Isaiah 40:11

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Wednesday

Phoebe came through the transfusion wonderfully. Although it was one of the most peaceful procedures thus far I found it to be the most sobering and emotional. Watching someone else's blood enter her body, knowing that it would give her life was incredible. It was impossible not to think about all the songs about Christ's blood . The blood of Christ is more precious to me now than ever.

David asked the nurse if he could pray before the tranfusion began. And then we played a few songs on the computer like "You will be saved." And then I nursed  her for a long time while 'happy tears' rolled down my face. The nurse thanked us for letting her be part of the prayer. From start to finish it took 2 1/2 hours.


Technical details:
Hemaglobin was up today from a 6 to 8.4
They are still resting her gut(very slow tube feeds, only breastmilk after pumping,no solids)
She receives all of her nutrition through her Broviac line which goes straight into her veins.
They draw blood every morning from her broviac line, so she sleeps right through it.
She has been diagnosed with "protein losing enteropathy." That's why she is on gut-rest so that whatever caused the irritation will heal.
Albumin is at 2.5
White blood cell count is high(they are closely monitering that)

Tuesday morning

Phoebe is doing well. Her weight was 13.7.  But they screened her this morning for a blood transfusion.
We don't know when she will have it but her hemoglobin is very low, so it could be today or tomorrow.
Pray that it will be successful, and have the desired results.

Monday morning sleep in

Phoebe slept longer this morning than she ever has in her life. She slept with me until 6:oo this morning and then on David's chest until 11:30am. It was so wonderful to see her sleep so well and to know that maybe she's recovering from a week of nothing but tests and trauma. She does nurse from me as well for comfort and that has been wonderful to be able to offer her that, especially when she is otherwise inconsolable. I always pump first to minimize the amount of milk that she takes in. The doctors would rather breastmilk be minimal right now while they complete their studies on her. So we certainly want to respect them and it looks like we have found a fairly reasonable compromise.
Her albumin is UP today!We are thrilled. It is 2.7 up from 1.5. It needs to get to 3.5 or 4.0. The doctors are very pleased with her progress. Swelling(edema)  has all gone down. Unfortunately she looks skinnier than ever. But things are headed in a good direction. She is weighing in at 12'14. I'm SOOO ready to see her plump up.
The other thrilling news is that she is smiling again! and actually laughing too. We have waited a long time for this day. A month, to be precise.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and even the many children that are so faithfully bringing Phoebe before His throne.


P.S- We have a young medical student who has taken a liking to Phoebe and as he gives her report to the rest of the medical team in the morning, he refers to her as "Princess Phoebe." It is SOOO sweet.

Weekend update

Phoebe recovered well from her surgery and things calmed down for her on Saturday. David left in the evening and my good friend Melissa came and spent the night with me and all day Sunday. It was great to have company and she certainly shared in taking shifts with Phoebe.

A night away!

I've been dying to write since Saturday morning when I found myself waking up in a lovely hotel room after a great night's sleep along with my two oldest children. What a treat. I was forced to accept it by my husband. He booted me out of the hospital room the day before and said "don't come back until tomorrow afternoon." The hospital gave me a handpump to take with me. So off I went. I was greeted by flowers and chocolate in my room placed there lovingly by the hands of my beloved. Very special. I came back to the room refreshed and ready to hold my baby again.(Both of them, ha,ha)

Friday morning surgery

Phoebe had a broviac line that was surgically placed at 7:30 this morning. The night was particularly rough. Her feeds were turned off at 2:00 so I think she was hungry. She wouldn't go to sleep. I walked round and round the hospital floor sith her in a stroller. It atleast kept her from crying. The nurse tried to take her a few times to give me a break. 6:30am finally came and I got ready to take her downstairs where they would give her anasthesia for her surgery.
I went back up to my room on the 6th floor to wait. When it was over the surgeon and his team came up to my room and came in to tell me that the surgery was successful and that it went very well and she was in the recovery room waiting for me. He was a very nice man with a kind smile, DR. Weiner. I felt like hugging his neck. I was thrilled and immediately thanked the Lord for his Goodness. I went down and nursed her for about half an hour and cherished every minute that I was able to comfort her.
David and the kids came a little while later.

She had a sweat test at 1:oo to test for cystic fybrosis. It took about an hour and a half. It came back negative., thank the Lord.

They started TPN in her broviac line at 6:00pm. That just means that she is getting total and excellent nutrition directly placed into her bloodvessels. But they are giving her gut a rest. She will still feel satisfied even though she is not feeding orally. Tomorrow they will begin to put more food in her feeding tube and possibly even encourage some solid foods.