Open Heart Surgery Day 4

We had another great day with this stunning girl!

Who knew that on the 4th day after open heart surgery that someone so tiny would kick so much butt?  My friends that have done this knew, but it's never a given that your child will do so well.  I had fretted over this, and it feels so good to see her recovering so strongly.  She has only taken Tylenol today, and honestly you can tell she feels good.

She has been telling stories and smiling a lot more today.

Uncle Zac got to hold her today.

Aunt Maggie came back to visit.  She has been DYING to get her hands on Ollie since she heard we could get her out.  She was at home with the bigs.  Dad brought them down last night to stay over & Maggie stayed home.  So today she, Kylie, and Caroline came down & after some cuddles they hit up the zoo.  Kylie was afraid to hold the babe.  When we get home we'll have to force him into it!

It was good to see our other two kids.  It's hard to be away from them, and it's just been a few days, but still hard.  Now Aubrie has decided she'll be a cardiologist after meeting Ollie's cardiologist, Dr. Johnson.  She also wants to be a veterinarian, hair stylist, and fire fighter so we shall see.  Maybe she'll build some new state of the art clinic that does it all!

The big news is that we were moved!  Around 2ish we went down the hall from the 7th floor cardiac ICU unit to 7 West.  It's a step down unit to prepare us for home.  The big change is that our nurse had 3 or 4 patients instead of just 1 or 2.  It has been just fine though.  I'm getting really comfortable with moving Ollie around so it's good for me to get used to handling her a lot more.  I'm doing most everything on my own.  The nurse is mainly giving her Lasix through an IV and doing vitals.  Oh and one IV came out so she only has one IV, sticky cables on her chest & a cable on her foot they all monitor her vitals.

We are in a shared room, but we don't have a roommate so we are loving it!  We have our own bathroom, Ollie has a mobile & a swing she can use.  It seems huge & private.

We put her swing in her crib & let me tell you she thought she was home.  She only naps in a swing during the day at home so she was just thrilled. 

She is off the oxygen, and look at that pulse ox - 98 - are you even kidding me?  It's 98!  The 141 is her pulse and the 29 is her respiration.

This is our side of the room.  We have a rocking chair, and a couch that we can also sleep on.  The best part is since it is just us, Jade has a place to sleep too!  In the ICU there was one place to sleep so he insisted on pulling all nighters to be with us, then he'd nap during the day in the hotel.  He was exhausted.  He let me sleep every night, he really loves me because I honestly couldn't pull an all nighter, let alone 3.  We are so happy he has a place to really sleep tonight, he needs it!

We also got little miss dressed in her own clothes & brought out her own blanket.

Awww the comforts of home.  She is happier every single day!

Aunt Jackie came back to visit and they had a long chat.  She is staying with Mom since everyone else is now home.  It's good for Mom to have a pal with her, and who better to enjoy her antics than her twin sister who gets her!

Tomorrow we start off with a new echo cardiogram, EKG, and chest x-rays.  If all goes well, there is a good chance we are heading home.  I'm not setting my heart on it yet because if she needs to be here for any reason I want to stay, but oh my bed sounds awesome!  I want her doctors to be really comfortable with that decision first.  At this point she's doing so well & all the meds are things we can handle at home orally.

She'll go home on Lasix (which she was already on), a heart medication, and her thyroid medication plus throw in her Tylenol.  I'm going to have to make myself a meds chart to make sure we get them all every day at the right time, but I was already doing that so we'll be good.

So tomorrow I'll let you know the plan.

Thank you for the continued prayers!  God is SO good & he has carried Ollie through this with flying colors!  All the glory goes to him!

Oh and I do have a prayer request.  There are 3 kids on this floor waiting for heart transplants.  I haven't met them, but I see them taking walks around the floor.  They are on bypass machines until they get their hearts.  It's hard to see.  It makes me thankful that Ollie's heart was repairable.  I want these kids to get their hearts.  I ache for their parents.  It makes you truly realize the importance of organ donation in a huge, huge way!