1. Pain management: they haven’t really been able to get ahead of the pain yet, and she’s feeling like she can’t take any more.

2. Blood pressure: her blood pressure is still extremely low, and it is not the same on both sides of her body.  There is consistently about a 25 point difference.  I haven’t heard why that is yet, but I’m gathering that it is not something they expected.

3. Sleep: she has been non-peacefully in and out of consciousness all afternoon and night.  She actually got real sleep from 11:00-11:30 pm and 3:50-4:30 am, and she just fell into a good sleep a few minutes ago (about 5:40 am).  (I’ve had many interruptions while I’ve been writing this, and it is now approximately 7 am.  She slept about 20 minutes that last time.)

4. Fluids: her body is retaining fluid, and they have been trying to get that down because it is hard on her heart to pump against the pressure.

5. Breathing: she is struggling to breathe.  I don’t know if this is an after-effect from the anesthesia, or if it is caused by pain when she breathes which she has mentioned.  It is not significant enough for any extra measures to be done, but it is bothering her enough to request prayer for breathing.

I mentioned that around 3 am she had a bout of exceptionally clear thinking, and she dictated the following text to one of her friends.

“I hope you're feeling good because as much as I hate to admit it, I am not.  I almost hit my nurse, and I've been screaming and crying.  I've settled down now after a few hours of intense pain, and I'm constantly on pain medication. …

The IV is very hard because it causes extreme pain whenever they put something in it which is every hour or so.  If you happen to feel pain in your left back or neck or anywhere above your thighs that's probably [my pain.]

Also, the nurses want to get my fluid level down, so pray for that because it's really not good for my heart if I have too much fluid in my body.

That is some of the bad news.  Here is the good news.  

1. From my thighs down doesn't hurt, and I can move them with ease.  Well... not with ease, but I can move them without pain.  

2. I've got God with me and a bunch of people.  Mom is staying awake with me all night, and my good nurse named Jocelyn.

3. My chest hurts but not as badly right now as it has most of the night.  AND they are looking up to see what kind of pain medication they can give me right now for it.

4. …They gave me a heart shaped pillow that I'm supposed to hold a certain way to help with the pain.  I can breathe easier with it.

5. This is all temporary.

6. I'm ahead of schedule.

7. TV.  When my pain gets so intense and the medication can't cover it, I can turn the tv on and it distracts me a little to make it longer before I start crying.  A little bit longer.”

I will clarify that when she says “screaming” what she means is she cries out from time to time when the pain is sudden or more intense.  She is not actually screaming.  (Although, I probably would be if I were her.  Lol)

Her friend sent this verse back to her, and I watched peace as well as a physical change come over her as I read it out loud. "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything with prayers and petitions with Thanksgiving present your requests before God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus"

She smiled up towards the ceiling and then whispered to God, “Less pain.  More breathing.”  Those are her two most important requests.

And now, as I’m about to post this, she is requesting Bible verses from me. 😊

UPDATE: As I said, I’ve been typing this post off and on for a couple hours.  In that time God has enabled the nurses to get ahead of the pain, and Liberty is breathing easier.  She is happy!  And our nurse mentioned the fluid level is going down, so that is good too.

Hopefully, our hard night will turn into an easier day.