My Blessings

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

This year, even more so than any other year, I am feeling abundantly blessed.

As I sit and count my blessings I am in awe of how very fortunate our family is.

And I am thankful!

For my smart, funny, kind 12 year old boy, Riley

For my silly, friendly, energetic 9 year old boy, Aidan

For my tiny but mighty, brave and resilient 6 year old little girl, Audra

For my sweet, feisty, imaginative 5 (going on 15) year old big girl, Maura.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family at my parents house.  Audra looked adorable in her "turkey dress".  And she was thrilled when the buffet of food was ready for her consumption.  Her eyes were wide...but her smile was wider!  She ate some of everything...actually, ALOT of everything.  She tried it all!  And by the end she was looking very stuffed.  So, in true American post-Thanksgiving meal tradition...she took a nap!

Our day was good!

Blessings to you and your family...

Her sweet face

One year ago today we saw Audra's sweet little face for the very first time...and we just knew.

Right away.  Both Sean and I.

I was breathless...she was stunning!

And we were never the same again.

She was our daughter...we knew at that very moment.

Home again

Audra was discharged from the hospital today :)

Her final urine culture results came back yesterday and they were able to put her on an oral antibiotic that will cover this particular bacteria.  Luckily, the bacteria this time was more susceptible to antibiotics than the bacteria she had in her urine in May.  The final read on her ultrasound indicated that the "area of concern" was scarring from her previous abscesses.  There are not any new abscesses. 

Urology will see Audra as an outpatient once this infection has cleared up.  After she finishes this course of antibiotics for the infection she will start taking a prophylactic antibiotic daily until she has further testing done.

Audra's GI doctor stopped by with a few recommendations, since she will be on antibiotics for a while...and we know how antibiotics affect her GI system and lead to weight loss. 

The Immunology team came to see Audra today as well.  They are concerned that she continues to have persistent fevers and now another serious infection again, in addition to her recurrent diarrhea and lack of weight gain.  The plan is more bloodwork (to check her B-cells this time) and follow up in the clinic in a few weeks.  Audra's December calendar is filling up fast...

General surgery follow up
GI
ENT
Audiology (very excited about this one!!)
International Adoption clinic

and now:
Urologic testing
Urology clinic
and Immunology

Hopefully I'll find some time in December to start (and finish) my Christmas shopping...and of course get back to work...to pay for said Christmas shopping!

For now, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving next week.  At home.  All together.  Our little family of six!  It's been quite a year and we have so.very.much to be thankful for.  Most importantly this beautiful child who we are so blessed to call our daughter:

Audra update...

Yesterday's events:
I took Audra to the pediatrician yesterday morning.  She had fevers of 105 Monday evening and through the night into Tuesday morning.  Terrible fevers...with shaking, moaning, and gagging.  Just like 6 months ago.  Because her pediatrician didn't like the way she looked, and because of her complicated medical history, he told us to take her to the local hospital's ER.  There is a CHOP doctor on staff at that hospital and he called to let them know we were on our way.  Audra had her bloodwork drawn which showed that she has a significant infection going on somewhere.  Her inflammatory markers were very elevated...just like 6 months ago.  She had an ultrasound that was concerning for something going on in her left kidney again.  The ER doctor contacted the specialists at CHOP and they said Audra should be transported downtown.  After a long day at the pediatrician and ER, we left for CHOP at 6:15pm.  Audra had her first ambulance ride.  It would be nice if that was also her last!

I almost feels like we never left CHOP.  But this time I have my mind set on not getting "settled in". 
Audra is really making the rounds on the units here at CHOP.  She's seen 7west, 5east, 4south...and this time 9south. 

Some things are the same (as her other admissions)...
~Audra captures the hearts of everyone here.  She is pleasant, cooperative, and so stinkin' cute!  (Not my words, but yes, I would say I agree!)
~She continue to "perplex" the doctors. 
~Audra's PICU fan club has jumped right into action again...filling in for me at work, stopping in to check on us, bringing snacks and other essentials.
~She is receiving the best care possible in the best possible place.

