How to say this?

Our girl is gone.

She passed away this morning.

Oh, Kady.

The Best Girl Ever

Progress This Hour

Just this minute got back from visiting. She is much more alert and active today. Grumpy, even. Her protein levels came up (a good thing) Her coagulation numbers are stable. She ate a whole jar of baby food this morning and about half a jar for me while I was there. She sneezed and tried to pull her O2 tube out of her nose. When a little Yorkie walked by, she whipped her head around and gave him the stink eye.

She is, however, still in the Critical Care Unit, on oxygen, on a feeding tube and gravely ill. So . . . more waiting and hoping.

Tuesday Night

Kady is looking much more alert today. She raised her head and seemed to know me. But she is still in rough shape. Fluid collecting in her body cavity is putting pressure on her diaphragm which is making her breathing labored, so they are giving her supplemental oxygen.

Her protein levels are still low so they gave her albumen and then they will check her levels again tomorrow. The albumen treatment is pretty much the last thing they can do. So there's a lot riding on that test tomorrow. Dr. Tuttle says she is showing clinical improvement, and that means it is reasonable to continue providing support. If she declines clinically, that's a pretty good indication that it's enough.

Kady's Complications

Kady's biggest challenge right now is disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). It is a pathological process in the body where the blood starts to coagulate throughout the whole body. This depletes the body of its platelets and coagulation factors, resulting in the paradoxic situation in which there is a high risk for simultaneous catastrophic thrombosis as well as massive hemorrhage.

So the two dangers are edema and general seepage and the possibility that she will start throwing clots.

Shit.

Dr. Colopy says DIC can happen when a patient has a "full body assault" and big surgery like Kady had certainly qualifies. One of the lab results they are waiting for is a coagulation test, and that will tell if the DIC is resolving.

This just SUCKS.

Can't Stand It.

Nothing definitive this morning. Sarah, Kady's student, said they didn't have the lab work back yet, but that Kady is sitting up and she seems more alert.