8/19/2009 3rd surgery

Today Mackenzie was scheduled for surgery at noon. After a day full getting bumped for emergencies and what not she made it in at 2pm. After about three hours of surgery the doctor came out saying everything went well, and all her bowel has been sewn back together, with a final measurement of 85 cm. Dr. Lee said that he feels that might just be enough to work with. They also put in a gastrostomy tube. which is inserted directly into her stomach through the abdomen. This will be used to feed her when she gets to that point, which is still some time out. The tube will also most likely be left in for quite a while. This morning prior to her surgery the doctor informed us that they believe her DIC and infection is getting better. Her platelet count got up to 40 but did eventually drop down to 13. But compared to the past couple days her platelet count wouldn't even go up it would just stay the same. The number in a count is just the amount of platelets per so much blood. I am not entirely sure what the required concentration is but 13 is low and 40 is also low but still not as bad. Since surgery that hasn't been much change until just now actually as we are sitting here her blood pressure keeps dropping and they are trying to figure out what is causing this. She is still very sick and things could still take a turn for the worse at any time as much as we want to celebrate her intestines being fixed for now, there is still a very long road. Early next week she is scheduled to be closed up. What they will most likely do is close the fascia, which is a strong tissue that protects the organs. They will leave the skin open to heal on it's own which can take several weeks. We were told this is because the skin is no longer sterile, and it is just much easier on a child to let them heal themselves. Keep praying and be sure to check back... Thanks