Yesterday am before vent removal
Yesterday brought a lot of challenges for us as Liddy's parents. While we were very glad to have her off of the paralytics and the ventilator, the discontinuation of those brought a battle to control her pain (and her!). She was receiving morphine every hour and still experiencing pain. That's rough to deal with as a mommy. Nothing we could do but touch her, talk to her, and tell her how much we loved her. We finally got her pain under control around 5 pm last evening, and although she was still awake, she was glassy eyed (from 4 different meds for pain) and not very aware of where she was or even who we were.
This morning before the tube removals...
She rested well last night. Thankfully. Today has been a ground breaking day.....I woke up to her looking around, wide eyed and bushy tailed. I spent a little time kissing her sweet face and talking to her before all the excitement started. Within a few hours we lost an IV, a catheter, an arterial line and one of the lines that went directly to her heart. She's gotten to eat (twice) although she has been having a slight problem with de-sats while she's eating or if she gets upset. That means that we have had to d/c the plan to wean her off the oxygen today. I think that we've made plenty of headway for today anyway.
The doctors think that she may be ready to move out of the ICU sometime tomorrow. That in itself is the most wonderful news!!!
Hoping that we will be posting pics later of us holding her. Its been too long since I have been able to cuddle my baby..and I know John feels the same. Counting the days until she flashes that gorgeous smile back at us again!
Thanks for everything.......
Love,
Heidi
Love hearing that things are going well! She's one tough girl & can't wait for you guys to hold her - I know you are all dying for that moment! It's as good as they day they are born!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear she is doing well. I cannot begin to imagine how you feel. I was a wreck when my little man had to go back into the hospital for jaundice. I can't imagine having to watch your child go through open-heart surgery. I can't wait until you can hold her again, either. :-)
ReplyDeleteA couple of truisms about surgery:
ReplyDelete1) It gets better. You may not think it does, and seeing your baby girl hooked up to tubes and monitors and thrashing in pain, I know it seems hard to believe that she'll ever be back to perfect health. I promise it does. Each day is a little easier, and someday before you know it you'll realize that it's all over and all you have is a memory.
2) One day at a time. Trust me, thinking in terms of "it'll be a week before she gets to go home" isn't the way to do it. Get through today. Anybody can get through one day, and tomorrow's going to take care of itself without you worrying about it too.
Wonderful news!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear that she's doing better! I have been praying for y'all since I first read about her surgery, so when I read this update, my heart filled with joy for y'all. She truly is a beautiful and strong little girl! I hope that y'all get to hold her very soon!
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