The "A Team"~ Supporting Adrian and Aggie

I sat down and tried to write this story countless times over the last several days and somehow the words just had a very hard time coming out.  It is difficult to put into words all that has happened in the past few weeks but from the continuous messages that are coming in, it is very evident that there is an army of people thinking about, caring about and praying for Adrian (and his mom Aggie).  An army that wants to know what is happening and and wants to know how they can help.  My hope is this page will help provide some answers.

We are now on Day 25 of Adrian in the ICU following his 5th open heart surgery in his short 11 years-- the most complicated to date. Adrian's surgery was on January 24th. What was expected to take 6-7 hours resulted in over 13 hours in the OR as they reattached his aorta (which was pulling away from his heart), replaced 2 valves and repaired a 3rd valve.  Although complex, the surgery itself went well-- the after was the tricky part.  Adrian's blood would not clot post surgery (an expected complication stemming from his barely functioning, extremely sick liver). He received liter after liter in blood transfusions as he kept bleeding and would not clot for hours.  Ultimately the team decided to pack his chest and not close, hoping time and pressure would help.  He was sent to his ICU room with drains still in tact, and his chest closed only by a superficial surgical tape holding the 2 side together.

The next several days were hell.  The bleeding needed to stop.  Adrian'sblood pressure needed to stabilize. His kidneys needed to kick in and start functioning again to flush out the massive amounts of drugs he was receiving, his liver enzymes and bilirubin  numbers, which had soared, needed to come down drastically.  Adrian was intubated and in a medically induced coma to try to give his body time to recover from being on the heart/lung machine during surgery and they needed to start working again.

A rollercoaster ensued over the next 2 weeks.  It seemed every action the doctors took in an attempt to correct an issue had a negative effect on another organ.  They started dialysis  in an attempt to remove the fluids-- the heart did not like this and his blood pressure would crash.  Then they would have to pump him with meds and fluids to get that back up-- virtually undoing all the progress that was made through dialysis. The liver was not responding well to all this dysfunction and chaos in his body. For days Adrian was in Heart, Liver and Kidney failure all at the same time.  But he is the strongest person I know and he was fighting.

These days were scary.  Adrian coded numerous times (flat line- no pulse-- had to recessitate him).  There are not words to describe this... it is such a dark memory... I can't even write about it....

I CAN explain the feelings I was having... helpless.... hopeless.... angry... sad....hopeful... faithful... helpless again...uncertain... fear.... I can not even begin to guess what Adrian's mother was feeling.  All I know is the sunken shoulders, the blank stare... the puffy, almost closed eyes from tears and  days of no sleep expressed more than words ever could.  Aggie would not leave Adrian's side. She only ate what we forced her to eat. She would only sleep minutes at a time in between beeps of the machines, next to Adrian's bedside.  

As the days ticked on, it seemed our prayers were heard and were being answered.  Adrian's strength and will once again started busting through.  Slowly the bp started to stabilize a bit, his kidneys started function a bit/ dialysis was stopped. Liver numbers started to show improvement.  Still in ICU- still in critical condition-- but moving in the right direction.

Then a fever. :( Antibiotics were started. Kidneys stopped producing urine again. Liver enzymes went up again.  Tricuspid valve regurgitation once again a big concern. Talk of a possible transfer to Lurie.  And in the middle of this, Aggie's Paid Time Off at work expired.  As if she had any time to worry about this... But unfortunately she must as this means she will no longer be paid for any time she does not work.

This is where we come in..."The A team".  All the people who have asked "what can we do" and "is there anything they need".  There is little we can do to help at the moment... what we can all do is pray and continued prayers are needed.  And if your financial situation allows, a donation to help eliminated some of the financial stress that Aggie is under would also be amazing.  I know she would never in a million words ask for this-- and that is why this page is being created by a few of her dear friends.  With no income, bills that still need to be paid and a mounting hospital bill that is too big to even calculate (ICU beds at $5600 PER DAY...not to mention the 13 hour surgery and all the staff involved in that) Aggie could really use some help so she can stay with Adrian.  He is scared and he needs his mom by his side- not far away working so they have money to pay the bills.

This road is going to be long and it seems Adrian' recovery is going to be the hardest yet. Adrian is currently still in the ICU in Kidney and Liver failure. His Potassium levels are critically low posing dangers.  Concerns still also remain  surrounding his tricuspid valve- which is still leaking significantly and regurgitating blood, meaning another heart surgery to correct this is likely in the future- along with an eventual liver transplant. Like I said- the road ahead is long...

Please continue the prayers and ask everyone you know to continue praying for Adrian.  Additionally, I'm hoping you will find it in your heart to make a donation to a mom who really could use some support.  At this time the only thing she should have to worry about it caring for Adrian.  The amount of stress she is currently under can not be put into words. We can not do much, but I know we (The A Team) can all help take one stressor off her plate by making a donation.  Thank you in advance for anything you can do.