Monday, March 16

We have had an interesting weekend. Friday, Taylor started spitting up more than usual. She got a little worse as the weekend progressed. The doctors stopped her feeds on Sunday around noon and started her on a IV drip. They were worried that she was dehydrated because she didn't have the urine output that she should have had. They were contemplating sending her to either ICU or to the Ped's floor. Thankfully, she starting peeing and stopped spitting up! Thank God for pee!!!

Saturday, one of the nurses told Jeff that our insurance company was questioning if Taylor needed to continue therapy. It's amazing how much you have to fight for your child when they're in the hospital? Evidentially, our insurance company only approved Taylor for two weeks of in-patient rehab so they were expecting us to go home this Wednesday. Thankfully, we have a wonderful case worker going to bat for us with our insurance company. She said, it is normal for private insurance to "question" if a child needs to be in rehab. For now, Taylor will definitely be here through the 19th. Then our case worker will be back on the phone trying to get Taylor approved for at least one more week. She said they only approve 7 days at a time. There are no guarantee's, however because Taylor is making progress and they have proper documentation, hopefully our insurance company will not deny her.

Taylor's cardiologist, Dr. Hannon, also stopped in this morning to perform another echo. He didn't have the specifics, but from looking at her heart on the screen he felt it looked about the same from the echo they performed two weeks ago. He said the ejection fracture was around 32%, but not to get too carried away in the numbers because depending on the angle the numbers can vary. He still feels confident that Taylor will improve over time.

Jeff and I still have a steady stream of visitors. Our pastor has been up to see Taylor more times than I can count. It just means so much to us to know so many people care... Our church, our friends and family, and our community have been phenomenal!!! The love and support we receive daily is just AMAZING! To read the comments from my students at SWMS makes me so proud! Over the last couple of weeks, my kids at school have had a "hat day" and a "student vs. faculty basketball game" fundraiser in honor of Taylor. SWES also had their kids participate in a "hat day" fundraiser. We continue to be in AWE of how unbelievably generous everyone has been to us.

Taylor also received a ton of get well cards from Cole's kindergarten class (one of Taylor's Iowa cousins) as well as Bethany Baptist Children's Church. It's just an overwhelming feeling when you're reading a card from a 6 year old that says, "hang in there Taylor....God is going to heal you soon." Jeff and I want you all to know that everyone's prayers, love, and support has gotten us through the last incredibly difficult 10 weeks. We love and appreciate you all very much! We just hope we can pay it forward one day!!! Love you all!

Tammy

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Side Note:
According to the MayoClinic.com…
Ejection fraction is a measurement of the capacity at which your heart is pumping.
During each heartbeat cycle, the heart contracts and relaxes. When your heart contracts, it ejects blood from the two pumping chambers (ventricles). When your heart relaxes, the ventricles refill with blood. No matter how forceful the contraction, it doesn't empty all of the blood out of a ventricle. The term "ejection fraction" refers to the percentage of blood that's pumped out of a filled ventricle with each heartbeat.

Because the left ventricle is the heart's main pumping chamber, ejection fraction is usually measured only in the left ventricle (LV). A normal LV ejection fraction is 55 to 70 percent. The ejection fraction may decrease if your heart has been damaged by a heart attack or other problems with the heart valves or muscle.

God Bless
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