Ariana has been having a hard time with quite a few things. She continues to have trouble breathing and maintaining her oxygen levels consistent throughout the day. She had to get blood transfusions 3 days in a row, they stopped her feedings because she was not able to tolerate them, she's on antibiotics because they think there may be an infection, she just started medication for her low blood pressure, they are checking her for a heart murmur again, as they suspect there still may be one there, even though they said it was taken care of with the last treatment, while she's on the oscillator she's being sedated to keep her calm since it's constantly shaking her but it has caused her to swell because she's not moving around like before.
Dad has gotten better with her episodes - when her oxygen drops. She had one that lasted what seemed like forever, he remained calm from beginning to end. The doctor recommended getting her books and reading to her, I read to her the other day and she seemed so calm and sucked on her pacifier while I read - it was really cute.
Keep the prayers coming.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Day 12
Today Ariana's ventilator was changed to one called an oscillator. She has not been able to keep her oxygen levels up, which we thought after the heart murmur was taken care of, she would have better oxygen levels. The oscillator pumps about 600 puffs a minute, where the ventilator did 6 per minute.
So today I will walk in to see her shake on her bed while on the oscillator because of the amount of puffs, it makes them shake. But the nurse assured me that she wasn't taken steps back, it was just a different type of ventilator to help her keep her oxygen levels up.
So today I will walk in to see her shake on her bed while on the oscillator because of the amount of puffs, it makes them shake. But the nurse assured me that she wasn't taken steps back, it was just a different type of ventilator to help her keep her oxygen levels up.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Praise
As soon as I finished "Day 10" posting, I called the hospital to check on Ariana. The nurse said she doesn't hear the heart murmur, and she's not even finished her treatment. She also got a picture of her with her eyes opened :) As she changed her, she took her eye mask off and she opened her eyes - we don't have a picture with her eyes opened.
I will admit, I woke up this morning in tears, really missing her and thought it was going to be a hard day. And in 1 hour of being awake - God once again showed me his glory and love for us.
I will admit, I woke up this morning in tears, really missing her and thought it was going to be a hard day. And in 1 hour of being awake - God once again showed me his glory and love for us.
Day 10
First we need to say, "Thank you!" All your prayers, words, and meals :) have been such a blessing to us. We have truly been humbled by the way everyone has reached out to us.
Ariana continues to be a little fighter. Her jaundice is getting better and she is down to one light, she had 2 over her and one she laid on. All of her head ultrasounds have remained the same, which means the bleeding has stopped or not gotten worse. So they were able to start treatment for her heart murmur, which has been giving her hard time breathing.
When the heart murmur is resolved, her oxygen levels will improve, allowing them to soon take her off the ventilator. If the valve in the heart is still open after this treatment, they do another cycle of treatment. They continue this treatment provided there is no bleeding in the brain, which they monitor. She has lines going in her stomach that will come out soon and she will get a regular IV. When these are all resolved - we get to hold her :) We look forward to that, even though it's at least a week or so away. So for now we simply look forward to the jaundice being resolved completely so the last light can go and her eyes can be uncovered. Right now her eyes are covered and we rarely get to see them uncovered.
This process is all about “baby steps.”
Story:
The other day we were at the hospital and her oxygen levels began to drop. She was uncomfortable, Carlos wanted the nurse to come over right away and she was with another family. I, trying to always stay calm, told him to calm down and the nurse would come over – her machines were beeping. (Ariana has one nurse assigned to her only, the nurse knew we were with her and was being kind to another family) Anyhow, Carlos is flipping at this point telling me not to tell him to calm down, his daughter is having trouble breathing and I want him to calm down. I calmly ask the nurse if it’s normal for her oxygen levels to be going down to the 70’s and she calmly said no and came over. (I worked at a hospital and know the little sticker that they put on to read the oxygen isn’t always on right and also she may drop and bring herself back to normal levels so I wasn’t just ignoring the fact that she could be having a hard time.)
Anyway, the nurse did increase her settings to help her breathe better. Carlos was ready to leave at this point, that was enough for him, he was worked up and mad at me. I explained to him it was called, “balance.” We balance each other out, where he flips and wants to “demand” results; I feel I will be better heard by asking and understanding the situation before “requesting” results.
Ariana continues to be a little fighter. Her jaundice is getting better and she is down to one light, she had 2 over her and one she laid on. All of her head ultrasounds have remained the same, which means the bleeding has stopped or not gotten worse. So they were able to start treatment for her heart murmur, which has been giving her hard time breathing.
