Friday, April 10, 2009

Preliminary results

Olivia handled the cath lab like an old pro. It took quite a bit longer than expected, but they were able to get some good information. Dr. Shah was going to punch some numbers and discuss all of his findings with the cardiac surgeons on Monday morning. We are then going to have a family meeting in the afternoon and make some plans.
The basic results are that this is all her pulmonary hypertension. It was kind of disappointing to hear this, because we always hoped she had secondary pulmonary hypertension (related to her heart) instead of primary pulmonary hypertension. In other words, she has heart disease and lung disease - neither caused by the other, but two separate issues.
Dr. Shah was going to consult with some doctors in Chicago and New York that deal specifically with pulmonary hypertension and see if they have any other suggestions. Otherwise, just trying to manage with medication and praying that she is able to wean down on the Nitric Oxide and Flolan. Those are two medications that cannot be administered without a ventilator.
So, until Monday, we won't know much more, although the attending physician this weekend specializes in pulmonology in Chicago. I may just have to pick his brain=o)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear everything went well. Wishing all of you a Happy Easter.

The Fulkersons

Judy said...

I was kind-of holding my breath all afternoon! I'm glad she did well, although not thrilled about the preliminary results. I'm praying for wisdom for you doctors, that they will be able to figure out how to move forward from here.
Have a Happy Easter weekend! I hope everyone has fun with Ty and Jenn and that Rod is taking it easy!

Anonymous said...

I hope Dr. Lestud is ready for you!!

Bethany PICU

Crystal Montgomery said...

Are you speaking of Dr. Listrude? If so I can only say he was the one who I turned to when Izzy kept having crisis situations while on the Jet vent and no one could give me a straight answer as to what was causing it. He's a very straight forward doctor and will give you his honest opinion. He explained Izzy's lung condition to me in terms that I could easily understand. I'm relieved that Olivia behaved in the cath lab and we'll be praying for a restful weekend for all :)