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Email Carissa in care of Sharon at Sharon1992@aol.com. No new update indicates that Carissa is doing well. National Transplant Assistance Fund for Carissa Thursday, February 23, 2006 Carissa was dismissed from the hospital today. Her blood cultures have been negative, so there is no sign of a feeding line infection. Hurray! Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Carissa's fever was under control today. She slept a lot, but was feeling a little better by this evening. She is being treated for a bacterial line infection, and the antibiotics are helping her ear infection and congestion, as well. The transplant doctors want to avoid removing her feeding line (PICC), if possible, because all of the veins in her arms, chest and neck are occluded (filled with scar tissue) which makes the placement of a new line in those areas very difficult or impossible. A femoral line is an option, but there is a much higher risk of infection. Today, once again, Carissa expressed her hope that a transplant will happen while she is in the hospital. She's already there, some of the blood work will already be done... Thank you for continuing to pray! Tuesday, February 21, 2006 11:59 p.m. Carissa's fever spiked to 101.9° about 9:30 p.m. and she was admitted to Montifiore Hospital shortly afterwards. She is coughing and has an earache, so the cause could still be the flu that is going around. Blood cultures will clarify the issue within a couple of days. 3:00 p.m. Carissa spiked a fever about 3:30 a.m. She went to 7 West at 6:30 a.m. for an IV gram of Vancomycin and was sent back to the Family House where she will continue taking one gram a day. They took blood cultures this morning to check for another line infection. It's possible that Carissa has bronchitis rather than sepsis. If so, Vancomycin should take care of it. We will wait and see whether her fever spikes again or her cultures come back positive. Monday, February 20, 2006 Carissa began having symptoms of a cold this weekend, so we went to 7 West (transplant service center) this afternoon for a CT scan. The CT scan was clear (no signs of pneumonia) and her blood work results were good. We were instructed to call again if Carissa begins running a fever. Several people at the Family House are fighting bronchitis and we are praying that Carissa doesn't get it. We were able to visit Karis last Thursday and she is looking so good. She is able to walk now and, as soon as she is able to get off of oxygen, she will be released from PICU. We are so excited for her. Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Carissa thought she was going to be able to leave after her blood work was taken this morning, but it was obvious that today was atypical when we arrived at the transplant clinic. There were signs indicating that a video is being created to educate the public about small bowel transplants. So Carissa stayed and allowed Dr. Kareem to examine her while a photographer took a few shots. Dr. Kareem's only comment was that they need to transplant Carissa soon. One of these days it will happen. Frank (waiting for a kidney & liver transplant at the Family House) had three calls for a liver this week, but none of them worked out. Two of the calls were on the same day. We're amazed that he has been called so many times and so quickly. Granny Haston (Wayne's mom) is coming to visit us for a couple of months. It has been fifteen months since we have seen her, so we are excited. She plans to give Sharon a much needed break for a few days. Granny will be flying from Nashville to Pittsburgh next Tuesday, February 21. She flew for the first time in 2004 and this will be her first time to fly alone, so we are thankful that we were able to find a found a flight with no plane changes. She's a brave lady! Sunday, February 12, 2006 Carissa continues to do well. In spite of being off of antifungal medicines, she continues to be fungus free. What a praise! Carissa is taking IV Cipro for a few more days to assure that the bacteria that put her in the hospital in January is truly conquered. But she has had no new fever or other sign of infection. We are thrilled that Karis is now able to eat a full liquid diet (popsicles, juices, broth, ice cream, etc.) and she is infection and rejection free. A definite answer to prayer! She also enjoyed her first wheel chair ride since transplant: http://www.aup.org/Karis/pics.htm Debbie (Karis' mom) and Sharon agreed that it would be difficult if Karis and Carissa were in the ICU post-transplant at the same time because of the intense battle for life that is typical those first few weeks. If Karis is doing well and is moved to a regular room soon, maybe that means it is Carissa's turn... Wednesday, February 8, 2006 Carissa's blood work was good today! She was adequately hydrated and she has had no fevers in the past week. Carissa may only need to have blood work next week and may not have to stay to see the doctors, if all goes well, and if she doesn't pop the balloon that holds her g-tube inside her stomach. She's making a weekly habit of popping the balloon and, thus, getting a new g-tube. Dr. Bond told Carissa last week that she was welcome to come by the hospital for a visit, that she didn't have to pop the balloon to drop by. But pop one, she did, anyway! (It really isn't something she can prevent unless she stops eating.) Dr. Kareem and team performed two small bowel transplants within forty eight hours this week (Monday & Tuesday nights) and Frank, who received one of the first kidney transplants forty-three years ago, was called for a liver transplant tonight. We haven't heard whether the liver is a definite match yet, but he's at the hospital waiting. So, transplants are happening! Sharon met a lady at the Family House today that had a multivisceral (five organ transplant) five years ago. You would never know she was