It's Been a Really Good Day for Aubrey

Thank you all for your faith, prayers, and encouragement today as Aubrey hit a big milestone and started breathing on her own.  God bless all of you who have joined together with the other parts of Christ's body to carry this little girl and her family.  Here's the full update from Andy.

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Aubrey sleeping after a long day

The extubation today was a success.  Aubrey did fantastic and breathed on her own immediately.  She still has some congestion in her upper airways and a weak cough, but it should get stronger over time.  She fell asleep immediately for about an hour after they took the ventilator out.

When she woke up, we could tell she was still very disoriented, likely due to the medication still wearing off.  However, she has shown some remarkable signs of recognition.  She clearly knows mommy and daddy, and she smiled at the bulletin board near her bed, which has pictures of her.  She laughed today which brought mommy to tears.

We brought some familiar toys, and her eyes lit up when she saw a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD.  Mommy was able to lie in bed with her and watch it.

Aubrey is not speaking yet.  She tried to say some words today, but almost no sound came out.  This should get better with time.  Physical and occupational therapy briefly evaluated her today and will be coming back on Friday as she wakes up even more.

She is still disoriented, anxious, and in pain at times, which requires pain medication and one of us to be at her side 24/7.  Fortunately, her favorite grandpa is here and is happy to sit with her so we can have a much-needed break in the evenings.

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All in all, it has been a great day.  However, Aubrey still has a long road ahead.  The bolt is still in her skull, measuring pressure, and the drain is still in place allowing spinal fluid to be released as needed.

The good news is that she is putting out less spinal fluid.  Neurosurgery wants to remove the bolt tomorrow, which will allow her to get an MRI of her brain.

Slowly, over the next couple of days, the doctors will be removing various lines and tubes from her body as she continues to stabilize.  They will test her swallowing ability, and if she does well, she can start eating if she has enough appetite.  If she does not do well with swallowing, they will have to place a feeding tube into her stomach temporarily.

The infectious disease service still has not discovered a cause, although at this point, finding a cause would not likely change anything, since she has been well taken care of and received all the medicines, antibiotics, and antivirals to cover all the possibilities.

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I should note that the prayers said on Aubrey's behalf have already availed much.  This was a very severe infection, and Aubrey was in subclinical status epilepticus (sustained seizures) for several days - I can't emphasize enough how serious that is.  She very well could have died.

I get the sense that the doctors and staff are amazed at her turnaround over the weekend and how quickly she has recovered (they were not anticipating removing the breathing tube until tomorrow or later).  One of her doctors was shocked that she never even required a blood transfusion, given the severity of her illness.

We give God the glory for all of this.

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Over the next few days, Aubrey will show us what consequences, if any, this viral infection has caused.  She may need some inpatient rehabilitation to improve her function, or she may be able to come straight home.  In any case, we are likely to be in the PICU for the remainder of the week.

Aubrey and dad

Here's how you can pray:

1. that she will not feel stressed or anxious, and that she will sleep.  My father has been praying that Jesus will appear to her in her dreams to comfort her.
2. that she will continue to put out low amounts of spinal fluid so the drain can be removed soon.
3. that she will have no more seizures as they take her off the anti-seizure medications.
4. that the infection will continue to resolve and the fevers will cease.
5. that her MRI will be uneventful and show good findings.
6. that she will be able to swallow and have enough appetite to start eating.

Most of all, we are praying that our Aubrey will be fully restored.  We realize that God works in various ways and that He could bring full healing, partial healing, or He could allow her to have brain damage as a result of this infection.  We are trying to prepare for all outcomes, as we know that God is good and can work in all situations for our good and His glory, but we are still asking for full healing (as did everyone who approached Jesus for healing in the gospels - hello!).

Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and emails.  We receive all the comments in our inbox, and Joshua forwards us many emails each day.  We read every one.  We truly feel part of the worldwide body of Christ.  Thank you for fighting on Aubrey's behalf.