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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A beautiful day!

Gabriella tolerated being weaned off the Dopamine and she has been off the drip for over 12 hours now!! Last night they removed her Arterial Line in her arm, and so the only tubes she has is the O2 Sat/ ET finger and, her IV line in her hand and her central line in her groin!

She slept good last night. NO throwing up, so I was grateful the 2oz of Apple juice and few bites of apple sauce kept down! Shes having '#2' issues, but her little system was so empty I'm hoping the new foods will help with that.

Because she is off the Dopamine, we have more freedom with PT and OT, and we can take her around the hospitals in her 'princess chariot' (wheelchair). Given they can get her a room, we will be moving to the inpatient rehab wing today!!!!!!! I am SO excited! Like the nurse said this morning, we are leaving the sick wing to go to the get better wing. I feel we have maxed out in the PICU, and they have done absolutely AMAZING. She is ready for the next step, and I think starting a new goal will only be best for Gabriella. She is so driven and strong-willed that I think it will perk her up to maybe see some other kids and be in a different environment.

We have had the most amazing nurses ever created in the world of pediatric intensive care, and I will argue if anyone tells me otherwise. ;) I will never in my whole life forget our day nurses Becky and Jodi, and our energetic night nurse Bree. Their passion, sensitivity and genuine love for my Gabriella has been more comforting than any other medical treatment can offer. You could tell Gabriella trusted them, and we cannot WAIT to bring her back in here showing off her smiles and moves and hopefully words!!! Not only were our assigned nurses fantastic, but all of the nurses who answered call lights or beeping machines

The day is to beautiful to explain the heart transplant journey, as I had planned on doing. So I will post that another time. Just know it is something we have faith God will provide the means and stability for, and it is not out of the future plans as of yet.

Keep the prayers coming. Don't give up on them. God has his hand on Gabriella, and she is proving to everyone in her life what a true fighter and survivor is. She is giving us a strength incomparable to anything I could imagine. She's teaching us to be better people.

9 comments:

Kristen said...

Wow. Praise God. I am SOOO SOOO happy!!!!

Tyler said...

Great news! So glad to hear she is taking strides forward! I've come to your blog via a friend of yours, Stephanie Woody. My son has dilated cardiomyopathy. Just wanted to share a support group to you that has been a huge help to me: http://www.childrenscardiomyopathy.org/ They have a listserve you can join that is a tremendous source of information and support.

Aimee Lindsay

Corey~living and loving said...

tears of joy. Krisit you amaze me with your ability to be so grateful, and looking toward the good things. ♥

keeping the prayers up here.

Anonymous said...

Wow-- I just checked your blog and got caught up. I bought your dishwasher... and we love it! I'll be sure to stop by your blog regularly. Praying for you guys... you have an amazing family!

Nikkie said...

I'm sooo happy to hear all of your good news!! thank you for all the detailed updates. you are one strong mama.

Angies Support Team said...

That is so awesome! I too love the nurses there. When they told me I needed the heart transplant, my icu nurse came in the next morning giving me the beads of courage. (Have they given Gabriella those yet?) She was sitting at my bed and it was just me and her, she started crying. It was such a emotional moment. The first time I cried about it, and it was with my nurse. They are SUPER amazing there! :] i am so happy that you are seeing Dr. Shah. He is also AMAZING! I hope news just gets better for you guys ;]

Mary Ellen said...

What great news!

Mary Matsuno said...

Congratulations on the improvements!! Keep up the hard work Gabriella. Praying and cheering for you in Los Angeles.
Mary

Anonymous said...

Hi Kristi, I don't even know if you read these comments, but I wanted to let you know that through Facebook, and Kirsten Vernon, We are praying for Gabriella all the way in Red Bluff, California. My name is Sharnell. I ave twins who just turned 21 this summer. When they were born, they had murmurs, both of them, then they found out they each had another defect. One had an ASD and one a VSD. Septal defects in different chambers of their hearts. We were told these would require open heart surgery later in life. Well the people of the church prayed and when they were 12, at a routine cardiology check up, no more defects could be found!!I know this is nothing com pared to your journey, but only a reminder that God is good, and he is still in the business of healing. I am praying for Gabriella and your family to find strength and not give up. God can use this trial in your life, and hers, for something much bigger down the road.He has a plan. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to pray by keeping us updated regulary. God Bless.
Sharnell Chambers