sick She said it took a year after her transplant to feel good, but she feels great now. It's almost too good to be believable! Sunday, February 5, 2006 The Family House McKee had a huge Super Bowl dinner at 5:30 this evening. Carissa had a good time picking out somwelle favorites to nibble on for a couple of hours. But it was interesting to see how quickly the kitchen vacated when the game began. Oakland is alive with Steeler fans. So much so, that a large number of streets have been blocked off and police are on guard for the ruckus after the game, win or loose. We are close to the University of Pittsburgh and college kids will flood the streets. From what everyone says, there will be no sleep for several hours tonight. Friday, February 3, 2006 At 8:45 last night, Carissa was told that her transplant couldn't happen. It wasn't possible to separate the liver from the remaining digestive tract cleanly enough for both a liver and a modified multivisceral transplant to happen. Because of the high demand for livers, the liver takes precedence in that instance. This is our third call for a transplant that has fallen through. The first one was the first week of March when she was first listed. We knew that she was a back-up person, so it was expected. The second one was December 12th, and it was more disappointing, but at the same time we felt encouraged that she had finally been called after so many months of waiting. The call this week was so hopeful that it was a devastating when it fell through. We are learning all that is involved and how it all happens and why nothing can be confirmed until last minute. Although the matching of blood type, tissue type, and body size (dimensions of the abdominal area) can be determined early in the process, they can't determine whether the donor organs will match until they see them. Because of the limited life of organs, it is important that the recipient be ready to receive the organs as soon as they arrive at the hospital. So doctors have to coordinate the removal of the organs from the donor with the surgical preparation of the recipient. Add to that the typical logistical issues at the hospitals including operating rooms, etc. We're so thankful for friends around the world who are praying for us, and for Family House friends who understand the transplant world with it's many ups and downs. We're also thankful that Carissa is able to enjoy the pleasure of eating, even if all of it does go right out of her g-tube. By God's grace, we go on. 9:30 p.m. - Thursday, February 2, 2006 The transplant did not happen, due to some problem with the anatomy of Carissa's body and its relationship to the organs of the donor. We assume that it was similar to the situation in December, when the blood supply vessels from Carissa's liver did not match up with the donated organs, once the liver was detached from the other organs of the donor. This was tough news, especially since the organs were healthy and all other factors matched up perfectly. On the bright side, someone received a very healthy liver tonight. I (Wayne) was just arriving in Pittsburgh when the news came. Sharon will post a more detailed report tomorrow. Needless to say, we are all very disappointed, but Carissa was "crushed." Please pray for her mental and emotional healing. She is in the process of being dismissed from the hospital now and should return to the Family House soon. Thursday, February 2, 2006 2:06 p.m. At 4:37 a.m. we received a call with instructions to go to Presbyterian Hospital to be admitted. Organs might be available. We now know that the organs are the best that have been offered in a long time and they are only a couple of hours away. There is no liver included, but the doctors aren't convinced that Carissa needs a liver. If she needs one, they can transplant it later. The doctors haven't seen the organs yet, so the transplant could still be cancelled. Carissa will be taken to the transplant holding area at 5:00 p.m. We won't know until after that whether the transplant will really happen. After she is taken to surgery (if that happens), we will post an update, if possible. That probably won't happen until 9:00 p.m. or after. When someone asked Carissa whether she was scared she stated that she has had a long time to prepare for this, so she actually feel a lot of peace. She knows that it will be tough, but has seen successes and is trusting the Lord for the outcome. We are surrounded by your love and prayers. Thank you for being a part of our team of prayer warriors. Wednesday, February 1, 2006 Carissa went to the transplant clinic this morning as typical on Wednesdays. She was about the same overall except that her potassium level had dropped to 2.9. A few hours in 7W (transplant service/emergency wing) remedied the problem. We were excited to discover that Carissa's bed in 7W was right next to Jenna's. Jenna was released form the hospital yesterday after five weeks in the ICU and one week on 12N following a small bowel and kidney transplant. It was great to see her up and out of bed, and doing so much better. We were able to visit Karis in the PICU at Children's Hospital this afternoon. It was wonderful to see her beautiful smile as soon as she realized we were there. She was wondering whether or not we would visit, since it is Wednesday (a good day for us to visit since we are already at Montifiore Hospital and Children's is connected by a bridge). When we didn't show up by 10:30 a.m., she began to wonder whether something might be happening with Carissa (maybe a transplant?). It's such a delight to know that she was alert and missing us! Please continue to pray for Karis. She is far from being "out of the woods." Here's a link to her site for more information: http://www.aup.org/Karis/latest_update.htm
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Life on a Feeding Tube |
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