Skip to main content

Goodbye to Memorial Hermann Hospital

The hospital staff was sad to see Millie leave today, but we have never been happier to say goodbye to a group of kindhearted, sweet people. Traffic was never lighter and the drive was never easier than it was coming back from the hospital. Millie keeps progressing like the six million dollar man and just continues getting better, stronger, and faster. Her doctors reminded her upon her release today that she'll feel like doing things in the coming days/weeks/months, but she has to discipline herself to be a sloth. She can't really go anywhere, or do much of anything other than stay in bed and occasionally get up for carefully supervised grooming activities. It sounds kind of like being in prison. Millie asked me how I thought I would be able to handle bed rest and I said I thought I would be well suited to it. I've always been naturally inclined to sloth-like activities. That's one of the beauties of our marriage, where one is weak the other is strong. I'll teach everything I know to Millie to help her remain sedentary.







Goodbye room











Davey ready for church with his cousins









Sleeping in her brother's house











There were many tearful goodbyes as Millie's parents left to fly back home. Tomorrow there will be a few more as Davey and I fly home and Millie's brother leaves on a business trip for the week. We are so thankful for our sister-in-law who has turned her house upside down to accommodate our needs and will continue to care for Millie until she is cleared to return to Utah.

As I reflect upon the events that have transpired in our lives over the past month, I'm astounded at the miracles that have taken place. We never could have made it to this point without the love, faith, prayers, and actions of so many. President Monson once noted that "the Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it." I know that our family has been sustained and strengthened beyond our natural abilities through the atonement of the Savior, and through the administrations of all of you. I know that Maggie's back has been shaped, and now reshaped, to bear the burdens that will be placed upon it throughout her life. I can't wait to meet her (but I do hope to wait to meet her til July). I pray that God will bless all of you to be equal to the burdens placed upon your backs as He has us.



Labels:

Comments

  1. whitneyingramApril 29, 2012 at 5:52 PM

    This is such great news. Nearly every prayer in church today mentioned the gratitude for the blessings Heavenly Father has seen fit to give to Millie and Maggie. What an amazing experience it has been for our whole ward to share in the joy of these blessings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. angeeApril 29, 2012 at 8:29 PM

    So happy to hear this!!! We'll keep you in our prayers through the next coming weeks and continue to hope for the best! :)

    And Millie, you look aMAZing!!

    And Davey is just too handsome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 29, 2012 at 8:35 PM

    Thank you so much for your wonderful words. We are so happy to see Millie doing so well. We love your family!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Natalie OckeyApril 29, 2012 at 10:00 PM

    Missed your cute kids in Primary. Davey looks so handsome! I am so glad that you get to leave the hospital--hopefully you'll be coming home soon Millie!

    ReplyDelete
  5. EmilyApril 29, 2012 at 10:05 PM

    Geez, what a handsome boy you guys have! I'm so glad mill is doing so well. Give her my love.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JessApril 30, 2012 at 6:45 AM

    We appreciate the updates, and best wishes. Tell Millie I can recommend some excellent books--reading would be my solace if I were stuck as a "sloth" :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. elshmobelshApril 30, 2012 at 9:59 AM

    So happy to hear the great news that she gets to be released!!!! That is wonderful! Millie with the iron will- you go girl!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownApril 30, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    So happy to hear all the wonderful things that are happening each day. My cute girls read your blog every day and love to report to me if I havent gotten to it yet. You are such wonderful people and we love you so much and hope you continue to have many miracles. Thank you for sharing the events so we can continue to pray for you all. Davey looks so dang cute all ready for church. Good luck this week and we will continue to check on you!
    Love, The Browns

    ReplyDelete
  9. Millie KillpackMay 1, 2012 at 5:51 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Holly FlattMay 1, 2012 at 2:52 PM

    It was so good to see both of you kids in class today! I'm glad you're out of the hospital and almost on your way home! You and your family have been in my thoughts constantly this week. I'm glad everything went well!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At The Moment

Josie was reluctant to go to school today.  Friday was her "worstest day ever" of kindergarten.  According to her account, nobody would play with her at recess.  "I would ask different girls but they said they wanted to play with somebody else."  Then on the bus ride home, a girl kept pulling her pigtails, sang a mean song making fun of her and yanked her backpack.  I asked Josie how she reacted.  Her response, "I just sat in the corner."   When Matt heard the story he said, "Nobody puts Josie in a corner."  Just like Patrick Swayze.  I think it's easier to say goodbye to a daughter being wheeled into an operating room than watch her venture into the great unknown of kindergarten. Speaking of surgery, we are still in limbo for Maggie's surgery... ETV-CVF .  We are scheduled for this Thursday, but I'll meet with the neurosurgeon on Wednesday and reevaluate whether or not we should proceed.  We don't know what to do...
7 comments
Read more

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...
24 comments
Read more

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
27 comments
Read more