When the heart murmur is resolved, her oxygen levels will improve, allowing them to soon take her off the ventilator. If the valve in the heart is still open after this treatment, they do another cycle of treatment. They continue this treatment provided there is no bleeding in the brain, which they monitor. She has lines going in her stomach that will come out soon and she will get a regular IV. When these are all resolved - we get to hold her :) We look forward to that, even though it's at least a week or so away. So for now we simply look forward to the jaundice being resolved completely so the last light can go and her eyes can be uncovered. Right now her eyes are covered and we rarely get to see them uncovered.
This process is all about “baby steps.”
Story:
The other day we were at the hospital and her oxygen levels began to drop. She was uncomfortable, Carlos wanted the nurse to come over right away and she was with another family. I, trying to always stay calm, told him to calm down and the nurse would come over – her machines were beeping. (Ariana has one nurse assigned to her only, the nurse knew we were with her and was being kind to another family) Anyhow, Carlos is flipping at this point telling me not to tell him to calm down, his daughter is having trouble breathing and I want him to calm down. I calmly ask the nurse if it’s normal for her oxygen levels to be going down to the 70’s and she calmly said no and came over. (I worked at a hospital and know the little sticker that they put on to read the oxygen isn’t always on right and also she may drop and bring herself back to normal levels so I wasn’t just ignoring the fact that she could be having a hard time.)
Anyway, the nurse did increase her settings to help her breathe better. Carlos was ready to leave at this point, that was enough for him, he was worked up and mad at me. I explained to him it was called, “balance.” We balance each other out, where he flips and wants to “demand” results; I feel I will be better heard by asking and understanding the situation before “requesting” results.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Sunday - 1 week old
Today she's a week old.
Her ultrasound results were the same, the bleeding had not changed. They will continue to do ultrasounds and monitor the bleeding.
She's been having a hard time breathing and they've had to increase her ventilator. She had an episode while Carlos and I were with her, it was hard.
Our prayers today are that her lungs will be strengthen and she will be able to breathe comfortably.
Her ultrasound results were the same, the bleeding had not changed. They will continue to do ultrasounds and monitor the bleeding.
She's been having a hard time breathing and they've had to increase her ventilator. She had an episode while Carlos and I were with her, it was hard.
Our prayers today are that her lungs will be strengthen and she will be able to breathe comfortably.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pictures
We’ve posted some pictures. She is under a tent which allows the nurses and doctors to get to her quickly and easily, since they are constantly checking her. So the pictures are not the best.
We were hesitant to post them since they are not what we want to remember: the tubes and her delicate body. She’s also jaundice and has the lights on her and her eyes covered. But since we are trusting God to bring her out of this, we wanted everyone to witness this miracle. We look forward to posting the pictures of her free of all the things she has hooked up to her now.
We were hesitant to post them since they are not what we want to remember: the tubes and her delicate body. She’s also jaundice and has the lights on her and her eyes covered. But since we are trusting God to bring her out of this, we wanted everyone to witness this miracle. We look forward to posting the pictures of her free of all the things she has hooked up to her now.
Good Friday - Day 5
Ariana continues to be a little miracle. Today the issue we face is a second ultrasound of her brain, yesterday they saw a little bleeding. Today's ultrasound will show if there's is more than yesterday or if it has stopped. Everything else is stable.
It's Good Friday - we remember Jesus this weekend and His sacrifice and it reminds me how awesome He is and that He can do anything ~ that includes giving Ari the strength to get through this time.
It's Good Friday - we remember Jesus this weekend and His sacrifice and it reminds me how awesome He is and that He can do anything ~ that includes giving Ari the strength to get through this time.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
25 Weeks - She's Here
Ariana
Weighted: 1lb. 8oz
Length: 13 1/2 in
She decided she didn't want to wait. My placenta ruptured and I went into labor on Saturday. Carlos was in P.R. visiting his sick uncle and got on the next flight out of P.R.
She was very active in the womb throughout the night, which kept us all positive, that she was a strong little fighter.I was going to have an emergency C-section Sunday morning and while waiting for the Anesthesiologist, Ariana decided to be born - legs first. I got to see her briefly, and I thought she looked just like daddy. Aside from normal preemie issues, she is doing well.
Keep us in your prayers. We have appreciated all the well wishes.
Weighted: 1lb. 8oz
Length: 13 1/2 in
She decided she didn't want to wait. My placenta ruptured and I went into labor on Saturday. Carlos was in P.R. visiting his sick uncle and got on the next flight out of P.R.
She was very active in the womb throughout the night, which kept us all positive, that she was a strong little fighter.I was going to have an emergency C-section Sunday morning and while waiting for the Anesthesiologist, Ariana decided to be born - legs first. I got to see her briefly, and I thought she looked just like daddy. Aside from normal preemie issues, she is doing well.
Keep us in your prayers. We have appreciated all the well wishes.
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