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Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Elizabeth Archives - Day 32

Briefly, before Sara and I collapse into our bed, Elizabeth's surgery went without complications today. Before surgery though, we all had a very rough night...her chest tube obstructed and fluid began compressing her lungs again, requiring the urgent placement of a new chest tube. Her last remaining IV also "blew," leaking fluid into her tissues and causing her quite a bit of pain.

All of that aside, the surgeons said they "accomplished what they'd hoped" and now it's "wait and see time." In other words, they were able to find the thoracic duct and tie it off, and thought they'd done an "elegant" job of scarring down the lining of the chest wall. It will be several days before we know whether this re-operation has had the desired effect on her lymphatic drainage. Pray hard for this! We don't want her to have undergone this risky and painful procedure only to have it fail.

She also had a new long-term IV placed and a G-tube as we'd described earlier. These also went well. Lastly, something she received in the OR gave her a generalized allergic reaction, characterized by swelling, hives and skin redness. So right now, she's looking a little blotchy, but alot like after her first surgery.

We're relieved that the surgery is over and that she survived. Now we're praying for that chest tube fluid, and that she'll get off the ventilator very quickly.

Thanks,
Matt and Sara

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