What a beautiful day it was to be driving home from B'ham with my sweet little girl smiling in her car seat! We made it home around 2:00 and we spent most of the afternoon playing outside. It felt so good to be with all three of my children - in our home and in our yard! The boys just loved and loved on YouYou...it was so sweet.
This will be short tonight because I am so very tired. YouYou decided she was terrified of the clock in our room last night so she slept with her arms locked around my neck most of the night. I hope to post some pictures tomorrow sometime. I have some that show her the first time we went home, and then ones taken later that show how much better she looks after the swelling went down. I also hope to catch up on my emails tomorrow, or soon after...I might just decide to love on my kids all day instead :)
I talked to Christian's family this afternoon before we left and they were still waiting on the surgery to begin. I called his mom's cell phone this evening but did not get an answer but I will try again tomorrow. I will continue to pray for this family and I would love for you to join me.
Hugs to you all...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Late night update - pray for Christian
I just walked out in the hall to get a clean gown for YouYou and happened to see the nurses rolling Christian down the hall. His grandmother told me they think they have a heart for him!!! Please pray that this will be a perfect match and that Christian's body is in good enough shape to accept the heart at this time. Please pray for the doctor's and nurses and for Christian's family as well as the family of the donor.
Monday update
Well we didn't get to go home today, but it was a great day regardless. The Dr.'s have switched YouYou from iv lasiks to oral ones and they wanted to be conservative and keep an eye on her one more day to be sure she did not start swelling up again.
So what has YouYou been up to? Well, last night she fell asleep without hardly any crying and she did not make a peep all night. She had bacon for breakfast, corn and fruit for lunch (and then almost all of Neesie's turkey off of her sandwich), and then chicken, brocoli and grapes for dinner (followed by a small helping of Neesie's chicken primavera). Now she is eating a cookie for dessert and Neesie and I are having a brownie- thank you Cindy! She has also been drinking very well. We have been for 5 or so walks today and she has been riding/pushed around on the Dora bike. We've visited the playroom twice and sang a few songs with Colin, the little boy who was singing Jesus Loves Me in the CICU waiting room during YouYou's surgery. **Colin's big brother Christian is waiting on a heart transplant. He is at the top of the list and they are from New Orleans so they have to stay here until he gets a heart. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.
Tomorrow morning the Dr. will do another echo on YouYou's heart and if all looks well then we will be headed home in the morning sometime! Praise the Lord!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your encouraging comments and scriptures. Thank you for your calls (Joie I can't believe I've missed your call 3 times). Thank you for the meals both at the hospital and at home. I don't even know who brought some of the food by our home, but I am so grateful. Thank you all for walking with us, crying with us and laughing with us!! And Thank you to the One who has comforted us and never left us alone. Praises to the King!
Hopefully our next post will be from home...
So what has YouYou been up to? Well, last night she fell asleep without hardly any crying and she did not make a peep all night. She had bacon for breakfast, corn and fruit for lunch (and then almost all of Neesie's turkey off of her sandwich), and then chicken, brocoli and grapes for dinner (followed by a small helping of Neesie's chicken primavera). Now she is eating a cookie for dessert and Neesie and I are having a brownie- thank you Cindy! She has also been drinking very well. We have been for 5 or so walks today and she has been riding/pushed around on the Dora bike. We've visited the playroom twice and sang a few songs with Colin, the little boy who was singing Jesus Loves Me in the CICU waiting room during YouYou's surgery. **Colin's big brother Christian is waiting on a heart transplant. He is at the top of the list and they are from New Orleans so they have to stay here until he gets a heart. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.
Tomorrow morning the Dr. will do another echo on YouYou's heart and if all looks well then we will be headed home in the morning sometime! Praise the Lord!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your encouraging comments and scriptures. Thank you for your calls (Joie I can't believe I've missed your call 3 times). Thank you for the meals both at the hospital and at home. I don't even know who brought some of the food by our home, but I am so grateful. Thank you all for walking with us, crying with us and laughing with us!! And Thank you to the One who has comforted us and never left us alone. Praises to the King!
