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Home at Last!
| October 7,
2007
| October 11,
2007
| November
13, 2007 |
January 3, 2008
|
January 8, 2008 |
January 9, 2008 |
January 10, 2008 #1 |
January 10, 2008 #2 & #3 |
January 11, 2008 |
January 12, 2008 |
January 13, 2008 |
January 15, 2008 |
January 24, 2008 |
April 2, 2008
January
13, 2008
Today was BETTER!!! Sarah ate well today. I was feeling
discouraged about yesterday and the agony of her emotional
withdrawal and this morning began, at first, no differently. I
offered her water and she turned away. I offered her bites of
pudding and she turned away still more. Sitting by the side of
her PICU bed I felt horrible. For her…..for me. And then, for
some reason, sitting there leaning against the rail of her bed I
was inspired to look over my shoulder. And laying down on the
breakfast tray that had magically appeared in the corner of the
room was a box of Cheerios. You know the kind, the ‘one bowl’
size? Anyhow, I thought….hmmm……..maybe, just maybe. Lo and
behold, a tender mercy for a weary mom. She saw the box as I
held it out to her and her eyes lit up. I held one single
Cheerio up to her mouth and she eagerly opened up. After about
10 Cheerios, some water followed. Then some more Cheerios, one
at a time until we advanced to two at a time. She ate a few
bites of pudding. She drank some more water. An hour later,
after my mom had arrived, she at a piece of cinnamon bread
toast. I felt so aware that Heavenly Father knew of a mother and
her daughter’s need in even the smallest detail. Prayers were
answered that Sarah ate and she ate from her mama!
Other good news was that she no longer needed any ‘pacing’ from
her cardiac pace wire and she had her mediastinal tube (in the
very center of her chest about an inch below the incision) taken
out. Yahoo! The other two will hopefully be pulled tomorrow
after an XRay can confirm that some fluid remaining in the space
around her right lung has resolved. She has had every IV line
but one removed and we were able to give her a more thorough bed
bath tonight after they transferred us out of the PICU and onto
the regular Pediatric floor. She is certainly making progress!
My heart still aches for her though and I must admit that I
worry. Though she is responding with food now, she is still very
‘shut down’ emotionally. I have been unable to illicit a smile
from her and, at times, she is unwilling to even look at me. I
know to take it daily but, as I am sure you can understand, the
days seem long when I miss my little girl’s radiant personality.
She had been in such a delightful, fun and engaging mood the
last few days before surgery that, looking back, I believe was a
tender mercy again to us. I keep reflecting on that when I fret
that this trauma is too much for her and I feel reassured that
she is still there. To give her love, give her time and
encouragement and it will be well again. I pray for it every
day.
We have witnessed the very real suffering of others around us as
we have been here at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. We have
seen sudden devastating diagnosis hit families, we have learned
of tragic and premature deaths of children who had just begun to
live and we have met dear people who have shared their hearts
with us when their own hearts were hurting. Each person has
blessed my life and taught me a little something more about how
I want to live my life. The staff’s compassionate service to
this little girl of ours has been nothing short of miraculous.
I/we will forever hold them as treasures to our family. I
believe in the goodness of people. I believe in a little girl
who is overcoming some incredible obstacles to fulfill a purpose
for her life and who has given us the opportunity to add more
love into our life. Go to those you love and hug them…don’t
waste another minute!
Until tomorrow…………
With love,
Anna
|
The blessed Cheerios!!
"I think I am going to be OK"
Looking better
Feeling a little yuck but headed for a wagon ride in the hallway
We said goodbye to the PICU..... |
....and hello to Jenny in Pediatrics
Website by
myadoptionwebsite.com
|
