Libby is very critical

Dear Family and Friends,

Libby's condition is very critical. I feel nauseous just thinking of the reality of how sick she really is tonight! I drove from Longview to Centerville (with great directions...thanks Dad!) today to pick up the Packwood boys. Gracie called me this morning and she sounded terrible. She needed me to come get them. The Isenhowers drove them to me, and they are here now sleeping soundly. They were so sweet and innocent in it all. They played and ate dinner, had their baths and got to talk to Gracie on the phone tonight. I heard Mason ask her, "is Libby maybe gonna die?" He and Camden don't know how bad things are, they just know that she is sick and back in the hospital. I know that they are concerned about her, but they are also little boys, and find joy in running in my backyard with flashlights, and putting the leash on my dog and dragging him here and there. I think that they are happy to be here. It is a new set of surroundings, and they love to spend time with my kids. We had an uneventful trip and I am prepared to have them as long as Eric and Gracie need me to. Okay, the following are posts from Gracie today. Please pray for all of them. I talked to Gracie tonight, well, kind of, she was crying and really struggling to speak...it breaks my heart. I want to be there with her, but I know that being here with the boys is where I need to be right now.
We are still in the ER. By the time we got here, Libby looked a little better. Her chest xray looks about the same - no increase in the fluid. They just got blood work, thankfully with just one stick. They are holding off on an IV until the labs are back and it is more clear exactly what needs to happen. She is as usual being a champ. One huge praise - when we got here, there was no one in the waiting room and we got right in. That is HUGE for a Saturday night. Waiting with lots of people with colds, etc could be so dangerous for her. SO - we are thankful for that and her bravery, and your prayers. We'll update when we know more.

Love, Gracie

The nurse came in and told us Libby's white blood cell count is very high (45,000) and they were able to start an IV in ONE stick. Whew! We know she is being admitted, but that is all we know for now. We don't know the source of the infection yet either. All involved don't think the wound redness/swelling is the source. It just isn't angry enough looking. Time will tell. Thanks for checking on us.

Love, Gracie

We got up to our room around 4:30am. Libby is more comfortable with her breathing and some Tylenol with codeine seems to help the pain she is in. The wound seems to have declared itself as the source. When we got to the floor, an area near the bottom is quite swollen and white, seemingly a collection of pus. The surgery team just rounded and plans to take her to the Operating Room ASAP to open that area up and figure out how deep the infection goes. That will determine the course afterwards. We will be in the ICU. We are hopeful that it is a localized skin infection, but the concern is that it is a deeper. I probably don't need to say that this could be life threatening. We will once again trust our Good God for His plans for our precious girl. She is really His anyway - just on loan to us. Please pray. I don't even know what exactly to ask you to pray for. We will update when we know more - likely late morning to early afternoon.

Gracie
The OR team took Libby back about 30 minutes ago. Two precious things that they did for us were let me ride in bed next to her on the way up from the floor to the holding area, and give her great sedation before they took her back to the OR. We got to be with her while she fell asleep. We were just updated and they haven't actually started looking at the wound yet. It takes a while to get all the IVs that she needs. Thank you for praying.

Love, Gracie

Dr Fraser came out to talk to us. Libby's infection is very serious, going under her sternum. He had to leave her chest open so the infection can be treated. Many questions can't be answered right now, but it is at least a big setback. Plastic surgery will have to be involved to close her chest, and she will likely need 4-6 weeks of antibiotics. We need lots of wisdom, courage, and strength for the coming days, probably mostly about our boys who get pushed aside out of necessity. Thank you as always for praying.

We got to see Libby briefly before they put in a central line. She looks OK. They are keeping her paralyzed and sedated and trying to get her blood pressure stabilized. We have hope for brighter days ahead, but are also struggling with the implications of this infection. We will take it one day at a time, maybe one minute at a time. Thanks for loving us.

I wish I had better news to report. Libby is very sick, requiring frequent intervention by the medical team. Unfortunately, the things they have to do to keep her blood pressure up have their negative side effects too. The next hours and days are critical. We are in tremendous pain and feel great sadness and fear right now, yet feel waves of peace and hope. Thank you for the encouraging scriptures you have sent.


PLEASE CONTINUE TO LIFT THEM UP IN PRAYER....