Back…

We went back to the hospital today. It was supposed to just be a regular Cardiology visit, but after the Dr. walked into the room and saw her breathing he began to talk about admitting her as a hospital inpatient.

It makes me frustrated to go back! Like playing Candyland – trapped into repeated falls and slides in the direction you DON’T want to go. But Lucy has spent the last three days gasping for breath and mostly lying on the sofa, so it seems like the better part of wisdom to follow the Dr.’s advice.

She has no new illness. Just a lot of fluid filling up her lungs and tissue that her heart can’t work hard enough to eliminate right now. Someone told us trying to breath through fluid in the lungs is like trying to push air through water – it’s not easily done.

One thing I was very thankful for is that the Dr. came back to the room before James and Lucy were transferred to ICU and quietly spoke to James. “I don’t think this is the end of the road,” he said. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. We will give her a few days here and try to make her more comfortable. Try to ease the work of breathing for her with medication and oxygen. I hope you can go home and get better after that.”

Another sweet thing: I spent all evening shuttling small bodies into proper places (kids from school, brought bags to hospital for James, returned home to relieve the patient fairy godmother who babysat), and when I opened the computer to write and tell you what happened, there were already email messages from people who knew! That’s support for you. Friends who sense your needs before you tell them.

Thanks for praying, kind friends. – Katie

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