Staying Positive

Claire had her MRI scan on Tuesday at 12:15 and we got her results back in the evening that said she had suffered some bleeding in her brain. The neurologists said that she had the most severe bleeding into the cells in the front part of her brain and less severe bleeding in the mid left side with some clotting. The neurologists said that her body should absorb the blood back out of her brain and eventually the clotting as well. There is no surgery necessary for this, just time and patience to see how she heals. Some of the doctors were really positive about her recovery because of her young age she will be resilient and bounce back from this. They were not sure if and when we would know the severity; we are still doing many tests to follow up as all brains react differently to different damage. Our doctor reduced Claire’s pain medicine to half of her dosage in the morning and then took the drip completely away in the evening. Now she just gets small doses as needed. Claire had her second bath before bed.

Here are two really good websites for referencing how the surgery for coarctation is performed and for information about the heart condition.

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/graphicsummaries/coarswf.htm

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/coarctation.htm

Wednesday the nurses tried to install a PICC line (a more permanent line to give her blood and medicine). It was unsuccessful because her veins were too small and they could not thread it. However, they did say it was not completely necessary at this time and could probably hold off until surgery. At night Claire had her first head ultrasound and we had multiple meetings with neurologists.