Clearly, my silence of the past few days has indicated that it has been a time of waxing and waning health and hope. I’m not going to go into all the details but Caitlin has had a lot of complications and on Tuesday was temporarily considered “not strong enough to undergo surgery.” BUT–in the past 36 hours, she has made some steady and unexpected improvements. The incredible Penny, our ICU doc, has pulled all kinds of tricks out of her Mary Poppins bag to help her, and Caitlin’s deeply gifted intuitive healer cousin, Sinead, in London, has been working, nonstop, (even talking with Caitlin in her sleep, she’s been told), to read Caitlin, (it’s wild how accurate she is), and send healing. We all feel the prayers and energy coming from all around our buddy. Probably most importantly, deep inside, Caitlin’s inner tiger stopped resisting and fighting the help and is now calmly fighting to help herself.
Her liver and kidneys were in trouble, and her blood pressure was low. She went on dialysis on Tuesday. By yesterday, they’d cut way back on it, and her body was producing lots of urine on its own, surprising everyone.
She was put on blood pressure support to increase her blood pressure. She’s still on blood pressure support meds, but they’ve been reduced, with no drop in pressure, and that’s a good sign. We need for that to continue.
Her liver is still in trouble, but it’s a young liver and can bounce back. Still, we need to help it improve, and that means cutting down on the medications she’s on.
Her belly was having problems and they’ve had to stop feeding for a while to give it a break.
So there’s a list of stuff to pray for. She’s very sick but there is hope. You can read some of the comments on this blog, from other transplant patients, who’ve “been there and lived to tell the tale.” I’m grateful that strangers have reached out to comfort us with their stories.
The surgeons are still considering all offers for her, but any lungs cannot be less than perfect in her case, they must be Harry Potter lungs. And she must be strong enough to withstand the surgery. So it’s a constant monitoring, and a “feel,” as her surgeon said.
I cannot thank you all enough for sending so much love and support her way. This has been a difficult emotional time, yet also overwhelmingly uplifting.
Nothing is worth more than love. Nothing.
–Maryanne, with Nick, Andrew, Jess
9 Lives Notes 