Amelia continues to amaze us with her progress so far. The big news for today is that she was extubated at about 9:00 p.m. We were hoping to be there when this happened, as it can be quite a stressful procedure. Unfortunately, the necessary team could not be assembled before the evening shift change, and we had to pick Sarah up at my mom and dad’s house. When I spoke to the nurse, though, she was pleased with how Amelia was coping. If her trachea swells, she may have to be placed back on the ventilator, but everyone we spoke to is quite optimistic that this won’t happen. I was told to bring clothes for tomorrow, so I’m hopeful that she’ll actually be able to get dressed, which will be a special treat for Amelia. Imagine wearing nothing but a diaper for two months!
John spent quite a bit of time with Amelia today. He helped Habiba, her nurse, to bathe her and do some other maintenance. She also had her Foley catheter removed, but I’m pretty sure no one let John help with that. Habiba was Amelia’s day nurse on Wednesday, and she couldn’t believe how much progress she had made. Habiba is from Lancashire, which is near Manchester (in England, not Scugog Township), and she really likes to talk, so I feel like I know everything there is to know about Amelia’s condition.Actually, I find that everyone on the second floor likes to talk. During our six weeks in the NICU, I never had more than a thirty-second conversation with any other parent, and I always found that reticence to talk very strange. After all, we were all going through basically the same thing and could probably understand each other better than anyone else. Here in the PICU, people are happy to share their stories. I met a family today that I had heard about from a few other people. On January 4th they had twins, a boy and a girl. They were born at 34 weeks and weighed almost the same as Jack and Amelia. The girl has a heart defect, although not the same one as Amelia’s, and the boy is healthy. Their daughter is currently awaiting surgery, but is struggling to overcome a few other problems first. It’s amazing how many similarities there are between our situations.
(Melissa)
1 comment:
All of you, especially Amelia, have been in my thoughts and prayers since birth. What a remarkable progress Amelia has made tis eventful week! The positive support of family, friends and an expert medical team have surrounded this precious, brave angel.
I'm anticipating a picture of her dressed. It must feel like one giant step towards normalcy.
Love Aunt Jane
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