An Unexpected Visitor

Vada took a special interest in this necklace. Ironically, it's the one that her Aunt Lindsey gave me and I wore it from the day of surgery until we brought her home. I want to wear it on Vada's surgery anniversary date each year, so I have to protect it from Vada's grip!

The evening was warm and the air smelled like fresh cut grass it was a perfect night to bring Vada home. After playing inside for awhile, Daddy, Vada and I went outside to wait for Grandma and Grandpa to bring her big sisters home. Kiliegh accidentally found out that we were coming back today but we were able to still keep it a secret from Jasmine. We wanted to surprise them both.

 They ended up walking to our house from Justin's parents. Its only about a mile away. Jasmine and Annette somehow got ahead of Jim and Kiliegh and Jasmine was the first to see Vada, Justin and I standing in our yard. She yelled with excitement when she saw Vada and I, which was refreshing, I'm not usually Jasmine's favorite person these days.

Next it was Grandma who walked into the yard. She knew we would be home but was excited all the same.

After saying hello's to Jasmine and Grandma, Vada looked on. It was like she knew there would be more. She knew that there were two who had yet to make it.

They all took the back way, through the neighbors bushes and from the alley. As soon as Kiliegh came through she began to run towards Vada and I.

She has a older wisdom about her. She knew that this day would come and that everything would be okay.

Finally, Grandpa made it over to us. It's impossible to pick who is Vada's favorite person (*cough* me*cough*...joking.). She has a unique bond with every member in our family. With Grandpa she loves how he cuddles and sings to her. He makes some great sounds and the funnest faces. She enjoys being with him and I think it's pretty safe to say that the feeling is mutual.

Check out Vada and Jasmine's expressions. They look so much alike!

We had only been home for a couple of hours and so much had already happened. Spirits were high and we all took great joy in the fact that we were back together.

Home Coming

The moment we walked in to our house Vada knew she was home.

A smile a began to stretch from one ear to the other. The dimples in her sweet cheeks became prominent and her legs began kicking.

Her eyes lit up.

She began to babble.

She was to tickled to NOT be in the hospital. With in mintutes of placing her on the floor with her toys she attempted crawling. Only... I think it kind of hurt her, naturally.

She didn't cry she just pushed up, turned to me and said "Mama". She knew I would understand and I did.

Recovering: Vada's Repaired Heart

After heart surgery you can expect daily Xrays, at least for the first couple of days. Being on the children's floor the Xray machine comes to you in the form of a fire engine!

The Xray's are done mainly to see if there is fluid in the lungs or around the heart. At least that was the case with Vada. She did have a small amount of fluid in her right lung and because of that a new diuretic was prescribed and the lasix was canceled.

With in the first couple of hours Vada started to pee...and pee...and pee! Today she is one pound lighter.(Keep in mind she had gained around 2lbs with in 24-48hours from surgery.) Labs were drawn this morning just to make sure everything was balanced and she was doing well. The labs showed that her potassium was low, which is a side effect of the diuretic that she is now on. To treat this they gave her potassium through her central line and have just now drawn new labs to check the levels. If her levels have been corrected then we will be coming home today. We have already begun discharge procedures and are waiting to see what the blood work shows.

Vada will be coming home on three new medications, making a total of seven prescriptions and an added two vitamins. Her medications will be something that helps her maintain her potassium levels, the diuretic and one for her heart. All of these new medications she will eventually out grow or will be canceled. For now its all for maintaining her healthy repaired heart.

Below are two pictures of her latest Xray. I am sharing them so you can see what we are able to see. If you look at the other Xrays that I have posted here and here, this one doesn't look too different. That's because I am not showing you a heart that has decreased in size but I am showing you where her sweet chest wires are.

These four little circles are a small piece of her recovery. They will forever be a part of her now, a hidden reminder of what she went through.I think the fact that someone is able to do this surgery is amazing and then when you throw things like the Xrays in people often forget the importance or significance in them. I like that I get to see this and I like that I can share them with others. It's something that I wish that I could have seen from someone familiar before Vada's surgery.