Hopefully our next post will be from home...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Good News
Hello everyone - this is Melisa. I just received a call from Neesie. She & Erica wanted me to let everyone know how well YouYou is doing.
She had a chest x-ray today and it looked MUCH better than the x-ray yesterday.
Her swelling has gone down and she seems to feel much better. She is looking & feeling better than she has since her surgery.
She is eating much better and even fed herself some of Erica & Neesie’s Chinese food.
And, I saved the BEST for Last…
She might be able to go home tomorrow!!
Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for this sweet family.
Erica is going to try to post later this evening.
She had a chest x-ray today and it looked MUCH better than the x-ray yesterday.
Her swelling has gone down and she seems to feel much better. She is looking & feeling better than she has since her surgery.
She is eating much better and even fed herself some of Erica & Neesie’s Chinese food.
And, I saved the BEST for Last…
She might be able to go home tomorrow!!
Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for this sweet family.
Erica is going to try to post later this evening.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Saturday Morning update
I'm sitting here in the "Family Room" with my mommy. We were blessed to run into our sweet CICU nurse Nicole when we got here yesterday and she got us this room for the night. It is free, and is right outside the CICU (literally 10 or so steps). We got some pretty good rest last night once we finally got back to the room (around midnight). I woke up a few times because the phone rang, but it was always a wrong number. At 8:40 this morning I jumped out of the bed and looked at my watch and was horrified -visiting hours started at 8:30! I was still groggy from the little bit of sleep medicine I had taken last night but I put on a bra, brushed my hair and ran out the door to the CICU. I'm sure I was a sight, but I was greeted by the sweet smiling face of our daytime nurse, Wendy. She is not a nurse we have had before, but I immediately knew my little girl had been in good hands since the shift change. She had also had a wonderful nurse last night who had told me she would call me if she cried for me during the night. Thank you Lord for these precious, caring hands that have been with my girl.
Anyways...I know you really want to hear about YouYou. The most important thing is she is in good hands and she is going to be fine. She will probably be moved to a regular room today and hopefully we will only be here for a few days. They are going to give her iv antibiotics (possibly already have) to treat her for pneumonia. I don't think they are positive that this is what she has but they want to go ahead and start the antibiotics because her chest x-ray looks worse this morning. They had considered putting her chest tube back in because she also has some excess fluid in her chest area but they don't think there is enough to warrant that. I guess I'd rather have her with an iv again than a chest tube again, but really I just want her to feel better. I can't even describe the defeat I felt when Dr. Romp said he wanted to have her admitted again. I wanted to crumple into the floor (yes, I know that sounds dramatic). YouYou was sooooo glad to be home and her little spirit was starting to return, and I know she thinks this must be a never ending nightmare. I keep telling her she is here so that she can feel better and we can go home again, but I wonder if she believes me :)
My mom went to check on YouYou while I was typing and got an update...she is still sleeping and they just gave her the first round of antibiotics. The nurse said they have to keep her for about an hour afterwards and then she can be moved to a regular room (we'll be in room 520).
I wanted to let you all know that I have gotten several emails from people that want to read our family blog and I will definitely respond to each of you as soon as I can. I haven't posted anything to that blog since before YouYou's surgery so you aren't missing anything :) I would love to have you read about the amazing journey we have been on the past few years...may God receive all the Glory.
Some of you have called too, and I'm so sorry I haven't returned your calls yet. It hurts so bad to talk right now that I'm trying to just save my talking for YouYou and the doctors. I know the antibiotic I am on has to start helping soon. I am thankful at least that I am not running a fever so far today.
Specific prayer requests:
- That YouYou's body will respond to the antibiotics quickly
- That the nurses and doctors will have wisdom as they treat YouYou
- That YouYou will be in good spirits and will cointinue to eat and drink
- That I will feel better so that I can be fully attentive to YouYou's needs
- That His light will shine through us
I'll try to post again soon...
