Saturday, August 08, 2009

Recovery
I'm so thankful to say we are finally to the point of recovery! Mya has been doing pretty good, over night and today her blood pressure and temperature have gone up and down a bit, but that seems to be the only thing her nurse is consistently managing. They're weaning her from the paralytic (the medication that keeps her from moving), so in the next day or so, they'll be restraining her arms so she won't pull the breathing tube out herself. She still has a lot of tubes etc. the first one to go will probably be the drainage tube & pacemaker wires from her heart area, I'm anxious to get some of the stuff off of her to make her look more normal. I'm also looking forward to her really waking up, it's been so long since she's been coherent! At this point though, she just needs time to get her through. Resting and recovering is the key. The nurse is just now giving her nutrition via IV again, so we've got a ways to go until she's feeding through her tummy. Here is a photo of her incision, they've done a great job, especially knowing that they had to re-open her chest to pump her heart again. I think the scar on her neck where the ECMO tubes were will be worse than her surgery scar. For some reason I can't turn this picture correctly in blogger... sorry for the funny direction. We're down to one nurse and she has been leaving the room a lot more frequently to help other nurses. I love needing less care! It's so nice not to be the priority emergency situation any more. We have a neighbor boy in the ICU who is also recovering from some kind of heart surgery too, he was just wheeled in this morning. Rob & I have both been able to take naps today, the knot from my stomach is finally gone. It's so nice to be able to relax a bit. I'm pretty sure we'll have less free time when she wakes up. That's when the parent-care job gets to be more demanding. I'll take it! I'm so incredibly thankful to have our daughter!

7 comments:

Suzanne Holling said...

Thank God for recovery time! I'm so glad your knot is gone and you can relax a bit too! Love you and we are excited to be playing with Mya again soon. Halleluah, Praise the Lord!!!

AngMomof3 said...

Good. So nice to feel less stress. I'm praying for a regular and consistent temperature and blood pressure.

Get some sleep since this may be the last night she's totally out for sleeping all night. It may feel like a year ago again!

Our Family said...

Well we are so glad that you can finally relax enough to sleep. You guys have gone throufh more than alot of us can ever emagine. Hope you guys can get well soon.

Sydney and Tom said...

Good to hear things are going well!! We are praying for your family...we miss your smiling faces at church soon!

Chris and Britt said...

What a great update! We are happy to hear that you are able to relax a bit and get some rest. Mya is a little fighter-God has special things in store for her. God bless you all.

Carissalayla said...

big sighs of relief! So happy that Miss Mya is doing okay, God is Good!!!!

Lindley Family said...

Julie - I'm so glad to hear the surgery went well and that you are getting a little rest. This photo brings joy & sadness into my heart, as my son is about the same age as Mya & I simply ache for what you are going through right now. Clearly she is a strong fighter & I pray for a quick recovery.