And some things are very different (from her last admission)...
~not only can Audra order food whenever she wants...she also has snack trays delivered to her room three times a day.  The food never stops arriving, all day long!
~and I don't have to eat in the bathroom :)

Today's update:
Audra had another ultrasound done today.  This ultrasound didn't show the "area of concern" that was seen on yesterday's ultrasound.  Her last fever was at 2pm.  She is still on IV antibiotics until we have the results of the urine culture done yesterday.  The preliminary results show that something is growing.

The Infectious Disease team came to see her...they would like to do another urine culture after 48 hours of antibiotics to make sure things are improving. 

Urology was consulted since this is her second pyelonephritis (kidney infection) in 6 months.  There is nothing they would like to do urgently.  Once Audra has finished this course of antibiotics, they want her to remain on prophylactic antibiotics until they can do further testing. 

Immunology will be by tomorrow.  I am anxious to hear there thoughts. 

She is in a better place today than I thought she would be.  Her fevers have spaced out a bit, thankfully!  She looks and feels good in between fevers (just like 6 months ago).

If this is just pyelonephritis, we could be out of her on Friday. 

Again?!?!

Audra is sick again.

She has been having high fevers to 105 every six hours for the last 36 hours.

Her bloodwork indicates that she has an infection somewhere.

And she feels just terrible.

We spent all of today at the pediatrician and then the local hospital ER.  She was just transferred to CHOP and we are getting settled in...again.

Everything feels like May 2013 all over again. Hopefully they can figure her out quicker this time.

Enough is enough.

This sweet girl needs a break already.

Please pray for her.
For her health and her heart....this is just too much!

I will update tomorrow after we see all the doctors and have a plan.

All Ears

We have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever!

Today Audra was back in the OR (just Day Surgery thankfully!) for a sedated ABR hearing test, a more thorough examination of her ruptured ear drum and to top it off, possibly ear tubes.

She was less than happy to have been woken up at 4:45 this morning, offered only a clear liquid to drink, and then loaded into the car in her crazy footsie pajamas again. She knew exactly where we were headed.

I have been worried all weekend that Audra might not make it into the OR today...not because she would flat out refuse to go in there again...but because she has been having fevers up to 102 since Thursday evening.  She's not sick though...no cough, no runny nose, nothing...and the incisions from her surgery two weeks ago look fine.  No signs of infection anywhere.  Today, as we waited to be called back to the pre-op area I could tell she was brewing another fever.  And by the time they checked her vital signs she was shivering and her temp was 105!

Our hearts sank. We really, really need this hearing test to be done so we can move forward with getting her hearing aides.

Thankfully, today Audra had the same anesthesiologist that she had when she went to the OR with a high fever during her hospitalization in May. She remembered Audra and her story and she was ok with proceeding today.  Thank Heavens!!!

Everything went very well today.  First the ENT doctor examined her ears. The left ear drum is still ruptured and we will discuss the surgical repair of that at her next appointment.  And she did not need ear tubes! Yay!  The ABR hearing test showed...GOOD NEWS...her right ear has moderate hearing loss (not no response to sound like the other hearing tests have indicated) so she can get bilateral hearing aides!!!  Her left ear has moderate-severe hearing loss which might improve some once that ear drum is repaired.  We will see ENT in a few weeks to discuss the tympanoplasty further.  More good news, which I wasn't even expecting....they did the molds for her hearing aides today in the OR !!!  One step closer to getting our girl to hear better. 

She came out of the OR with a fever of only 101, sitting up looking great.  She makes my heart smile...she is so resilient. 

Ironic as it is (or as everything with the journey to these two beauties has been)...

Both Audra and Charlotte were in a Day Surgery today, at the same hospital, having procedures done that involved their ears (although quite different procedures).  Charlotte arrived shortly after Audra came out of the OR. I quickly went to see her and give her a good luck hug.  Charlotte went into the OR just as Audra was being discharged. We stopped by the waiting room before heading to our car so we could see Uncle Tim and Aunt Dawn and make sure they were ok.  They were just getting settled in for their big wait.  We are now home and just heard that Charlotte is out of the OR and did well also.

The girls with their first set of "ears"...

Home!

Today Audra was discharged from the hospital!!

 

She was sooo excited to be going home...

 

Excited and exhausted...

 

Healing is hard work. 

