Day Three -- Amelia's Progress

Things are still very positive.

Amelia

Amelia actually had two nurses today- one RN and one student. Both were busy throughout the day removing tubes, and dismantling Amelia’s suspension system. When I arrived, they had already lowered her morphine dose. Over the next few days, Amelia will be brought out of her sedation so that her reliance on the ventilator can be reduced and eventually discontinued. This, apparently, is a slow process, especially for a premature baby. She will have to be weaned off oxygen and learn to breathe for herself again, which seems ironic to me because she needed almost no support for her breathing when she was born. One of Amelia’s chest tubes was removed today; she still has another one to drain fluid from her chest cavity. The nursing staff changed Amelia's dressings during my visit, and so I saw her scar for the first time. It isn't exactly what I would call a beauty mark, but it is something that I have been told will fade with time. I consider it a medal of bravery.

I have posted a photo of Amelia without her bandages, so, if you’re squeamish, you might not want to look. But it really isnt as bad as you would expect.

The best part of the visit today was that Amelia opened her eyes for the first time since the surgery. I had a nice chat with her. I told her that she had been very brave and that she needed to continue to be strong. As I talked to her, I watched her heart rate drop to 161: a much better number than the 188 of yesterday. And as of this evening, her resting heart rate had dropped to the low 150s.

Support

Many people continue to offer their support. Melissa’s friend, Tamar Nelson, came in for a visit, hoping to help us with Jack. She didn’t know that Jack was home today with his cold. Don’s company, York Marble, sent a lovely basket of flowers and a Pooh Bear, which had to stay at the hospital or run the risk of joining Sarah's minion of stuff toys! As far as the flowers were concerned, I had to keep an eye on them throughout the day as the staff circled. But they do look very attractive in our family room.

Thanks again to everyone who has been calling and emailing with their best wishes. We really do appreciate it.