kristaphillips Good News:
Annabelle came off the ECMO machine yesterday! WOOHOO!! Her heart and lungs, with the help of some medicine, are working on their own now. SUCH a relief!
They are also talking about closing up her chest either tomorrow or Monday, and I am SO excited about that! Right now they have her open with just some see-through tape-like stuff over top of her chest, and it is difficult for me to handle. They are nice and put a piece of gauze over it for me most of the time, but it’s still hard!
They also took her off another medcine today, the one that keeps her immoble, so her little hands and feet are starting to move some, which is fun to see again!
Prayer Requests:
She seemed to have some trouble on and off over the night with her blood pressure. It didn’t drop TOO low, just lower than they would like, so they had to keep giving her fluid to keep her volume up. If they have to keep giving her fluid, it may delay closing her chest (if I understood them correctly…)
Her pulse is a little high too, but they are treating it with medicines, and it’s one of those things where you fix one thing and it just breaks another.
Just continued prayers for our family as we cope with this pretty big change in our lives. Scott goes back to work on Monday night, so far he’s been staying here with me at the hospital. I’m totally fine with this (probably more so than Scott, ha!) because I feel like we’re beginning the path back to a somewhat normal life after 2 weeks of craziness. I’m just aching for my little one to get better fast so I can take her HOME and snuggle with her and love on her! I’m also anxious to get back into “Mom” duty (okay, kinda anxious, ha!), but at the moment can’t bare the thought of leaving my little Annabelle here by herself. Kids go back to school in a few weeks, so that will be helpful to them, too.
Really, I just am anxious to get back to “normal” but am realizing that normal is relative, and most likely won’t look like what it did before.
Anyway, love to you all, and THANKS again for all your thoughts and prayers for my Annabelle!! As soon as they have her closed up again, I’ll send you more pics. She’s getting even prettier by the day, if I do say so myself!
My heart is with you and your little one. Her heart is so precious. God holds it in His hand. Same with yours.
Krista, I am so thankful to hear she is breathing on her own. Will continue to keep praying about her other issues. And may God give you peace as you begin to settle into the routine of "craziness". (((HUGS)))
May things continue to improve, and may God grant you the gift of snuggling Annabelle at home.
Encouraging news, Krista! Prayers for you as hubby goes back to work.
Krista, I'm sure you have seen this before, but I thought it might be something you'd like to see. 🙂
WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this……
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.
We will hold her and you and your family up in prayer. These are tough times, but Jesus is able. Trusting Him to bring his powerful healing. Love in Him, Juanita W.
whisper97304@yahoo.com
"Normal is relative."
Girl, you are so wise for your years.
PRAISE GOD!
I am doing a bounce hop!!!!
Patti
Hang in there, Krista!!! May God continue to hold that little girl of yours in His comforting and healing hands. And may He give you and your husband peace of mind and heart and give you strength.
Praying!!!!