And she has worked hard.

 

I am so proud of my sweet girl,

with all that she has endured...

she still comes out smiling!

Day #9...F-O-O-D!!

This is the "food" that has been sustaining Audra for the past 6 days:

TPN (total parenteral nutrition)

The yellow bag is the protein, vitamins and minerals

and

The white bag is the fat...

(hmmm...can she get a double order of that!)

But today...
the doctor's orders included:
1. eat food!
2. wear her crown for at least 50% of the day!
(no joke...he really said this!)

Both of which were not hard for little miss Audra to accomplish.

#1...

#2...

Tomorrow.....home??

Day #8...d-r-i-n-k

Audra is tube-less!!

 

Just look at that adorable face...

 



The tube was removed about 11am and by 11:01 she had a drink in hand!

It was pure bliss for my girl...

Just look at that smile: 

I was afraid it would be difficult to pace her,

but she must know her own tummy's limit

because she is  doing very well with taking

only 1oz at a time, approximately once per hour.

Sipping...

 

Sipping...

 

Sipping...

 



After all that sipping, with a belly as full as it's been in 9 days, she fell asleep...fast and hard, in quite the unique position:

Tomorrow....F-O-O-D!!!

Day #7...progress :)

Audra's belly seems to be getting it's act together.  Small steps, but progress is progress!

Today her drain has been clamped all day.  So far she hasn't had any vomiting.  If she makes it through the night, clamped and without vomiting, the tube will probably come out in the morning!  And even better...she will probably be allowed to try having something to drink tomorrow. 

Audra got her PICC line placed today without any trouble.  It is in her right upper arm, which means she has full use of that arm.  And her one remaining IV was removed from her left hand.  Being able to use both hands freely really helps when it comes to distraction activities.  Although, this weekend she had IV's in both hands, all boarded and taped up, and she somehow still managed to push the baby stroller, paint, color, etc.  She one strong-willed, determined little girl. 

Audra was very irritable when she came out of the anesthesia today, which is not like her.  I half-jokingly asked the anesthesiologist why she gave her the "cranky gas" instead of the "happy gas".  Audra's anesthesiologist today was the same one she had for surgery last Monday.  I asked her if she had plans next Monday, as Audra has a date with anesthesia for the third Monday in a row!  She said she'll be around...we'll see if we meet up again. 

Once we returned to Audra's room I got her back to (some much needed) sleep for a while.  She woke up to a special delivery of balloons from her Aunt Brownie, which seemed to be the cure for the "cranky gas". 

So, the plan for now:

~get the tube out

~have something to drink

~slowly advance her diet

~decrease her IV nutrition as she begins eating (and tolerating) food

~get out of  here...maybe Friday if all goes well with her tummy keeping the food down



Day #6...a village

It truly does "take a village"...and Audra has one amazing village!

Sean and I "signed up for this" when chose special needs adoption. 
Our family and friends did not.

We knew the challenges and possibilities that we may have to face...and we accepted them.
Our family and friends did not have to...
...but they did!

They have opened their arms wide and wrapped their loving hearts around Audra each and every time.  Without fail.  Without ever being asked.  From the bottom of their hearts...hearts full of love for this sweet, beautiful little girl, from the other side of the world, who just needed to be (and deserved to be) loved.

• The grandparents have come down to sit with Audra so I can get a few hours of work in since I have not yet accrued much vacation time after using it all when we traveled to China and while Audra was hospitalized for three and a half weeks in May.

• My co-workers have once again selflessly donated some of their own vacation time to me so that I can stay at Audra's bedside and focus on her.  This brought me to tears, again, just as it did in May.  There truly is no greater gift than the gift of time.  It leaves me humbled and speechless.  I hope they know how very much this means to me. 

• Friends have stopped by during and after their own long 12 hour shift at the hospital to visit with us, and let me grab a quick bite to eat.

• Audra's godmother offered to come sit at her bedside at 6:45am (before her 8:00am shift) on Tuesday to allow me some time to eat breakfast and get a shower.  

• People near and far...family, friends, acquaintances, and even some whom we have never met, pray for Audra. Prayer is a priceless gift. We are made strong, and can continue on because of the blessings of prayers.  Powerful! 

