A day of possibilities

Things are moving right along. This morning Chloe put together her hope beads, ate breakfast, got a chest x-ray, and took a shower. All her IV lines came out and the stickers that were on her tummy that the leads were hooked up to (for monitoring heart rate, oxygen levels, etc.) were all taken off. Her chest x-ray looked very good, and a prescription for pain medication that we will take home with us has been filled at the pharmacy here. So right now we are waiting for some discharge instructions and, of course, papers to sign. Chloe was very cheerful and alert this morning, but after all the activity, she is tired again. We will update again once we know more details, and hopefully we will be able to add some more pictures then - there is a problem again with the wireless connection. Please keep little Eric in your prayers too - he is the 5 year old who had surgery the same morning as Chloe, and we prayed with his mom in the waiting room. His chest tubes came out yesterday and he might get to go home today, which his mom is very excited about. Thanks!

Chloe Says, part 2

Chloe is so much more herself tonight. It makes her parents happy and relieved! Even though having all her tubes out made her feel better, she still slept a lot this afternoon and did not want to do much of anything. Finally after eating some supper, she perked up, and for a good hour this evening she was smiling and talking with her mom and dad. She was interested in hearing all the comments on the blog, and especially liked the ones from her little sister Lydia. We had to read those twice! Chloe even decided she had a few things to say on the blog.

Chloe says...

Things she likes about being in the hospital:

The beds move up and down

Her own TV right in front of her bed

Her breathing tube with the little yellow ball

Food whenever you want

Nice nurses

Sleeping

Things she does NOT like about being in the hospital:

I.V.s

Stickers on her skin

Having to get out of bed and walk around

Not being able to fall asleep

Finally eating something - chicken noodle soup

Two of her awesome nurses

Some fun gifts from aunts, uncles and cousins

With her new American Girl doll Chrissa

Enjoying a slideshow her aunt, uncle and cousin made for her

Chest tubes out, food in

Chloe's chest tubes came out very smoothly around 10:00 this morning. Now that it has been almost five hours, she is looking much more like herself. It seems to be a big relief for her to have those out of the way! Around 11:00, she had another echo done and an EKG. Both tests looked great. The cardiologist read over the echo results and was pleased. She will get a chest X-ray Friday morning, and if that looks good and she continues to improve.....


She could go home tomorrow!


That would be wonderful for all of us. Chloe's sister celebrates a birthday on Saturday, so we could all be home together for that. Plus Chloe would like to be in her own bed. But this whole recovery process has gone so smoothly, we couldn't ask for anything more. There are children who have to stay here for weeks. We know Chloe is very fortunate to have the surgery and recovery go so well.

She took a long nap after the echo and EKG and woke up long enough to eat some soup and drink some apple juice. That is the first thing she's had to eat since supper Monday night. She had no appetite, even when they told her she could eat. It does help her appetite to be off the IV pain meds and just on oral ones. So this day has been one of good progress, even just since this morning when she was in a decent amount of pain. We'd love to get her walking the halls again later today. But for now, we are so happy just to see her smile!

(We are having some internet issues here, so although there are some new pictures to post, we'll have to try later.)

Second Day Post-Op

Chloe had a very good night. She slept well, getting up once to use the bathroom. She is still getting pain medication and a diuretic to keep her kidneys going. There have been no problems with that. She does seem to be more sore this morning, which is not unusual for the second day after surgery. She is scheduled to get her chest tubes out this morning, which should help lessen the pain. After the tubes come out, she will go for an echo to see how her heart is functioning, and specifically how her newly repaired valve is doing!

Please pray for her chest tubes to come out easily and for her pain to be eased after that. They will give her extra meds during the tube removal (and some "sleepy" medication too!) and then they stitch the openings shut. The rest of her lines should come out too, and then all her meds after that will be taken orally. Also, pray that her echo will look good and they will be pleased with what they see. Pray that she will feel like walking around this afternoon and trying some of the fun activities they have here for children. Her spirits are a bit droopy this morning, and she hasn't wanted to do anything, not even read or be read to.

Ready for a good night's sleep

It has been another long day but also a good, hopeful one. Chloe ended up sleeping quite a bit this afternoon and was complaining of pain. But after a very long nap, she got up out of bed and went for a walk down the hall. This was a wonderful development and something that will help her recovery process.






She was tired afterward, but she still asked to do her breathing. She needs to take deep enough breaths to give her lungs a workout. After being on bypass during the surgery and then on a ventilator, she needs to make sure her lungs are in good shape. When she breathes with this pipe in her mouth, a little yellow ball moves up with her breath. She has a target to aim for with the yellow ball so she knows if she is taking good, deep breaths. You can imagine it would not feel so wonderful to take a huge breath the day after your chest was just opened up, but she has been working hard at this, probably because she knows it will help her get discharged and head home!









Now she is ready for a good night's sleep with her new purple blanket.


We thank you for your continued prayers and loving comments for Chloe. We have felt God's presence with us and know His arms are around Chloe.

Chloe has moved

It's Wednesday at 12:20 p.m. Chloe moved this morning to general care from the ICU. She continues to do well. She got several lines removed before she left the ICU, so there are fewer wires and tubes coming and going from her. Her numbers still look good, and she impressed the nurses by walking to the bathroom. Her rash is coming back a little bit on her legs but doesn't seem to bother her. In fact, she is such a good patient, her nurse told the brand new nurse that is helping her not to get used to having patients like this; they are usually more uncooperative!

Getting an IV removed before she leaves ICU.

Sleeping peacefully in her new location on the general floor.




Sometimes we wonder why Chloe has to go through this. We know He has a purpose for her, but when she is suffering it is hard to see the point of it. But just in these past few days, God has already put people in our path whom we have been able to talk to, share stories with, and pray for. When Chloe is ready, we will tell her how God was able to use her during this surgery time to reflect His love, even while she was not awake. God placed a single mom in our path and parents whose daughter is the same age as Chloe and having her second surgery too. We are praying for their children. Watching Chloe go through this is giving us strength to do whatever work God has in store for us and Chloe.

A New Day

It is Wednesday morning. Chloe had a very good night. Her rash is gone, she hasn't had arrythmia in hours, and her breathing tube came out shortly after midnight. She is breathing on her own, just room air, although they might give her some oxygen for a little while today. She is receiving pain medications, but when she is asked if she is hurting, she shakes her head no. The nurses say what a great patient she is, because she is so mild mannered. They ask if she is always this good, and of course we say yes!

The doctors rounded this morning and were pleased with her progress. They plan to move her out to the general floor some time today. We could not ask for anything more, and we are awed and humbled by our awesome God and His provision for Chloe. We are grateful too for His people who have constantly been lifting Chloe up in prayer. Later today, we hope to read the comments and emails to her. She is very drowsy and only whispering a few words to us, but she will be able to listen to all the encouraging words.