|| Imogen Rea ||
We had GREAT news this morning from Imogen’s medical team!
Her daily chest X-ray today showed no air or fluid in the pleural space between the lungs and the chest wall!!!
Thank God!! This is good progress!
The pleural space is usually empty to allow for the lungs to expand, and the rib cage then opens up to give room to the air inside the lungs, allowing us to breathe without pain or much effort. Imogen’s pleural space has held some fluid for a while since her shunt drainage tube was positioned there about a year ago. This was well tolerated until recently when she became sick with a virus (common cold) which would not bother you and I much, but for Imogen it tipped her over the edge with regard to what her body could cope with. She then acquired another virus (common cold) but was asymptomatic at home and we had no idea her left lung was becoming collapsed under the growing pressure of fluid in the pleural space. Imogen is such a fighter, she kept playing and smiling and having a good time even though she must have been in a lot of discomfort. At the same time, she was having chemo at home which disguised how tired she was from the extra effort of breathing and also disguised that her lung cavity was at capacity with fluid and pressing on her digestive organs, since she always vomits a lot on chemo anyway.
I am unspeakably glad to have caught it in time to get her to hospital and put her in the hands of her medical team before her rapid deterioration on Sunday.
Below, there’s 3 photos. There was less than 2hrs between the first and second photo. She was up playing with me on a floor blanket, she seemed stable and we were waiting on various medical teams to decide a path forward for her treatment. Within a few minutes of the first photo, Imogen suddenly began to drop her oxygen levels even with oxygen support. Her wonderful nurse increased the oxygen flow immediately but her sats continued to drop. Shortly after, we placed her on the bed and the instruction was made that she needed high-flow oxygen with humidifier. All of this triggered an urgent flow of visits from various teams: PICU staff who said she needed to be transferred to ICU asap, neurosurg came back to provide their opinion about the pleural effusion from a shunt perspective, and the Paediatric surgeon checked on her along with the oncology consultant who all agreed she needed surgery within hours. The second photo shows Imogen after the drama of that 2hrs, finally asleep and being monitored closely by the ICU doctor who never left her side until she was admitted to ICU
Later that day she had surgery to drain the fluid around her lungs. At the time of surgery when her chest wall was opened up, some air got inside the pleural space - which commonly happens apparently. She’s been unable to shift the air and her left lung was still partially collapsed even though most of the fluid was gone. So yesterday the teams took her back to theatre and externalised her shunt tubing so that they could more proactively suction the lungs and remove the pocket of air. The last photo is this morning, sitting up again out of her bed, being entertained by Brad and her ICU nurse, and receiving chest Physio from the Paediatric physiotherapist. And her lungs are free of unwanted fluid and air today. We are SO relieved and glad!
Thank you Jesus for coming through again and again for our little girl. And we are incredibly grateful to Imogen’s devoted medical team that spans multiple departments of the hospital. The oncology, neurosurg, paediatric surgical and PICU teams all weighed in on the big decisions that were made over the last few days about Imogen’s pleural effusion and shunt malfunction. Each with their own specialty knowledge and combined experience. Imogen’s neurosurgeon even came in on his holidays to discuss his decisions with Brad last night and I know he’s been involved via phone about her condition too. We can’t even begin to express to you how highly we regard these amazing humans who devote themselves to learning about the body and using their skills to save our baby, and others
We are also thankful for the doctors and nurses who worked over Easter weekend to help those who were sick in hospital like Imogen, instead of being home with their own families and friends.
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Imogen and us and her medical team as we navigate these latest roadblocks. Nothing is impossible for God. I wish you could see all the details of our story and journey. There’s so much good, so much beauty, so many surprisingly happy moments in amongst the hard (and trust me, there’s SO MUCH hard …it’s all very rough on us). Sometimes it’s easy to only notice the problems, the barriers, the speed bumps and the road blocks in life. That’s just too overwhelming for me. I crumbled under it all on Sunday with Imogen’s rapid deterioration. I thought to myself, maybe I’m out of practice because Imogen has been so well for the last 8 months. Maybe I’m getting soft or not as tough as I used to be.
But then I remembered 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It’s ok to feel weak, because God is so strong. I only cope because, and when, I’m leaning HEAVILY on Jesus, and he is very much able to exchange my weakness for his strength. I’m in so much debt to Jesus. I’m daily (sometimes hourly) reminded to decide I will be content no matter what changing variety of HARD I am facing in that moment. It’s not natural to be content in the midst of this, and I can’t achieve it through my own effort.
Please keep praying for Imogen. Her medical teams are still making important decisions, such as when to do brain surgery to replace the malfunctioning shunt, whether to relocate the shunt tubing to another organ, and how to time all of this with her next round of chemo due to start this weekend.
Forever grateful for your prayers and support, which this week included friends and family helping us care for our other children and pets while we focus on Imogen in this crisis
Thank you!
Christie
#prayforimogen
#hospitallife
#stayingalive
#Godisgood