I, like most people, am not one to ask for help.  But, I, like most people, am eager to help those in need.  People want to help, people want to do something.  I know this, I have been on the other side wanting to do something for someone in need...
...and so I have asked:

• I asked for a sandwich, and I got it...along with lunch and dinner for the day, and dinner for another day as well as drinks and snacks.

• I asked for foam craft stickers...and I got a bag bigger than Audra herself, full of craft supplies to keep her busy.  And it was these very crafts that finally got the first smiles and laughs out of Audra on Friday. 

Update on Audra:
Today she tolerated having her drain clamped for 6 hours!  After that the tube was put back to suction and she was allowed to have licks of a lollipop!  This was her first taste of anything (besides toothpaste) in over seven days. 

Tomorrow Audra will have a PICC line placed.  It is a long catheter that is inserted in her arm and threaded up towards an area close to her heart.  This will be done in the Interventional Radiology suite while she is under anesthesia.  The PICC line will allow her to receive higher contents of the IV nutrition she has been on, and any bloodwork they need to do can be drawn from this catheter.  Audra has gone through 3 IV's just this weekend...I am happy that this is the last IV she will need for the rest of this hospitalization. 

Please keep Audra close to your heart tomorrow and send sweet thoughts and prayers her way...as I know so many of you reading this always do.

Thank you, "Audra's Village". 
We are so very grateful for your willingness to stand by our sides since day one of this journey...and help us whenever, wherever, however. 

Day #5...groundhog day

Not much is happening here...

Today feels just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that...
In fact, I'm not quite sure what day it is today!

Audra's drain is still putting out too much.
She is still on the IV nutrition
and
She still can't eat.

She and I are both getting a bit of cabin fever.  It's hard to be in the hospital room all.day.long.

But leaving her room is like a double edge sword...
we NEED to get out of this room for our sanity, but every time I take her out, inevitably, she lays her eyes on food or drink!

The meal tray cart wheels by,

other rooms have their doors wide open with people eating inside,

or a staff member or visitor stops to comment on how cute Audra is...with a drink in their hand.  Audra points and "says" something...
I brush them off quickly and move on. 
I am sure just about everyone thinks I am rude. 

And me...I'm a closet eater this week.  This is survival eating as I call it. 
In the bathroom,
Behind a curtain,
and
ONLY while she is asleep!

And even then...I feel guilty. 

One "safe" location is the playroom...with it's "No food or drink" sign on the door.  Today Audra made an owl:

I'm looking forward to Monday, when there's bound to be some news. 
And then this groundhog day can end!!

Day #4 (part 2)...my girl!

She's back!!!!!

Audra's mood took a turn for the better late this afternoon and I just had to share!

It started with a few little whispers and a hint of a smile here and there.

And now...she's talking, smiling and even laughing.

I don't know if it was the playdoh, crafts, or painting...

...or maybe she is just feeling better!

Here's the proof...

 

 

What a true gift it was to see her personality peek through today!!!  My heart is now happy :)  She knew just what her mama needed today. 

And I just had to include these pictures...they don't capture her happy personality from today, but they are just so sweet...

Day #4...seven months

Today is our seven month "familyversary".

Seven months ago today we received the gift of Audra.  We had held her in our hearts for months leading up to that day...but, finally, we were able to hold her in our arms. 

Six months ago today we celebrated our one month "familyversary" here at the very same hospital. 

Audra has been through so much since coming home in April.  Sure, we knew that she had "special needs" and we are continuing to work through her malnutrition and developmental issues.  But both of these hospitalizations were unexpected. 

We are so thankful for the wonderful medical care that she has access to here at CHOP, and for the blessings of good medical insurance, supportive extended family members who help fill in the gaps while I am here at the hospital with Audra, and friends who are willing to help in any and every way possible. 

I have said this before...but the thoughts and feelings still keep creeping in.  And they keep me up at night.  I pray that Audra can somehow understand that all of these medical procedures/treatments/surgeries/hospitalizations will benefit her...it's a good thing in the long run...and it's necessary.  However, I fear that she wonders why we would take her away from all she ever knew...a place where she hardly ever experienced this kind of medical treatment (which isn't necessarily a good thing...and most likely part of why there is so much we need to do for her now) and bring her here...to somewhere completely new and foreign to her...a place where she is repeatedly going to doctors and hospitals and having procedures and surgeries. 

