On Thursday we had a final doctor's appointment and x-ray of her lungs. We are going home on Tuesday (WOOOHOOO!!!) :-) (26th) and wanted to make sure that she had improved enough to fly. The doctor who met with us pulled up her x-rays from the day of discharge (2/14), and then the one from Thursday, side by side, and it was amazing how different they looked. The one taken in February was mostly milky-white on the right side, an indication that there was still both some liquid and inflammation remaining, as well as inadequate air supply of her lung. The new x-ray looked MUCH better, with mostly dark space on the right side like the picture of healthy lungs below shows. As you can see, the bottom of each lung should have a tip , but even in the new x-ray Alexa's right lung still had a rounded bottom with no dark tip visible. The doctor said that was likely either minimal fluid remaining or "organized matter" left over from the fluid... basically pus and gunk. Also, the rim on the outside edge of her right lung was slightly thicker than on her left side; more remnant from the fluid and infection. He was fairly certain that her body would take care of that over time and that she would have no long-term complications. Praise God! So... we are looking forward to returning home on Tuesday, reuniting with our dear Papa/husband and finding our way back into a routine. Thankfully, my dear mother is accompanying us back on the flight and staying for two weeks to help us get over jet lag. It would be tough without her!! :-) So... again, thanks to you all who have been praying for Alexa and our whole family in this very unexpected turn of events, and we are so, so happy and grateful that this chapter seems to be closed, and with a happy ending.
These images are not Alexa's x-rays, but you can get an idea of what hers looked like when she had fluid build-up. (Though, unfortunately, hers was considerably worse than the one on the top.)
Pleural effusion
Healthy lungs
No comments:
Post a Comment