A rough patch...

Hey everyone,

Would like to ask for your prayers (and if I could be so bold, a little extra hard please).  Let me first start off by prefacing all of this by saying that when Lucia gets sick, it's a scary thing.  In the back of our minds, we are always thinking the worst, and so naturally we are very careful to make sure not to expose her to any germs -- but sometimes (actually many times) these things are just out of our control...this time is one of those times.

Lucia had been congested since the beginning of this week, and by Wednesday (after a really restless night..."restless" is being very kind - this little girl did not sleep for a single hour straight that night -- the most she got all night was half an hour), she was so badly congested that her cry became pretty weak. We finally took her in to see our pediatrician on Thursday and after an xray, he was concerned that it might be pneumonia.  He had us check-in to the ER at Texas Children's Hospital.   We have been here since.  Lucia has had a few ups and downs here .  In the ER, her oxygen saturation levels (termed "sats") dropped to a 7 (in most people, they are 90-100) - this sounded off HUGE alarms to the doctors and nurses. 

We were moved to the PICU, where they've been doing all kinds of tests to figure out what's wrong.  They don't think it's pneumonia, but suspect it's a viral infection.  She is still quite congested and they have been suctioning her out using a special mechanism.  Right now, she is also running a fever.  Also, her heart (because of the nature of the hole in it) is not getting blood to all the right parts, so they have her on a med for that.  To keep her O2 levels at an acceptable rate, she has been receiving better air flow with some oxygen through what's called a cannula (a tube with two prongs on it that go into her nostrils).   On a very cute note though, she took her pacifier today with her Auntie Maji for almost an hour straight for the FIRST TIME EVER.  Her feeding therapist would be so proud that she went to town on that thing!  She was smackin' on it like little Maggie Simpson.

All of this blog to say that we NEED your prayers for our little Lulu, that the Lord would show mercy, compassion and healing on her and on us.  We want to go home with her soon, and pray that she starts to show these doctors her strength...well, God's strength...but honestly, she really is SO STRONG.  :)   Thank you all so much.