My mind knows the truth...
but my heart hurts for her. 

Once we get through this chapter, there is still more to be done.  She is already scheduled for day surgery on November 18th for the ENT doctor to examine her ears, put tubes in and have the sedated hearing test done.  After that, there is the tympanoplasty (repair of her rupture ear drum) that needs to be done sometime in the next few months.  And, of course, we still have a lot to do regarding her malnutrition. 

Please hold Audra close to your heart and pray that her heart doesn't hurt. 

She is a sweet, smart, happy, rambunctious little one and we are so thankful for every single day of the last seven months that we have had her with us.

She is a blessing. 

Day #3...hungry

The surgery itself went well...

Audra herself continues to amaze us...

But her body is taking the hard road to recovery.

Today the surgeon told us Audra's intestines need complete rest for a while.  Maybe two days, maybe five days, maybe more.  There's no way to predict how long.  It's all up to her little body.  For now...no more clamping the tube, it will stay to suction for the time being.  Which also means no eating...for a while!  So, tonight Audra was started on TPN (IV nutrition that contains fats, vitamins, minerals and calories)...which her tiny little body soooo needs right now.  Today is the 4th day that she has been without food.  She is becoming weaker.  When we take walks on the unit her feet shuffle a bit and her knees give out sometimes.  When I pick her up she sinks in and buries her head on my shoulder. 

I have been trying hard the last few days to keep Audra's mind off of food, and if you know her...you know that is nearly impossible!  However, there is only so much distraction one can do.  I am running out of tricks...fast!  Today, I finally had to tell her "Audra no eat".  And with that she stomped her sweet little feet on the ground and cried. 

So did I.

She continues the routine of making me show her what is in every bag and open every drawer, over and over and over.  She is desperate for food.  And I, as her mom, am desperate to feed her.  The fact that she spent 5 1/2 years in an orphanage, without an abundance of food, and suffered from malnutrition makes this whole situation harder to bear.  For both of us.  I am sure she wonders why mommy isn't feeding her.  And I pray that she isn't afraid..afraid of why this is happening and if/when she will ever eat again.  I can't explain this to her.  I can't reassure her that when her tummy is better she will get whatever she wants to eat.  I can't promise her ice cream when this is all done.  She just can't understand this.

My sweet girl is asleep right now.  And sleep is what I wish for her. 
When she sleeps...she's not hungry. 

Please say a prayer for Audra...that her hunger subsides during these next few days, and that her intestines begin to cooperate and function as they need to. 

Day #2...the princess

Today was a long, quiet day.  Which is good....relatively. 

Last night both Audra and I slept fairly well.  The drainage from her tube slowed down a bit overnight so we were feeling pretty hopeful this morning.  But then, once she was awake, the drainage picked up again...for whatever reason.  Today her surgeon said that she probably needs the tube for a few more days.  She said some kids need the tube for 7-10 days after surgery, but she doesn't think Audra will need it for that long.  Boy am I glad Audra can't understand what she said, cause she would not be happy!  Tonight we tried putting the tube to gravity instead of suction to see if that would convince some of the fluid to start moving south, through her intestines.  Poor baby seemed uncomfortable pretty quickly and then threw up about an hour later.  So, the tube is back on suction for the night.  We will probably try again tomorrow. 

She wants to eat, and I mean NOW!  In the playroom today she gravitated right towards the play kitchen, found herself a plastic banana and wouldn't let go of it for most of the day!  Every time I take her to the bathroom to potty she points to the sink and does the sign for "drink".  I can't let her look at my magazines anymore because she flips through the pages until she finds a picture of food, then points to it and looks at me with her sad little eyes. 

This NPO (nothing to eat) part is the hardest!  We are so used to overindulging her with food...both because she NEEDS it (at 23lbs she is still way too tiny for a six year old) and because she deserves it (for 5 1/2 years she never had unlimited access to food, with a choice of her preference none the less!)  So, YES, we love to overindulge our little peanut when it comes to food. 

