Eric posted this onto the Jessica page a few minutes ago:
This is from my Dad's email
that he sent out last night:
"We arrived at RCH at approx 5:30pm after watching Emily (Jessica's sister) play in the BC Provincial volleyball tournament at Tradex. I dropped Vickie and her mum near the entrance because it was pouring rain and then I parked. Somehow I ended up ahead of them at ICU and didn't see them in the waiting room so I figured they were already in with Jessica. When I got to her room I was there by myself so I walked in and stood by Jessica's bed while she breathed my name...daddy, daddy, with a scared expression on her face. Of course the trachea tube doesn't allow air to flow over her vocal cords so we do our best to read her lips. She only lasts a about 5 - 10 seconds like that before she drifts back into a sedated sleep. As she faded off she smiled back to me as my face was sending messages of delight back to her. How many times over the last 4 weeks did I look down at her in her ICU bed as she was totally sedated with machines keeping her alive and wonder to myself if I would ever hear my name called by her again. Immediately after that Dr Gunning walked into the room and said she that she was no longer being assisted by the ventilator! I looked to my right at the ventilator and the machine screen was completely black with the power turned off. She was working hard so I asked if it was permanent and he said he would have the evening RT - Respiratory Technician turn it back on. Dr Gunning is an excellent doctor, but he could just as easily worked at NASA or the Racing division of Porsche. He knows who he can push and when they are ready; I think he likes to see Jessica excel. Whether its the fact that Jessica can handle enough drugs to lay down a Rhino or setting record pace to recovery after ECMO I think he likes to see what she can do. I was curious myself, so when we returned at 9:30pm I asked Jessica's nurse, "you see patients come off ECMO, tell me, how is Jess doing?" The reply was, "Amazing.." "Amazing.." "Amazing.." We noted it was good to see the Ventilator back on and she replied that the RT was going to have to come up with some creative excuse to have turned the Ventilator back on because Jessica's blood work indicated she is exchanging gas just fine on her own. There is an excitement around Jessica's ICU door. Nurses and staff pop their heads in constantly to see what new stage she is at now. They love to see patients improve, because since we've been there we have noticed a huge percentage of patients that don't make it."
"We arrived at RCH at approx 5:30pm after watching Emily (Jessica's sister) play in the BC Provincial volleyball tournament at Tradex. I dropped Vickie and her mum near the entrance because it was pouring rain and then I parked. Somehow I ended up ahead of them at ICU and didn't see them in the waiting room so I figured they were already in with Jessica. When I got to her room I was there by myself so I walked in and stood by Jessica's bed while she breathed my name...daddy, daddy, with a scared expression on her face. Of course the trachea tube doesn't allow air to flow over her vocal cords so we do our best to read her lips. She only lasts a about 5 - 10 seconds like that before she drifts back into a sedated sleep. As she faded off she smiled back to me as my face was sending messages of delight back to her. How many times over the last 4 weeks did I look down at her in her ICU bed as she was totally sedated with machines keeping her alive and wonder to myself if I would ever hear my name called by her again. Immediately after that Dr Gunning walked into the room and said she that she was no longer being assisted by the ventilator! I looked to my right at the ventilator and the machine screen was completely black with the power turned off. She was working hard so I asked if it was permanent and he said he would have the evening RT - Respiratory Technician turn it back on. Dr Gunning is an excellent doctor, but he could just as easily worked at NASA or the Racing division of Porsche. He knows who he can push and when they are ready; I think he likes to see Jessica excel. Whether its the fact that Jessica can handle enough drugs to lay down a Rhino or setting record pace to recovery after ECMO I think he likes to see what she can do. I was curious myself, so when we returned at 9:30pm I asked Jessica's nurse, "you see patients come off ECMO, tell me, how is Jess doing?" The reply was, "Amazing.." "Amazing.." "Amazing.." We noted it was good to see the Ventilator back on and she replied that the RT was going to have to come up with some creative excuse to have turned the Ventilator back on because Jessica's blood work indicated she is exchanging gas just fine on her own. There is an excitement around Jessica's ICU door. Nurses and staff pop their heads in constantly to see what new stage she is at now. They love to see patients improve, because since we've been there we have noticed a huge percentage of patients that don't make it."
1 comment:
Hi Jane... I've been a long time follower of your blog. My husband works with Charles Davies and I read that you have a connection to that family as well. I recall reading a very similar story from a few years back on your blog, about a girl named Jessica. I don't really know why I'm even writing this, but since you know both families, I just wondered if there would be any value in connecting Tracy and Vickie, for encouragement, support or in the best case scenario, some helpful ideas or insights. Praying for Charles and his family.
... Jane Baker
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