Caitlin has new working lungs, but the rest of her is struggling, and she needs all the energetic help she can get, along with everything her incredible doctors are giving her.
1. Her liver is still in tough shape, but the numbers were slightly better this morning.
2. She’s producing a lot of lactate, which generally indicates lack of tissue oxygenation, but they are not sure from where. We need to get that number down, and ensure adequate tissue oxygenation.
3. On ECMO, a patient’s pulses are checked constantly. They’ve lost detection of a pulse in her left leg/foot, which is her non-ECMO leg, but it is too risky to bring her back to the OR to try and figure out what is happening here.
Normally, transplant patients are forced out of bed, even in pain, right away, to get them moving, but that’s impossible right now. We have to take it one hour at a time.
That’s our update. We’re so thankful we are on the other side of this battle, but she’s been dropped right back into the trenches, immobile and very beaten up.
–Maryanne, with Nick, Andrew, Jess
9 Lives Notes 