Today Audra decided that she was a princess and she wore her crown (a foam craft type one given to her by the child life therapist)...she wore it EVERYWHERE!

 

walking around the unit,

in the bathroom,

when she went down to radiology for an xray,

and she even slept in it...

during each of her 3 naps today!

 

 

Post-op...Day #1

Audra is amazing! 

But we did already know that...so I'm not sure why I expected an less of her during her recovery.

She is one tough cookie, the strongest little peanut I know!

She slept pretty well last night.  They are giving her scheduled pain medicine around the clock.  While she definitely doesn't seem herself (who would after such a day yesterday!) she also definitely isn't expressing the discomfort she must be feeling.  No tears, no crying, really not even whining! 

She seems to be most bothered by the tube down her nose.  It goes into her stomach and is connected to suction which drains all the fluid that is building up in her stomach since her intestines are still "sleepy" and not moving things along.  The large amount that this tube has drained from her stomach so far today is concerning.  So that she doesn't get dehydrated, they are giving her equal volumes of IV fluid back for everything the tube drains out of her stomach.  This is on top of the regular IV fluids she has been on since yesterday.  Even with all that fluid she is not going potty enough, so they are giving her even more addition IV fluids to try to get her to make some urine. 

Despite all that, the little princess is moving around like nothing happened yesterday.  She has walked laps around the unit a few times, even pushing a baby stroller! 

We have not heard her voice since before the surgery yesterday.  Not a peep...and that is not like our feisty, noisy little one.  I am sure this is because the tube in her throat is so uncomfortable.  She will give kissy kisses though, and has even cracked a smile a few times. 

She is definitely hungry...and she is smart enough to know that there MUST be food somewhere in this hospital room of ours.  She points to every bag and makes me show her what's in it...hoping that there is food...and hoping that I will give it to her.  Poor sweet one.  She never likes having her teeth brushed, but today she grabbed the toothbrush from me so she could dunk it in the water and suck on it.  She even didn't mind the minty hospital toothpaste.  This NPO (nothing to eat) business is not going to be good for her skinny little self...

I, on the other hand, might make out well and lose a few pounds!  I haven't yet figured out how I am supposed to get food into myself when I have a sad, sore, scared, hungry little one who isn't allowed to eat and won't let me out of her sight. 

Today the surgeon said while she needed fix what she found yesterday, she doesn't think that there was "enough going on in there" to be the full cause of Audra's long standing issues with malabsorption and failure to thrive.  This is disappointing.  We also saw Audra's GI doctor today and she was a bit more optimistic.  Yes, this may not have been the full cause, but it was most likely contributing to it and possibly clouding the picture.  So now, with this taken care of, it may help lead her in the right direction of finding the true source.  Bottom line...endoscopy/colonoscopy is the next step. 

Tonight we pray that her tummy will take turn for the better and start doing what it is supposed to do so we can get outta here!

Surgery

Last night we put Audra to bed in a new pair of footsie pajamas...so we could wake her up and put her right in the car this morning.  She did not know what to make of her new jammies.  She kept grabbing her feet, wondering where they were and why she couldn't see them.

We woke up early this morning, got one last drink of apple juice into Audra and got on the road for the hospital by 6:30am. By that time rush hour was in full force so it took us an hour and a half to get there.  Poor Audra, her little tummy got a bit upset and she got sick in the car. Maybe it was the stop and go traffic, or maybe it was her nerves.  She can smile through anything though, bless her sweet little self!

She played happily in the waiting room...

and the pre-op area...

She must have been so very hungry...my girl who loves to eat something fierce...but never once did she seem upset that we hadn't given her something to eat yet today. 

She had her favorite pink flamingo-bunny with her all day long!  It's been with her for each and every CHOP visit, test, procedure and admission since she received it from her "PICU Fan Club" during her very first ER visit back in May.  My co-workers in the PICU love on Audra immensely and spoil her silly..as she so deserves!

One last kissy, kiss picture to send to all the family and friends before heading into the OR.  

I got dressed up for the occasion and went with Audra into the OR while the anesthesiologist helped her drift off to sleep peacefully.  She was so brave!  She didn't get upset at all.  Not one tear!

