Two Steps Forward and One Step Back

Received a phone call from Children's around noon. Brielle developed a pneumothorax after they tried to remove her chest tubes.  A pneumothorax is the collection of air in the space around the lungs. This buildup of air puts pressure on the lung, so it cannot expand as much as it normally does. This put a lot of stress on her body, which already has to work hard to compensate for her hypoplastic left heart. 

They were able to get her stable again, but they had to re-insert her breathing tube, insert a new but smaller chest tube, and stop her feeds (she's getting nutrition through her PICC line again). It will take a few days for her to recover to where she was before. So it's two steps forward and one step back, but at least she came through. 

The hardest part in all of this is to see her when she's uncomfortable. But they gave her a little more pain medication before we left tonight, and she started to look more at peace. She is a little fighter and one tough little baby. We thank God for keeping His hand on her.