Anyways...I know you really want to hear about YouYou. The most important thing is she is in good hands and she is going to be fine. She will probably be moved to a regular room today and hopefully we will only be here for a few days. They are going to give her iv antibiotics (possibly already have) to treat her for pneumonia. I don't think they are positive that this is what she has but they want to go ahead and start the antibiotics because her chest x-ray looks worse this morning. They had considered putting her chest tube back in because she also has some excess fluid in her chest area but they don't think there is enough to warrant that. I guess I'd rather have her with an iv again than a chest tube again, but really I just want her to feel better. I can't even describe the defeat I felt when Dr. Romp said he wanted to have her admitted again. I wanted to crumple into the floor (yes, I know that sounds dramatic). YouYou was sooooo glad to be home and her little spirit was starting to return, and I know she thinks this must be a never ending nightmare. I keep telling her she is here so that she can feel better and we can go home again, but I wonder if she believes me :)
My mom went to check on YouYou while I was typing and got an update...she is still sleeping and they just gave her the first round of antibiotics. The nurse said they have to keep her for about an hour afterwards and then she can be moved to a regular room (we'll be in room 520).
I wanted to let you all know that I have gotten several emails from people that want to read our family blog and I will definitely respond to each of you as soon as I can. I haven't posted anything to that blog since before YouYou's surgery so you aren't missing anything :) I would love to have you read about the amazing journey we have been on the past few years...may God receive all the Glory.
Some of you have called too, and I'm so sorry I haven't returned your calls yet. It hurts so bad to talk right now that I'm trying to just save my talking for YouYou and the doctors. I know the antibiotic I am on has to start helping soon. I am thankful at least that I am not running a fever so far today.
Specific prayer requests:
- That YouYou's body will respond to the antibiotics quickly
- That the nurses and doctors will have wisdom as they treat YouYou
- That YouYou will be in good spirits and will cointinue to eat and drink
- That I will feel better so that I can be fully attentive to YouYou's needs
- That His light will shine through us
I'll try to post again soon...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Update - CICU
This is still Melisa - I just talked to my mom (AKA Neesie). They spent some time in the B'ham doctor's office this afternoon and YouYou has now been admitted to CICU. The doctor was optimistic about her being able to go to a regular room by tomorrow or Sunday.
Erica is with her in CICU now. They are cuddling in the rocking chair and YouYou is happy right now. Thanks for all your prayers so far. They have already received blessings from your prayers. Please continue to pray.
Emily or I will keep you updated as we learn more.
Thanks for all your sweet comments so far. I know that they are VERY uplifting to Erica.
Erica is with her in CICU now. They are cuddling in the rocking chair and YouYou is happy right now. Thanks for all your prayers so far. They have already received blessings from your prayers. Please continue to pray.
Emily or I will keep you updated as we learn more.
Thanks for all your sweet comments so far. I know that they are VERY uplifting to Erica.
Please Pray
This is Melisa.
Erica asked me to let everyone know YouYou's current status. They visited the local pediatrician this morning. She took x-rays and spoke to the radiologist in Birmingham. They are pretty sure that YouYou has pneumonia and want her back in Birmingham today. Erica and Neesie are packing a few things and heading to UAB now.
Please pray for them.
Erica is taking medicine, but is still not feeling well. Please pray for strength for her, safety for their trip and healing for YouYou. Please also remember Aaron, Carter and Jackson during this time.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers.
Erica asked me to let everyone know YouYou's current status. They visited the local pediatrician this morning. She took x-rays and spoke to the radiologist in Birmingham. They are pretty sure that YouYou has pneumonia and want her back in Birmingham today. Erica and Neesie are packing a few things and heading to UAB now.
Please pray for them.
Erica is taking medicine, but is still not feeling well. Please pray for strength for her, safety for their trip and healing for YouYou. Please also remember Aaron, Carter and Jackson during this time.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers.
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