I am so grateful they allowed me to do this again.  This was the 5th time I have held my sweet girl as she received anesthesia.  So much less traumatizing!  Not only for her...but also me. 

 

At 11:30am our wait began.

 

At 12:20pm we got our first update...the surgeon said it would take the longer side of her estimated timeline.  So maybe 2.5-3 hours. 

 

At 1:15pm we got our second update...the surgeon was still in the process of checking the entire length of her intestines

 

At 1:45pm we got our last update...Audra's intestines looked pretty good.  The parts that were in the wrong places (duodenum, ligament of Treitz, and the cecum) were repositioned and secured to the abdominal wall.  She also had her appendix removed because if Audra had ever developed appendicitis in the future, its incorrect position in her abdomen would have made diagnosing appendicitis very challenging.  The entire surgery was able to be done laproscopically.  So, she has 4 small (about 1/2 inch) incisions on her belly. 

 

At 2:15pm we finally got to see our sweet girl in the recovery room.  She was still very sleepy.  She was given two different medications for pain control and she was very comfortable.  Amen!

 

We are now all tucked into our room for the next few days.  Because the surgeon manipulated her bowels quite a bit, Audra has a tube down her nose into her stomach that is connected to suction so her stomach can remain empty.  It is expected that her bowels will be sleepy for a day or two.  We are praying that is all the time they need to "wake up" and get moving.  Audra will not be allowed to eat as long as the tube is in. 

 

As I type this she is sound asleep.  She hasn't cried or fussed at all tonight!  Her belly must be uncomfortable, but she is just so strong.  Strongest little girl I know!

 

We are so happy to have this part behind us and hopefully, hopefully be a little closer to getting her "big and healthy". 

 

Thank you for surrounding her with your prayers, and sweet thoughts today.  We have been blessed in so many ways today, this we know, and for this we are thankful.  

trick-or-treat...and more:

Halloween was different this year...in many ways!

Riley decided, after twelve years of trick-or-treating, that he had had enough.  He wanted to stay home (with Pop-pop) this year and give out the candy...in his Super Riley cape (of course!).  He never was a big trick-or-treater.  He was always ready to go home by the time we reached "the corner house". 

And this year Aidan wanted to trick-or-treat with his friends.  At a mere 9 years old I was just not ready for this!  So we let him and his friend head off down the street together...with one Pop and one Dad not too far behind, but just out of sight of them! 

Charlotte and Uncle Tim decided to join us for trick-or-treating.  Most of the houses on their street have a few steps up to the front door, which would have been difficult for Charlotte to navigate. 

So off we went...

 a witch,

a butterfly,

and

a cupcake!

Maura liked being the leader this year.  Every other year she was the one with the shortest legs, therefore she walked to slowest.  She could never keep up with her brothers.  This year we had to keep reminding her to wait up for the two "first timers".

 

All of my pictures seem to be taken from behind! 

I could never catch up with them as they darted

to the next house for more sugary treats!

 

Audra caught on really quickly...by the 3rd house she was trying to take ALL of the candy, instead of just one piece.  And, of course, everyone indulged her and let her take as more than her fair share!  But really....there was no way to resist her cute little cupcake face!

Charlotte's legs were definitely getting tired about halfway through.  But there was no way she was giving up!  We kept asking her if she need a break and she would say "No, more trick or treat"!

Once home, the girls immediately started digging into their treats.  Sure it was a school night, and just about their bedtime...but it was also another "first"...something to be celebrated!





Tomorrow is a big day for Audra.  She is having her intestinal malrotation surgery.  We are supposed to arrive at the hospital at 8:00am and her surgery is scheduled for 10:00am.  Please send sweet thoughts her way tomorrow morning. 

Please pray specifically for:
an uncomplicated surgery,
no intestinal damage as a result of her living with this malrotation for 6 years,
comfort and good pain control as her body heals,
and relief of hunger as she must wait a few days after surgery to eat again.

I am hopeful that this the beginning of an ending for Audra...

the end of fevers,
the end of belly pain,
the end of diarrhea,
the end of malabsorption,
and
the end of failure to thrive.

One last picture of my oh.so.sweet.precious.little.itty.bitty.girl!