Day #3 - Photo Recap

Yesterday was a good day in regards to progress, but I guess the morning was pretty taxing on Abbi. Lots of changes, moving to a new place, and all of the testing. Perhaps no longer being on morphine she is just becoming more aware of what's going on around her now. I wasn't there, but Ruth and Rob were and they both said she was pretty upset for a good portion of the morning. Poor girl.

I decided to leave last night around 9:00pm. She was sound alseep, as was everyone else in the room (which was fairly amazing!). I really liked our night nurse, Lindsay. She was quite young, and excellent in dealing with Abbi. The first thing she did...find Abbi her own private DVD player and some videos to watch! It was funny because she was asking Abbi if she would like that, and Abbi was like "YES!" Then Lindsay said, "OK, I just need to get your blood pressure first." Poor Abbi, it was definitely too good to be true. You really can't be making any deals with these medical types!

We're not sure what it is, but Abbi is quite non-talkative at this point and not very responsive. Don't get me wrong, we totally realize she just went through an intense experience and is probably quite tired and sore. But she's also 2, so things like the silent treatment aren't really on her top ten list. In my opinion it seems a bit like drug withdrawal or drug related. She will watch cartoons and stay fixated on the screen (which I suppose any 2 year old will do, but this seems like its a different extreme). Its a little unnerving to say the least. We know she is able to talk, and she will respond from time to time, but when we left last night, she really wasn't interested in anyone.

She was also being fairly consistent with her "bubble" yesterday. She didn't want people getting too close or touching her too much yesterday. Ruth and I were on either side of her bed, talking to her and singing, just trying to interact with her. After awhile her heart rate started going up as well as her respiratory rate (breaths per minute). It was agitating her or overstimulating her, or something. So we had to turn on the TV and leave her alone for a while. That may also be drug related or perhaps she is just mad at the world!

So hopefully we can get those drain tubes pulled today, or at least the main one. They keep on saying, "When that tube is gone, she will be a different person." So Rob said in response, "Well, then pull it already!" We totally understand that they can't just pull them out on a whim, but we are really praying that today's x-ray would show less fluid around her heart so that tube could come out.

Our roommates are all little ones. I had thought I would stay the night as they have a recliner at Abbi's bedside, but it was so loud in there! I'm not sure of all the ages of the babies, but they all seem to be at that babbling and chatting stage. So when they all get going it gets loud! The little boy opposite of Abbi's bed appears to have cystic fibrosis. Not sure why he is on the cardiac ward, as he doesn't appear to have a heart condition. Perhaps he's not sick enough for the PICU, but not well enough to be on a ward, and maybe this is the only area that could take him. Due to his condition, he is the loudest in the room. Lots of wheezing, coughing, and he also kind of purrs. They have to suction him out frequently and pat his back to help his to expel the mucous. Poor little guy.

Apparently the only reason Abbi is in I.C.E. Room and not on the ward yet is because there are no beds. In the I.C.E. unit they are getting assessed every hour, and I think Abbi only needs to be checked every 4 hours. So if someone gets discharged off the ward today, Abbi will move to their room. At that point I will most likely stay the night. Last night I realized it may be the last night of solid sleep I get, and there were 3 nurses on last night, so I knew she would be getting pretty good care if she needed it.

This morning we switched up our routine a bit. Ruth again got there at 6:00am (Thank heavens for early birds!). Rob and Marilyn left here around 8:00am. So Gabe and I are going to have a bit of a relaxed morning while I get some things done around the house and run some errands (Hah, that's quite funny that's a relaxed morning in my world - I must be a Mom!). We will arrive around lunch time. I think then Ruth, Marilyn, and probably Gabe will leave for the afternoon. That will leave Rob and I at the hospital. Then everyone else will return in the evening for a bit. We'll see how this routine works.

Here are some pictures from our new room.
Abbi watching her own little TV. they have Treehouse, which keeps her somewhat entertained.

The bigger picture. The plastic canopy on the top of the bed is for babies that have a respiratory infection, or possibly ones on flow through oxygen.

Our sweet girl trying to nap. It's fairly loud in the room during the day, and we are not allowed to close the curtain (just so the nursing staff can observe each child). At this point I think she's still so tired she could sleep through anything!

PS. Again, just talked to Rob with the morning update. The pulled the chest tube and it went quite well! Yippee! They gave her Fentanol to ease the discomfort and make her a little less aware of what's taking place. What a blessing! Now it will be easier for her to get more mobile, and hopefully be more comfortable. I will likely update this afternoon or evening on the day.