Prayers for Miahna

On the Mend

2009-02-10T11:24:00.003-05:00

My Last Update Post Didn't "Post"

2009-02-03T20:27:00.002-05:00

I made a post about this over a week ago but for some reason it didn't show up on the site.

Miahna is home and on the mend. She spent a few days in the hospital and we released after all her tests came back okay and she was stable. She is making daily progress and her prognosis is good. Bethany and Joe have a home health nurse that comes daily to help with her care.

Again, sorry about the last update not showing up on the site; I have no idea what happened to it.

Miahna's Flight

2009-01-19T21:28:00.000-05:00

Back to the Hospital

2009-01-19T19:12:00.002-05:00

We learned earlier this evening that Miahna quit breathing a couple hours ago. She is currently being transferred from Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon, Ohio, back up to Akron Children's. She has been stabilized but of course this causes a lot of concern.

On top of this, Bethany is running a fever of 104 and has a viral and bacterial infection in addition to all the kids having colds and runny noses. Joe is on the road right now.

I'll update when I have more information.

Let's Blow This Popsicle Stand!

2009-01-13T12:27:00.002-05:00

The Day is Almost Here!

2009-01-12T17:04:00.002-05:00

Miahna's going home Tuesday!

Joe and Bethany have been sanitizing their house in preparation of the day we've all been praying for, when Miahna gets to go home! I hope to have some photos up as soon as I can of the homecoming.

Update

2009-01-09T19:21:00.001-05:00

Miahna ended her IV antibiotic treatments today. Family received training in taking care of her tubes at home.

If she gains weight over the weekend and doesn't lose any (its been kind of up and down), she could be going home Monday or Tuesday!

First Week of 2009

2009-01-07T13:36:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. Miahna's first week of 2009 started off great, with her gaining some weight and stabilizing even more. I just received this email from Bethany in Akron:

hey there. well the little stinker lost a bit of wieght since yesterday. so they are only gonna po feed her 1 oz and not increase for a day or two and they increased her total feeds by 1/2 once. because of it being honey thick she burns a lot more cals while sucking and being a heart patient with her valve being small her heart works harder when she sucks. so she might have to sty on part po and part ng feedings for quite a while. we'll just have to see. but she had severe reflux. they are giving her 2 meds to help that now. the lasix is working very well for her and helping her heart rate and respitory rate quite nicely. i'm not sure how long she'll stay on that. but probably for a while. only a day left of iv antibiotics. then it's 2 wks of oral through her ng. as soon as she gains and maintains gaining weight we can scoot on home. so pray she'll gain! she did gain and ounce yesterday but today she lost it. ugh. little squirt!:) anyhow..........i guess that's it. thank you!!!!!!!

Alert, curious, and ready for 2009!

2008-12-31T22:29:00.002-05:00

They took Miahna off her "pooping meds" today! Apparently, she has that down now and no longer needs drugs to help!

They did a "swallow study" on her and it showed that she needs thick (like honey) liquids for now. She has trouble with thinner stuff.

She is alert and loves boppin' up and down in her bouncy.

Evening Update

2008-12-30T20:27:00.003-05:00

Miahna's lab results came back okay and there is nothing major wrong. Doctors think the irregular heartbeat is probably from the antibiotics, and they will keep She had a lot of tests done today (she had to be poked six times!) and after all was said and done, she was pretty fussy and worn out. (Wouldn't you be?) Because she was so fussy, she refused to eat and so she has went back on tube feeding for the time being.

Partial Beats

2008-12-30T12:56:00.002-05:00

I just received this text message from Bethany:

Ok, pray! The little stinker has to get more labs because her heart is doing partial beats every few beats and it does it more when she's sleeping. So they have to run labs and test to see why. I'm so tired!

Things like this don't take God by surprise. Let's just keep praying. Thanks!

2008-12-30T11:42:00.002-05:00

Here's Miahna, resting and hanging out in the bouncy.

She started bottle feeding today! They tried putting in another PICC line but was unable to. I believe they are going to try again tomorrow. Doctors want Miahna on antibiotics for at least four more weeks, and the PICC line needs to be in so Bethany and Joe can give her medicine at home. We'll know more about that tomorrow.

Overall, she's doing better! Keep praying for a complete recovery and no long-term detrimental effects from the surgery and heart conditions. God is our healer!

New week, more progress

2008-12-29T16:37:00.003-05:00

Doctors took out Miahna's PICC line and have put in a peripheral IV in her head. The infection she had that caused the fever was from her picc line. Its very rare for a PICC to become infected, in fact this is only the second this year at the hospital. They are going to decide tomorrow how long to keep her on antibiotics since they are not sure how far into her body the infection managed to travel in her blood.

The good news is her fever has now been gone for three days and tomorrow they plan to start bottle feeding!

Things are a little better today.

2008-12-28T12:59:00.001-05:00

She's doing well -- her fever subsided and hasn't come back. We are still waiting for test results on what caused the fever. Her lungs are looking better.

Post-Christmas Pictures and Prayers

2008-12-27T11:59:00.003-05:00

Miahna had a fever through Christmas and doctors started her on a series of antibiotics to cover all bases. They changed her pick line and were going to run cultures on the removed line to see if that was the source of the infection causing the fever.

Being Held Feels Good

2008-12-23T17:31:00.001-05:00

Pray for her lungs

2008-12-22T14:02:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Miahna's left lung collapsed, though doctors were able to re-inflate it. Her chest X-Rays did not look very good and doctors were considering putting her back on the vent.

Earlier today, her right lung started to look less than what the doctor wants.

I am unsure if she has been put back on the vent or not.

Saturday Update

2008-12-20T14:17:00.002-05:00

Miahna is doing great! They are going to increase her feeding and literally start "fattening her up!" Her other two lines will probably be out today, leaving her completed unplugged!

Finally get to hold her!

2008-12-19T19:44:00.000-05:00

These are the kinds of updates I like posting.

2008-12-19T10:21:00.003-05:00

Bethany sent a text message a few minutes ago:

She's doing awesome! Doctors will be removing all her lines today and I will be able to hold her!! She is still being weaned from the pain meds.

Doctors are hoping to release her next week!

Praise the Lord!

Sitting up, doing better today

2008-12-18T15:01:00.003-05:00

She did well overnight. They are starting to wean her off her drips. Pray for her blood pressure to stay in healthy ranges.

She's been crying and fussy all day, though, and hasn't slept more than five minutes at a time. Doctors are trying to figure it out and think it might still be drug withdrawal.

Mommy and Miahna

2008-12-17T15:40:00.002-05:00

Not completely out of the woods, please keep praying

2008-12-17T14:27:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone who follows this blog and is praying. Please tell others so they, too, can join in prayer for Miahna's complete and total recovery!

Since having her vent removed, she doesn't have a voice at all. Doctors are a little concerned about her lungs, which sound like a washing machine when she cries, but settles down when she's not. She's also doing other "weird things" with her eyes, like twitching randomly. Her stats are not where they are supposed to be, either. Doctors think it might be withdrawal symptoms from the drugs she's been on.

She's not out of the woods yet.

Vent is out!

2008-12-17T12:33:00.004-05:00

"Can we get this thing out of me, please?

"Like... now?"

"Ahh... that's better!"

The doctors removed Miahna's ventilator today!

Breathing tube coming out today

2008-12-17T08:50:00.003-05:00

Today they are going to take out Miahna's breathing tube. She won't be able to be held until they take our her lap line, and we are unsure when that is going to happen at this point.