Skip to main content

Day Three

Millie had a difficult night. It's been tough getting on top of the pain that she's feeling. She tries to keep a brave front, but one of the surgeons came to check on her and she just broke down. He was so kind. The head nurse came in and kept asking Millie if she could make her some hot tea, or cold tea to calm her stomach. Millie was so touched but had to say, "I don't drink hot tea," then "I don't drink cold tea." The sweet nurse said, "I've got to make you something!" and came back with hot apple juice. The medical staff has been so amazing. We keep expressing our gratitude to them. They (like so many of you) will never truly know just how touched we are by their actions.







Finally this morning Mill's body has started responded well to the oral pain medications and she has been able to rest more peacefully. Her mom helped her put on some makeup and do her hair. Millie was so happy to feel somewhat normal after a few days of complete abnormality. Davey and I have been touring the hospital--it's hard to convey the sense of how big things are here. Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital is just one of what seems like a million hospitals that extend down the street for blocks and blocks. This place is amazing.





Comments

  1. I'm sorry it hurts, Mill! Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Millie so glad the surgery went well. You and your family are in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's amazing what hair and make-up will do for our spirits, huh?!

    Hang in there, Millie! Love you! Praying for you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ugh, those dreaded night times. Hopefully she will have a better night tonight! That hospital sounds and looks amazing. As amazing as it is, I hope you guys aren't there for too much longer. :) Thinking of and praying for you always! Much love.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hang in there Millster! It's amazing what makeup and hair can do to make you feel "normal" sometimes when you're living in a hospital! Your Mom is a sweetheart.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's fun to see the Texas flag up there! That medical part of town is pretty big, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shunt Happens

On Thursday night, I couldn't get rid of a nagging concern.  Maggie's eyes were sunsetting.  This is where the  eyes turn downward with the white showing above.  It wasn't constant, and she wasn't showing the typical signs associated with brain swelling.  But the Spirit just kept working at me, and I decided to call the neurosurgeon at Primary Childrens.  He wasn't too concerned and told me to come on Friday for spina bifida clinic.  Once there, the doctor thought it was nothing because Maggie's fontanelle (soft spot) was still soft and of course Maggie wasn't sunsetting for him.  But I didn't want to go to Houston next week until I knew for sure she was okay.  So he ordered a head ultrasound.  Sure enough, the ultrasound showed significant swelling in the ventricles of  her brain.  A shunt is needed. Poor Maggie. I hate to see her go through another surgery.  When I'm at the docs office and get bad news,  I try to act brave and wait until the car r

Curve Ball

Maggie is out of surgery. Things did not go as planned. As the doctor put it, "she threw us for several curve balls." We could not do the ETV. Once in her brain, he discovered that it would be too risky to proceed because of her anatomy. From what we remember, her pituitary was too close to an artery. As they were pulling out, a blood vessel burst. They had to get that bleeding under control before sewing up that side of her head and cutting open the opposite side for a shunt. That's when the neurosurgeon called us to tell us the disappointing news that the ETV wouldn't work. He said he'd come back to visit us in 45 minutes once the shunt was placed. We always knew this was a possibility, but were told her anatomy was "perfect" for the ETV. Guess you can't judge a book by its cover, even with an MRI. Shunt surgeries are common, and it is rare to have serious complications. But two agonizing hours later, we were told what happened. Duri

She's Here!

The c-section went beautifully, Maggie was delivered at 10:17. She's 6 lbs 13 oz and has a smattering of Davey's hair, my chin, Millie's voice, Kate's ears, and Josie's temperament. Her lungs seem pretty immature so she's in the Newborn ICU for now. Millie is back in her pre-op room and has not yet been able to really see Maggie. Immediately after delivering her the doctors whisked Maggie into the NICU in the adjoining room. I've been able to see her in there and have shown Millie the pictures. The lesion on her back looks good--it looks like a patch of skin covering what used to be the hole that was there. Her feet don't have any noticeable clubbing and she definitely has more sensation there than Davey did. We are so grateful that she is here.     Posted with Blogsy