Some of the things that I have shared over the past few days may seem a bit personal and most are. I am sharing them and have shared them because of the feelings of fear that I had prior to Vada's surgery. The unknown can be the worst in situations like this. I am only sharing what I have shared because I hope that someone else, someone who may be only a few steps behind me will find them and that they will find some sort of relief in them.

Recovering: Making the Rounds and Saying Good Bye

Vada's sleep pattern has not improved here in the hospital, in fact, it has actually gotten worse. Her days and nights have flip flopped. That's why when Grandma and Daddy got here this morning we were still sleeping! One of Vada's first nurses exchanged her crib for a regular bed. That way I wasn't straddling the crib to nurse Vada and so we could cuddle together. I sleep her with her during the night too, which is much more comfortable than the pull out couch!

It took awhile for me to wake up but once I did get my eyes to stay open Vada's nurse came into the room and helped us get Vada ready to go for a walk. The hospital has wagons that the kiddo's who are less restricted can use but they were all in use so we used our stroller.

Vada's still had to be monitored so we hooked her up to a cordless, battery operated machine and brought it with us. 

We walked around the hospital floor for a couple of laps and then made it to the play room. Im not for sure where those kiddo's were who were using the wagons, because there wasnt anyone out when we were, which I was grateful for.

Vada stayed in her stroller the whole time. Im still a little uncomfortable moving her too much and she seemed so cozy where she was.

We read books and worked on our spanish with Dora.

Grandma Suzie made sure to leave a mark so that others after us would know that Vada was there and Daddy entertained himself with some of the bigger kids toys.

Vada seemed to enjoy the change of scenery. I think that we all did. It was refreshing and it made things seem more hopeful, not that anything is really wrong, it's just a situation that we don't really want to have to be in, but are.

When we got back to the room Vada had her first solid food snack. A carrot stick and some pretzles. Im not for sure if she swallowed anything but she seemed to be starving even in spite of her nursing every two hours.

After her snack she had to say good bye's to Grandma because she was flying home to Texas. Vada was not happy about it and made sure her feelings were known but she settled down after a bit and played with her stuffed friends.

Today was a good day. I'm glad that we did not go home however. I really think that she needed today to rest and be monitored.

Recovering: It's Getting Close

It's getting close! Were coming home soon. (Knock on wood.)

The doctor's were ready to send her home today. There were a few concerns that kept her here another day. A nervous mother, me, being the top concern.

Vada has been filling up her diapers and her oxygen intake has been in the nineties with the exception of when she is asleep, then it dips lower.

Vada is off of everything. She has her central line for any needed labs and then for any "just in case" situations. For pain she is alternating between Motrin and Tylenol and she seems to be doing great!

The thing that seems to bother her the most is her teeth! That's right, our poor girls is cutting a tooth and a molar to top it off.

Today and tonight she has been alert and talkative. Right now she is sitting up in bed, babbling and playing. Its so nice to have our girl back.

It seems that we will be coming home tomorrow. I feel comfortable with that. I am a little nervous, but I know with the way she is right now, there is nothing more than monitoring that can be done here in the hospital. We will all be more comfortable at home.

Recovery will be a long process. I am sure that with everyday that passes we will see improvement and I cant wait! She will need to be secluded for at least six weeks. She can go outside on nice days and can be around her immediate family but other than that we are drawing a line. Her peditrition has already been contacted. We have to check in with him next week and his office as been notified with her needs. He as agreed to see her before other patients and to get her straight into a room when we get there. Its very important for her to NOT get sick! We will meet with the surgeon in a week and then the cardiologist in a month. If everything works out she should be able to start physical therapy back up at the end of the six weeks.

With all of that being said, we still plan on taking things day by day and slowly. It's the best way!