Happy Mother’s Day to all of the loving Mother’s that inspire and develop the next generation.

We had the opportunity to spend the day with our beloved Cassie and reflect on how thankful we are to have her as our rock.

Cassie had a restful night where she remained on ventilation to allow her recovering chest to relax. The ICU team performed many tests today to rule out any possible pathology causing her episode of low blood pressure last evening. She had a Bronchoscopy performed today to collect lung mucus and test for potential infection causing her extra difficulty with breathing.

While she is still awaiting results they continue to test her breathing ability on room air.

The family is extremely thankful for the continued outreach, support and prayers for Cassie as she fights to make strides everyday.

Cassie got some good rest last night. This morning she was able to tolerate more time sitting up on the side of the bed with the support of Physical and Occupational therapists. She was able to sit up for about 5 minutes before her dizziness returned. She has continued to be off the ionotrophic agent that would support her heart functionality. She was on “room air” for 7.5 hours today. However at the end of her time on “room air” her blood turned very acidic. This is caused from her inability to expel carbon dioxide as she breathes out. This caused her blood pressure to decrease significantly at the end of the day and made her get very drowsy. In order to return back to normal levels she was placed back on the ventilator temporarily and had to use some blood pressers to return her blood pressure to an acceptable level. The medical staff got everything back to normal levels and are settling her in for the night. The family continues to share all the thoughts and prayers that are passed along through this page to Cassie.

Cassie had yet another busy day in her recovery. Cassie didn’t get a lot of rest last night and woke up very tired. She was on “room air” for about an hour this morning but it was paused so she could get a permanent central line placed into her right shoulder. This central line will still allow the medical staff to give her medication directly into her blood stream while maintaining comfort and preventing infection.

Cassie was not able to tolerate sitting up on the side of her bed as she got extremely dizzy after a few minutes. They continued to work on moving her hands while she laid back down. Cassie has been off the ionotrophic agent that supports the functionality of her heart for over 36 hours, and the lab test showed that her transplanted heart is functioning extremely well on its own. The goal is for Cassie to get more time on room air this weekend and continue her PT / OT sessions.

Cassie has continued to make tremendous progress in her breathing ability without the ventilator. Today she was able to tolerate 7 hours of room air without the support of a ventilator. She beat her record of 4 hours from yesterday. While on the room air she had a physical therapy and occupational therapy session where they were able to sit her up on the side of the bed. While sitting up she was able to move her legs and arms with assistance from the staff. She has not been in pain today after the amputation yesterday as the medical staff continue to monitor the pain levels.

Cassie had an amputation performed on her lower left leg. Earlier this week the doctors confirmed that there was no recovery in most of her lower left leg, and her left foot was completely dead. The doctors performed the first operation of a below the knee amputation. While this is not ideal, the amputation was an important step to her recovery. Cassie will still be able to live a very functional life with the use of a prosthetic and get back to doing some of her favorite activities like pickleball, tennis, hiking, and strolls around the neighborhood. The doctors are continuing to closely monitor her right foot which was also affected by the loss of blood flow. She still has the ability to wiggle her toes in the right foot, but there is concern for future functionality once she is able to walk. No procedures on the right foot need to be taken at this time as the medical staff will let her body recover more before deciding the next course of action.

Cassie has continued to progress in a number of other areas in her recovery. She was able to be on “room air” for 4 hours and was able to tolerate the speaking valve for 15 minutes. While she is still not strong enough to be able to speak, they will continue to increase her time on “room air” with the use of the speaking vent to build up the strength of her diaphragm so she can speak to the family. Please pass along your thoughts and prayers to Cassie today as she will need them to strengthen her spirits.

Cassie has continued to progress in her recovery. She was tilted twice today for 35 minutes each time. She also was able to tolerate room air for 3 straight hours today. As she continues to be able to breathe this room air without the use of the vent, the speech team will evaluate her for a speaking valve in the coming days. She also met with the PT / OT teams today and they were able to work on her grip strength and sit her up on the edge of the bed. The family would like to thank everyone for the constant outreach, prayers, and meals.

Cassie has continued to progress well in her recovery, making progress in her fluid offload, reducing her reliance on blood pressers, and reducing her reliance on the ionotropic medicine as well. She was able to match her tolerance of “room air” of up to an hour today, as well as continuing her “tilting” for longer than she has before.

Cassie took her 12th trip to the OR today where the doctors reassessed the fasciotomy wounds in her left leg. The doctors confirmed that there was no infection and that she maintains muscle reactivity in the back of her calf. The doctors are continuing to evaluate next steps for her left leg and right foot. Both of these extremities were affected by a lack of blood flow while she was on the ECMO machine.

Cassie has continued to increase her awareness over the past few days. She was able to sit up and watch Pastor Dan’s sermon at St. Mark’s with her family. She greatly appreciates all the videos and audio messages that have been sent to her. Her smile lights up the room when she gets to hear all of your voices. While she is still physically lying in bed, Cassie is cognitively back in shape. The family is overjoyed with her memory recollection, humor, and responsiveness to our conversations.

Cassie has continued to reduce her need of blood pressers and has been off the blood pressers since yesterday morning. She continues to use Dobutamine which is an ionotropic agent which improves the functionality of the heart muscle. The ICU team is continuing to reduce the dosage provided to her to test her heart functionality without the use of this medication.

Today Cassie will continue to undergo her occupational therapy to increase the strength throughout her body. She will also begin using “room oxygen” where she is completely removed from the ventilator to breathe on her own. Yesterday she was able to tolerate this for 30 minutes, and is looking to increase that amount of time today. Lastly, she will continue to be “tilted”, where the medical bed is moved upwards to simulate the sensation of standing. Thank you for the continual prayers and support, these words of kindness help give her strength to tackle the next obstacle that she faces on her road to recovery.

Cassie had a successful tracheostomy surgery yesterday evening. This morning she has been awake and very aware, even smirking at a few of the boys witty one-liners. She was even able to muster up her first words to the family saying “I love you too”. She is still too weak to have a speaking valve retrofitted, but she is beginning Occupational Therapy to increase her strength. They are getting her arms and head moving through a number of different exercises.

This morning she was also tilted upwards, where her hospital bed is able to move her entire body all the way up to a 60 degree angle to help stimulate the sensation of standing and move the fluid throughout her body. Both her left leg and right legs have pulses today, which the ICU team was unable to find earlier in the week. They are unsure what this means for her future functionality but will wait for her to be able to speak to the team to assess pain and movement. The goals of the team are to continue encouraging her to move her body and breathe on her own as she is looking to take significant steps in her recovery.

Additionally, Cassie has loved to receive videos and audio messages from her support group. If you have anything you would like to pass along to her, please send these directly to the family members so we can pass on your thoughts, motivation and prayers to her.

Cassie has just returned from a successful tracheostomy operation. Last evening she remained off the ventilator and continued to initiate her own breaths. Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy observed her today and confirmed that she is ready to begin recovery activities tomorrow.

Vascular redressed her left leg and adjusted the wound vacs that are helping the fasciotomy wounds heal. The vascular team confirmed that she now has a pulse in all of her extremities. While this is promising, there is still concerns for the future functionality and the family has been informed that amputation is the most likely outcome.Vascular consulted dermatology to confirm if there is an infection of the skin in her left leg and right foot and are awaiting test results. Please continue to share your thoughts and prayers in the comment section below so the family can continue to share them as she becomes more aware.

The family would like to give a special thank you to Mennel Milling and Rowmark for the incredible support this week. It is incredible how after many years working together those people become more than colleagues, but family.