Jessica got to come home today = good
Delaney did not come home today = bad
Wayne and Janice arrived = good
We took Wayne and Janice to the hospital so Delaney could meet her maternal grandparents, and we had a really good visit. Delaney was pretty active, kicking off the covers and showing us her eyes again. Nurse Ashley let Jessica take Delaney's armpit temperature and we both got to change her diaper. Ashley was optimistic that the two chest tubes that have been turned off would come out tomorrow.
All in all, a pretty good day.
Friday, November 30, 2007
B Day + 4
We had some more positive movement this morning!
Two of the three chest tubes have been turned off. They are all still in place, but are not actively being pumped. This is the first step to having them removed. This also puts us a step closer to moving to the other ventilator.
Delaney has been very active this morning and kept trying to kick her covers off. =) The nurse said that she must be feeling better to be so active.
I am being discharged today and my parents are coming this afternoon to help out and to meet Delaney. It will be hard to leave her here, but I guess I will have to keep focusing on the fact that more answers will be coming soon.
Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts and help. It is very touching to have so much support.
-Jessica
Two of the three chest tubes have been turned off. They are all still in place, but are not actively being pumped. This is the first step to having them removed. This also puts us a step closer to moving to the other ventilator.
Delaney has been very active this morning and kept trying to kick her covers off. =) The nurse said that she must be feeling better to be so active.
I am being discharged today and my parents are coming this afternoon to help out and to meet Delaney. It will be hard to leave her here, but I guess I will have to keep focusing on the fact that more answers will be coming soon.
Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts and help. It is very touching to have so much support.
-Jessica
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Oooo!
Addendum to previous post: She opened her eyes!! And man, did she look stoned! Still, it was pretty cool.
Update
We spoke to Delaney's doctor tonight, and she showed us some X-Rays, comparing Monday night with tonight. Pretty encouraging, and really interesting to see the changes with our own eyes.
Her right lung looks like it's pretty much ready to go, but her left lung still has..."something"...in the lower half. It's not fluid, and an ultrasound was unable to determine if the "something" is just collapsed lung tissue or if it's a mass of some kind. They're going to try a CT scan to see what's up;that could possibly take place this weekend. If it's collapsed lung tissue, that can be fixed here. If it's a mass, then Delaney will be headed to Omaha for surgery. Not really the course we want to follow, but if it works, it works.
Overall, I think the doctor is feeling pretty positive about Delaney. Dr. Hawk has gone from worried about her survival (Monday night) to stymied about the cause of the lung issue (tonight). Even with the uncertainty about the lung, we're feeling pretty optimistic.
Her right lung looks like it's pretty much ready to go, but her left lung still has..."something"...in the lower half. It's not fluid, and an ultrasound was unable to determine if the "something" is just collapsed lung tissue or if it's a mass of some kind. They're going to try a CT scan to see what's up;that could possibly take place this weekend. If it's collapsed lung tissue, that can be fixed here. If it's a mass, then Delaney will be headed to Omaha for surgery. Not really the course we want to follow, but if it works, it works.
Overall, I think the doctor is feeling pretty positive about Delaney. Dr. Hawk has gone from worried about her survival (Monday night) to stymied about the cause of the lung issue (tonight). Even with the uncertainty about the lung, we're feeling pretty optimistic.
B-Day +3
I added a little slideshow in the right column. Click on any of the pictures and it'll take you to the Web Album.
Little girl just keeps getting better. They've taken her off the nitric oxide, and one of the chest tubes may come out on Saturday. She's still on the ventilator but she's doing most of the work now. Jess said they gave her a little pacifier this morning and she sucked on it for a bit; she's been showing a little more activity lately, and I'd say that's a good thing.
Little girl just keeps getting better. They've taken her off the nitric oxide, and one of the chest tubes may come out on Saturday. She's still on the ventilator but she's doing most of the work now. Jess said they gave her a little pacifier this morning and she sucked on it for a bit; she's been showing a little more activity lately, and I'd say that's a good thing.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
B-Day +2
We just came back from the NICU and Delaney is still chugging right along (no, that's not a ventilator joke). Her blood gases continue to improve and the staff is continuing to wean her off the oxygen and nitric oxide, in preparation for breathing on her own. I posted a couple more pictures...enjoy!
It's frustrating, because she looks like she's healthy, she looks like she's ready to go, but she's just not quite fully ready yet. She's in good hands though, and we're encouraged by the reports we're getting. We also appreciate the comments and all that positive energy out there, it really means a lot to us both.
She's our little Thanksgiving baby, our little pink turkey.
It's frustrating, because she looks like she's healthy, she looks like she's ready to go, but she's just not quite fully ready yet. She's in good hands though, and we're encouraged by the reports we're getting. We also appreciate the comments and all that positive energy out there, it really means a lot to us both.
She's our little Thanksgiving baby, our little pink turkey.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Here We Go!
Everybody give big Aloha to the newest member of our family, Delaney Jeanette McMullen.
Delaney arrived yesterday at 6:33pm via emergency C-section, weighing in at 6 lbs on the dot; she was somewhat earlier than we expected (6 weeks).
Mother and baby are doing well; Jess is still recovering from the surgery and Delaney is resting comfortably in the St. Elizabeth NICU. She's on a ventilator, 3 chest tubes, and assorted IVs, and seems to progressing steadily (albeit slowly). The general consensus is that she's doing very well, given what she's been through.
So what precipitated all this? Well, Jess had been experiencing some fairly substantial swelling and some strong contraction-like pains, so she moved her regular doc appointment up a couple of days. At the appointment, Nurse Jeri was starting to become concerned about the possibility of preeclampsia, so it became likely that Jess would spend the night in the hospital for observation. After an ultrasound revealed fluid in Delaney's lungs, that changed to "you'll be going to the hospital and you'll be having your daughter tonight." So we went home, packed a bag, went to the hospital, and boom had a baby.
So right now we're just waiting for status updates (which seem to get relatively better each time) and working on recovering.
Pictures are available after the jump, and I'll try to post updates to the album as we get them.
Delaney arrived yesterday at 6:33pm via emergency C-section, weighing in at 6 lbs on the dot; she was somewhat earlier than we expected (6 weeks).
Mother and baby are doing well; Jess is still recovering from the surgery and Delaney is resting comfortably in the St. Elizabeth NICU. She's on a ventilator, 3 chest tubes, and assorted IVs, and seems to progressing steadily (albeit slowly). The general consensus is that she's doing very well, given what she's been through.
So what precipitated all this? Well, Jess had been experiencing some fairly substantial swelling and some strong contraction-like pains, so she moved her regular doc appointment up a couple of days. At the appointment, Nurse Jeri was starting to become concerned about the possibility of preeclampsia, so it became likely that Jess would spend the night in the hospital for observation. After an ultrasound revealed fluid in Delaney's lungs, that changed to "you'll be going to the hospital and you'll be having your daughter tonight." So we went home, packed a bag, went to the hospital, and boom had a baby.
So right now we're just waiting for status updates (which seem to get relatively better each time) and working on recovering.
Pictures are available after the jump, and I'll try to post updates to the album as we get them.
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| DelaneyJea |
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