Thank you all so much for your prayers and following along with Esther’s progress.
I thought I could prepare myself for the ups and downs but only on day 2 and I’m a wreck. This morning she had blood pressure issues and once they gave her some medication it seemed to make her much happier. She had an issue with her chest tube not draining but the doctors quickly fixed that.
This afternoon the kids were able to say hi to their sister. The kids love her so much.
I stopped by after dinner to a lot of people in the room. The neonatologist informed me that they needed to start her on ECMO. Her lungs we were working to hard and it was making thigs much worse for her. Once the were set up I had to leave. It took them a couple hours to hook up the machine. Once they were done we were able to talk more with her surgeon about what this means for Esther.
Everything that they were trying before was making things worse for Esther. The oscillator that was breathing and supplying air to her lungs is what was causing tiny tears that were leaking oxygen. Because they needed to have the oscillator on so high it was making things worse. With her being in ECMO, it completely rest the lungs so they will heal and she will get better. The pressure from the oscillator was pushing on her heart also, and starting to cause damage. The ECMO machine will let her heart rest too so it can heal.
They will run test after a few days to see how she is handling being on ECMO. They will test her lungs with a puff of air to see if it’s healing. She can stay on ECMO up to 21 days. But ideally it will be less than 14. Their are lots of risks for her on ECMO. And I hope we won’t have to deal with any of them. So I won’t go over them. Just pray for no complications. Pray she heals miraculously fast. Once she can come off ECMO and can prove herself to be strong with out it they can do her repair surgery.
All the machines keeping Esther alive. The stuff on the right is the ECMO.
The two red tubes are acting as her heart and lungs. Delivering blood to her so she can rest.
Her surgeon is very optimistic about Esther. This will help and she will do great. But it’s still scary and a last resort for her. I know she is covered in prayers and I appreciate it so much. She is doing alright right now. Dave and I stayed with her most the night and she is looking good.
For family stuff, we are still waiting to get into the hospitality house that is connected to the hospital. They have no rooms available and we would really like to be able to stay their as soon as possible. It makes things so much easier to be close to Esther and the other kids.
Hannah Bouwmeester
June 26, 2014 at 8:03 pmLauren and family, you are definitely covered in prayers. You are loved and represented at the throne of the Great Physician by many! Love and prayers from all the Bouwmeester family!
Karen S.
June 26, 2014 at 10:37 pmLauren and Dave, Esther is in good hands. Be sure to take good care of yourselves too! You have a long road ahead of you. Get rest and eat well as much as possible. I know that’s easier said than done. We went thru’ NICU for 3 months. It gets a little easier. I hope she will stabilize so you can breathe a little easier. Prayers continue !! Love you, Aunt Karen
Esther Krueger
June 27, 2014 at 12:46 amAnyone would be a “wreck” in your situation, not to mention that you are still recovering from childbirth and dealing with crazy new nursing hormones. Postpartum is hard enough at home with a healthy baby, I can’t imagine what you are dealing with under these extreme strenuous conditions. You must be in every way exhausted. I can’t imagine. You have been on my mind all day and I have been praying for you frequently. My heart feels heavy for you and Dave. It must be so difficult to want to be with your baby, and to be so concerned for her well being, but to also take time to rest and to be available for your other children as well. I am praying that God restores your strength each day and that he gives you the energy you need (both physically and emotionally) for every hour.
Esther is precious! Edelle has a soft spot for her too. She seems understand the seriousness of her condition and that she is extra special. Usually Edelle is to busy to be concerned about babies, but she is especially engaged when I talk to her about Esther. We pray for her together each morning and look at the pictures of her. We look forward to meeting her!
Thank you for taking the time to share updates. It is very nice to know what is going on and how to pray specifically. As a friend that is concerned, It is also good to know how you are holding up. I wish there was more I could do for you during this tough time…
Lauren • Post Author •
June 27, 2014 at 7:15 pmThanks, Esther. You are a very encouraging friend and I appreciate that.