Results.

Today has been a very (very!) long day.  Ethan slept well last night and managed to sleep-in until 8:15 this morning! We hit the ground running as soon as he woke-up, though.  By 10:00, I had met with the NP, Ethan had his blood drawn, and he was sent downstairs for an echo. Once we got back to our room, it seemed like every time I closed the door, someone else was knocking on it. Thankfully, Jeramie's mom came to visit and she and another friend entertained Ethan while I took a much needed shower.  The hospital life is far from glamorous.

During rounds, we learned that Ethan's labs looked better overall compared to Saturday night's numbers. This is very good news! He will have more blood drawn tomorrow and, as long as those numbers look better than today's, we should be able to go home -- praise the Lord! We also found out that the abdominal ultrasound looks fine, apart from some expected inflammation, and that nothing has grown on his blood cultures yet. Tonight will mark 48 hours of IV antibiotics, so I'm hopeful that whatever this is is on its way out.

So, what is it? Dr. J and Dr. I think it's a post-op syndrome known as post-pericardiotomy syndrome (PPS). Unfortunately, there's not a specific test that can prove this, but everything seems to point to it being the culprit.  The good news is that it's an inflammatory syndrome that's treated with ibuprofen (and possibly steroids). We'll learn more about that plan on rounds tomorrow.

Tonight, I am thanking God for a day of good news! Dr. I came and sat with me and Ethan for a bit this afternoon, and the Lord used him to provide a great deal of comfort to me.  There have been many moments like that scattered throughout this stay and I'll be sure to share those details soon. For now, know that God is good and we are thankful. Tired, but thankful.

Thank you for your continued prayers!