Monday, March 26, 2007

Cautiously Optimistic

Lillian is a very sick little girl. Though the weekend was grim, today was a better day. She is mobilizing fluids and can open her eyes once again. On Saturday they were talking about switching her to a more aggressive ventilator but today, just 2 short days later, they've weaned her to a "conventional mode" of ventilation on the same machine. (That's a good thing.) It's hard to allow ourselves to hope again but we have decided to be cautiously optimistic. Since they still don't know what they are treating, there's a fair chance that she could turn the other way again. Apparently this is a fairly common roller coaster for kids in the PICU. For now, we're just so thankful for every precious moment. Please pray that Lillian would continue this positive momentum.

22 comments:

Jennifer said...

Lori,
We are lifting you, Lillian and Jeff up to God in prayer every single day. Please let us know if there is any other way we can support you. Seriously...anything you need.

I am so happy to hear that you have finally been able to look into your sweet little one's eyes again.
Love,
Jenn

Anonymous said...

Lori,
I pulled up the blog as I try to do each evening and found the news that Lillian is opening her eyes and mobilizing the fluid again. How happy we all are that your sweet little girl is fighting as hard as ever to get well. We continue to pray for all of you. Liz G.

Anonymous said...

OH, goodness, thank you God! What a powerful turn around at a much needed hour!!! I am so grateful for this good news, I hope it is okay that we will be leaping for joy, shouting out with optimism and full of hope! Go Lillian, you are so strong girl, show em' how it's done. MOBILIZE BABY!
Grady and I will do the "fluid dance" for her tomorrow, it includes a lot of trips to the bathroom to help facilitate this stubborn fluid issue :)

I am praying and thinking of her, she can do it!

Anything I can do, I am here.
Katie Newsom

Anonymous said...

Lori: Your little Lillian is such a fighter. How wonderful that she sees you again and her fluid is mobilizing. Your blog has had a powerful affect on me to cherish the simplest things in life and to never take anything for granted.
Kathy H.

The Tucson Gang said...

Lori - This is great news, and what a needed change after a rough weekend! Lillian is a resilient little trooper. Hope your night on the tiny daybed was a restful one! Love to you all!
Traci

Anonymous said...

Happy to hear that she is making strides in moblizing the fluid. We pray for her continued strength and for you both during this tough time. Love, Abra and Chip

Anonymous said...

Lori,

Little Lilly is really a fighter. Go Lilly! Hopefully this will be the start of steady progress toward wellness. Again we think you and Jeff are remarkable parents. We will keep Lilly in our daily prayers. Jean M.

Anonymous said...

Lori

we're are thinking of you guys almost every day. Can't wait to see your blog entries become solely positive ones very soon!

Give Lillian a big hug from us.

Angela, Nicole and Uwe

Anonymous said...

I have been working on getting Lillian mad enough at me to mobilize,and trying to keep her legs and arms strong! I am going away for the rest of the week, but you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Take good care of yourselves. -Shana

Anonymous said...

Lori,

We are so glad to hear Lillian is doing better! I hope this continues. Obviously, you have loads of people rooting for you.

Love,

Steve & Doris

Anonymous said...

Hopig today is a good day! The sun is finally out, reminding me of how precious these little lives are! Thinking of you always~
Katie

Anonymous said...

Lori,

Please know that you, Jeff and LILLIAN are in our constant prayers. God is listening. He heard our prayers for Madilyn and he has heard all of our prayers for Lillian.

As you say it, it's slow going. I find your strength through this long hospital stay to be absolutely amazing and I admire you so very much. I count my blessings for every moment I have with Maddie so I "feel" very deeply what you so eloquently put into words in your blog.

Keep fighting the good fight. Lillian will prove VICTORIOUS in it all and one day you will all celebrate the triumph.

Constantly in our prayers.

Catherine Colley and Family
(Madilyn's Mom)

Anonymous said...

Lori and Jeff,

You are in our thoughts and prayers during your difficult journey. With love, Claudia

Judy said...

Dear Jeff & Lori,
I have never blogged before, but now that I know about Lillian's site I hope to remedy my absence. We have tried to understand Lillian's progress and needs via G'pa Ken, but the information has been very sketchy at best. Rest assured that Lillian has been in our prayers and thoughts daily. I have read your heartfelt blogs and I am so grateful to finally have a means to keep in touch and in the loop. please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything at all that you need or would be of some help. I have given Lillian's name to our church prayer team and Women's Aglow prayer team. I know that God answers prayer and I feel strongly that He has placed many angels around Lillian's bed to fortify her strength and recovery. You are forever in our prayers and we are so happy that Lillian is making some progress, baby steps are still steps, and through them she will return to full health. You are very blessed to have such a sweet little girl, I can feel your pain but I can also sense your optimism. We love you all, Great Aunt Judy

La Maestra said...

Dearest Lori, Jeff, and Lillian,
We want you all to know that you are in our hearts and minds each day, and more importantly in our prayers. I'm overwhelmed by the strength and love the three of you have! know how much we love you too.

Mindy and Bill

Anonymous said...

Lori, Jeff, and Lillian,
I was so happy to hear from Mindy tonight about Lillian's blog; I've been wishing for a way to reach out. I pray this finds you with a continued sense of cautious optimism, as well as a renewed surge of hope. I'm thinking about all of you each day.
All my love and many, many prayers,
Cousin Kate

Anonymous said...

How are you, how is LIllian? Thinking of you all everyday and wishing for health and strength! Go LIllian! We love ya girl!
Katie and Grady

Anonymous said...

Thinking about you on 10N and hoping and praying you are all okay down there. May peace be with you,
Robyn

Anonymous said...

Lori,

We have been praying for you, Jeff and Lillian everyday and I wanted to let you know that we are praying for strength and peace for you all. We know that Lillian is GREAT FIGHTER and we will continue to ask God to give her the strength she needs to fight off whatever this organism is.

Katie Newsom has been keeping me up to date on how you all are and we are wanting to do anything to help. Please let her know if we can bring up a home cooked meal or anything else. I know hospital food for this long is not good.

Take Care,

Nancy Leitgeb

Anonymous said...

just a note to say we're thinking about you and praying HARD! Hang in there and remember to hold God's hand. He's right beside you.
Here's a hug,

Stiiiilllll Believing,
Robyn and Lexie

Anonymous said...

You are all in our thoughts and prayers daily! Hope things are getting better or at least staying stable. Lillian is such the little fighter! And she couldn't continue to fight without her wonderful loving parents always there to help her through the fight. Keep up the good work. You are all in inspiration in the strength and love you have shown through this fight! Praying for continued strength & endurance through this long haul. I am here if you need anything :) God Bless.
Beth & Family

Anonymous said...

Lori, The three of you are in our hearts/prayers. What the three of you are experiencing has had such a dramatic effect on us and made us realize how important it is to live one day at a time.
With love,
Kathy H. and Forrest H.