Day #5 - Progress, Progress

I was able to spend the night last night, in our own room, with no roommate. It was so nice! And even better, quiet. The nurse came in a few times throughout the night and we both basically slept through each visit. She uses a flashlight so she won't disturb anyone, and is quiet as a mouse. Apparently this afternoon we are getting a roommate, in the 5-7 year old range. Hopefully that works well. Its much easier to calm a child than an infant (well, I suppose it depends on the child). So we definitely appreciated our silence while it lasted.

Before we went to bed I climbed up on Abbi's bed and we had a good snuggle. We brushed our teeth together, sang a song, prayed, and we tucked Teddy in beside her. It was almost just like home...sort of. She still wasn't very talkative last night, but definitely seemed to appreciate the company. I think she liked knowing that Mommy was in the bed right beside her and she could see me if she wanted.

This morning she woke up much more like her old self. She was much more chatty. She had a good breakfast. She was very excited that they brought Cheerios. She also downed some milk and juice. That is the first real meal she has kept down since the surgery.

She needed an x-ray, so she got to go on a "road trip." They use just basic strollers that they can take them around the hospital in. She quiet enjoyed getting out of the room. I think now that we are more mobile we will be frequenting the stroller. Next stop will be The Beach. Its a play area for kids, and apparently it looks like it is a lot of fun. I'm hoping we can take her there sometime this afternoon. I think she will love it!

It was decided during rounds to remove her two side chest tubes (HOORAY!), and lower her oxygen down two 2 litres (from 3). I actually stayed, and watched the chest tube removal. Not really all that gross, it just kind of makes you queasy. Abbi was so curious as to what he was doing I think she watched as well. She did quiet well. They gave her some morphine (for the pain), and Adavan (to take her mind off of it). At the end, Rob asked her to thank the doctor for doing that. So this little voice squeaked out, "Thank you for taking out my tube." My heart nearly broke it was so sweet. She said she felt better minutes later. Whew, another big step.

The doctor for rounds is almost comical. Not really what you expect. No lab coat for miles. A pair of high heel, pointy toe boots, fitted jeans, and a nice shirt. She is on crutches for some reason, so she's hobbling along with a coffee in one hand, crutch in the other. She has that kind of whisky infused voice. Honestly I can picture seeing her rocking the stage at some bar, rather than in a hospital. She was awesome. Rob said from now on we are going to call her "California" (and that's partially because none of us can remember her name).

She was so positive about Abbi's progress, and wonderful with Abbi. She said the way she's going she will be home in a few days. She said the next two big things are weaning Abbi off of her oxygen, as well as getting the pacing wires removed. They plan to take those out tomorrow. They leave them in usually as long as possible just in case they need to "jump start" the heart.

We told her how Abbi had a really hard time with the morphine yesterday and it made her throw up. We asked if there was anything that would not make her nauseous. She hmm, and hawed and finally decided to do 50/50 with morphine and Adavan. At this point the full dose of morphine had already been drawn up. So she had to re-write the order and the nurse had to draw up new meds (so it definitely wasn't exactly convenient). It was wonderful to see them really take our concerns into consideration, and ultimately that was the best thing for Abbi.

We were slightly saddened at the thought of Abbi slipping back into her "non-talkative state." Thankfully with this lower dosage, we really didn't notice a change. I left about 2 hours afterwards and she had kept her lunch down and seemed as bright-eyed as ever. She ate almost an entire hamburger for lunch. I think her appetite is finally catching up with her. Hopefully she can continue to keep food down, and keep up her liquid intake.

Today they also plan to remove her foot IV, as well as the bandages from her incision. I guess it depends on the surgeon, but Abbi's surgeon prefers it to be "open-air" as soon as possible. Once we get home I will start putting Vitmain E on it. That helps with the healing process can really help to minimize the scar.

I'm just home with Gabe for a little while so we can both get a break from the hospital - and hopefully some naps. Rob and his Mom arrived at the hospital around 10:30am. We gave Ruth the day off from the hospital (she's been a trooper - there at 6:00am every day so far!). We are thinking tomorrow Rob might go back to work for a day or so. He would like to be there when she comes home from the hospital, so hopefully that can happen soon. Hard to believe we might be nearing the end of this thing. It honestly feels like it was yesterday that we were sitting outside the PICU waiting for the surgeon's report.

Thank you all for your love and support.
The Nepper Team