands that it is best for Autumn, but she knows that it will be hard for her. She is down, so please pray a showering of encouragement and strength for her. Also, please pray for Jen and I. We know and believe that God is still in the process of healing Autumn and is in TOTAL control of her life, but we are tired right now. Lots of sleepless nights and concern for our girls has made us both very weary. Please pray for strength for us as a couple of struggling parents. We are so appreciate to you all for carrying this load with us. We know that it is a burden that God has allowed us to carry because we can handle it. He promises in His word that He won't give us more that we can handle and we are standing on that promise tonight.

Staph Infection

Autumn has a staph infection - they want to watch it grow a little more, but they are thinking they can treat it with a 10 day aggressive antibiotic. After they watch it a bit more they can decide if she can fight it here in Midland or have to go to Ann Arbor.

Please continue to pray for strength. Autumn is 3 doors down from Lena Clarke - this has been quite an encouragement from Lena as well for both of the Clarke and Hess families. God is good.

-Allison

Fever Strikes....

When Autumn woke up to nurse Wednesday Night around 1am Jen noticed she felt quite warm. She changed her and opened her gown up to see if she was just warm; her fever was 101.9 so they headed off to the hospital as directed by the on-call Dr. When they got to the ER her temp was 102.9. (They eventually admitted her in the early morning to the Pediatric Wing, Midland Hospital)

They did blood work and collected some urine and administered an antibiotic. Her fever gradually dropped and stayed around 98 - 99 for most of the day Thursday and her labs appeared to all be ok. Last night (this morning) around 1am she got another fever of about 101. They have her another round of antibiotics and it's coming down again. They found today that in one of the blood cultures that there is an infection somewhere in her blood system. They're going to let it culture for another 12 hours or so, apparently the longer it can have time to grow the more exact they'll be able to tell where the infection is exactly at. Dr. Juarbe will look at the culture again this early evening and then discuss with her Ann Arbor doctors a method of attack on this infection!

Please pray for Autumn's health, and the Dr's as they work to keep her well. And, rest for Jen, the nurses have asked Jen to stay at the hospital since she knows Autumn's routine with meds and changing dressings and flushing the broviac very well. Jen's very tired...Aaron is at home with Jayna at night for now. And, Jayna spent the day with Grandma today. Please pray for all of them that this will be an infection that can be treated aggressively and her body will respond very quickly.

One of us will do our best to keep the blog updated.

-Allison