My niece goes for open heart surgery

“We are now is worried that once Erica off the paralytic drugs she'll be wild again. The doctors are weening Erica off the BP, heart rate, paralytic meds. The goal right now is for Erica to move and breath a little on her own. That helps the heart adjust to the new plumbing situation. The doctors are concerned about the how much blood output Erica's heart pumps with each beat. Please pray for a healthy output and that each beat is strong, healthy, and efficient. The doctors are discussing this more now than before because the blood has further to travel. Her two chamber heart has to work harder to move the blood through her body and lungs with each beat than before.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers. I know they are feeling them.
last edited: 7/24/07 10:15:48 AM”

“I've been following this thread and just want you to know that I've been sending my "good vibes" your way.”

“Anyone wanting to send a message to her parents and/or her older sister can do so on her journal at...

http://journals.aol.com/ericah111/EricaPaige/
Anyone who was on the all about the kids trip over Mother's day at RRG met Erica's older sister Kristin. Kristin loved the trip and can't wait to go again. I am training her to be the next generation of hiking.lol. She loves to go and we try to get out some here locally. She really enjoyed meeting all the TT'ers when we did the trip for the kids.”

“Good luck, Erica!

Here's hoping that she toughs it out gets to be a "terrible" two on her way to having a wonderful life.

Good thoughts for Mom and Dad!
My family has been very lucky with our kids health........take some of my blessings, please!!”

“Thank you for your kindness. I just got a call from my brother saying that they had received a cute stuffed animal from someone that I hiked with. Erica's parent said to say thank you. They were touched.
I want to thank you as well!”

“YYYEEEAAAAAA! The first time I had called I just gave her first and middle name. I thought Page was her last name. Called back to tell them I was a dummy.

She is a cute little girl and a trooper as well! She will pull through this and be enjoying childhood soon! I wish I could do more for her! :)

This is my favorite thread on this site and has been for some time now. I check in on her website 3 times a day, and sometimes more to read what has been going on.

Not to change the subject but when are we hiking next? Maybe a fall trip to the Deam. Will you be in attendance for the Kids trip un in Michigan in August.”

“Thanks again, wounded knee. My next hiking trip will be the Colorado 14er's and because of that one, I will not make any of the kids trips in August. I'm always up for a hike at the Deam and am planning to be there the first weekend in August. You are welcome to join us. I'm not sure on who all is going yet, we are still trying to put it together.”

“Erica has another episode where the nurse had to do compressions to help her heart again. Her heart beats went real low, so they did some compressions to help her and to stimulate her heart.
Other than that things are pretty much the same. The doctors have cut the paralytic drug in half so Erica has more movement. Also, the doctors are working to control her arthymea.
Hopefully this is all her trying to get use to her new blood flow system and it will works itself out.”

“
This is Erica”

“Who knew Mr. Knee was such a sweetheart?!

I'll be praying for Erica.”

“Great photo, love those deep blue eyes!”

“Erica did well through the night. The doctors have decided to take her off the paralytic drug and to start trying to wean her off the vent. Yeah! She is starting to do some of her breathing on her own. While I was there she did open her pretty blue eyes for me. Things are heading in the right direction.”

“Wonderful --- !!”

“Excellent news Windy!

How would a weekend in Sept be for you, Deam?”

“WK - The Deam sounds good. It would have to be the last weekend in Sept.”

“Okay, I will let you know”

“

Erica is doing fine.She have been taken off the paralytic drugs so she's ready to roll over. Her Mom is standing over her and won't let that happen. Please continue to pray for strong healthy heart beats. Please feel free to leave messages on her journal site so her family knows you checked up on her. You can do so by going to the link and click on the add comment section.

http://journals.aol.com/ericah111/EricaPaige/
Again thank you for all the positive thoughts and prayers.”

“Steady as she goes!!”

“Yep. All those tubes and wires scare me! I know they are helping her, it's just scarey. Windy, any idea what the timeframe is for recovery? I am sure they do not want to rush anything here, just curious.

Looks like she still has the poney tail in :)”

“Believe it or not, she could be going home within 4-5 days if she comes off the vent without any problems.”

“Outstanding! I told my daughter Grace about Erica last night. They are very close in age (Grace was born on FEB 21, 2005).

Grace has this thing she does when you show her a boo boo. I have one on my hand right now which I showed her last night. She took my hand and examines the cut and kisses it.

I told her about Erica and explained that she had to have her heart fixed. I next showed her where my heart was, so she kissed it. I almost lost it!”

“my prayers are with her and you all. GODS speed in the recovery. Yo bearlet!”

“Erica is doing great tonight. She is doing 75% of the breathing on her own so the doctors are talking about taking her off the vent tonight. YEAH!”

“Thants great news windigrrl :)”

“
She will be back to getting into things in no time!”

“Wow! Big Blue Eyes LOL :)”

“Are you talking about my eyes, SC?

A very pretty little girl; I'm happy for the good news.”

“Beautiful girl....I am so happy it is working out well. Ped cases are the worst...you really gotta admire the people in the hospitals that handle those cases.”

“Don't take pink toes for granted. Erica's toes may not stay so pink now that she is off the vent. What her oxygen levels are while breathing on her own are still unknown. They were pretty low before the surgery. As soon as she was off the vent she asked for her mommy. She is very hoarse.
Dad said Erica was in more pain because they had to reduce the pain meds to see what she can do on her own. They are putting her on other meds that won't inhibit her breathing. She also had to be restrianed to keep her down. Erica is still having arrthymias so they giving the heart time to work it out. Her BP is good, and everything else seems okay. They may take her out of ICU in a day or two.
I can not thank you enough for all the wonderful messages, prayers and positive thoughts. TT'er are the best!”

“Erica has starting drinking juice, no solids yet. If she continues to do well with the juice, the doctors are talking about starting her on solids. They will then stopping the TPN feedings she is getting via her vein. They are reducing many of her drugs. They have removed a couple of her IV lines. She is being restrianed because she can be pretty fiesty when she's awake. They had to redo the art line in her leg because she pulled it out some. Her potassium is low and it is effecting her heart rhythms. She was getting a bolus as I was leaving to help correct that.

Erica wants to fight everytime she is given juice, she says "I do it myself!", "No, no, no!"
It's good to see she is on her way back to being the independant kid she's always been.”

“No No No Sounds like a normal 2 year old to me :D shes on her way windi! The will probably have her start with ice cream or popsicles, she'll like that!”

“She really likes her pink pig. It's sooo soft. the balloons are attached to it so she can see them.”

“We're all pulling and praying for Erica, you, and all of her family.
last edited: 7/26/07 10:37:39 AM”

“When Trail talk is good . . .it vastly outweighs the crud you have to put up with when its bad.

This is TT at its best.”

“This just made my day. Busy busy busy at work...basement collected water from heavy rains this morning (somewhat my fault).

Thanks for posting this Windy!

Good going Erica!”

“Erica is still doing well. However there is a new concern, her heart rate. It is slower than they want it to be. They will be trying some different drugs to see if that will help her. Your positive thoughts and prayers are welcomed.”

“Okay, kid, keep on keepin' on.”

“You've got 'em!”

“Erica got sick last night and her heart rate went up. She also has fluid on her lungs, which they say is common with this operation. The doctors are trying a new medication for that. They are still worried her heart rate.”

“C'mon Erica!”

“Thanks for all of the updates. She is in our prayers.”

“My thoughts and prayers for your family Windi. I can't tell you when I openly cried last but here I am, at my desk with tears on my face. I know first hand what it is like to have a little one that is struggling. If there is anything I can do to help the family let me know. I'm just a call away.

Is there anything they could use? I have a portable DVD player they can borrow, and tons of kids movies to help big sis pass the time. Or maybe just someone to make dinner runs or something. Please call me.”

“Erica is still in ICU. The doctors are watching the fluid on her lungs, it has increased since yesterday. They are trying to treat it with meds, but it might lead to doing a chest tube. Her problems seem to go in a circle, one thing effects another. She did eat a cracker and was very happy to get her rocketship cup. She is not bored yet, we'd like her to get to that point. She will, but just needs time.
last edited: 7/27/07 3:42:49 PM”

“
This is Erica with her big sister, Kristin. Kristin has been on a couple of TT trips and loved it. She is always asking when the next trip is.
Dad will be keeping a shotgun by the door as these two grow up. lol”

“A great pic Windi. Thanks for the update.

Tell GroovyGirl that Bluebelle still talks about our trip to the gorge.”

“C'mon Erica. TT'ers are departing like rats leaving a sinking ship. We need new posters:)”

“Erica had another hard night. She didn't go to sleep until 2:30. She got sick twice. She isn't eating much so the doctor is going to give her a supository to stimulate the appitite. When she got sick, at least her heart rate didn't go up to 260 this time like the night before. Though it did go up. The doctors are also reducing the medicine and tweaking things. They say she is doing okay. She does look good, but you can tell she feels bad and is tired.

Please continue to keep her in your prayers and positive thoughts.
Thank you to all the TT'er for being so supportive!”

“Thanks for the update Windi. She is in some very good hands.”

“I'm a little late to this - prayers for Erica!”

“"We need new posters:)"
Nimblefoot

Ah, you're just using "Posters" on tne barn so you won't have to paint it.”