Sweet Zelie continues to be a star. Neurosurgery is due by this morning to remove the drain from her back and re-dress her wound. Her only remaining goal for getting out of the NICU then will be eating enough to wean from the IV. The nurses are all over that! They are feeding her as much by mouth as she will take but also, after some consulting last night, temporarily adding a NG tube to be sure we can get her sufficiently stabilized with milk. Eating is hard work for a baby who is barely two days old and already recovering from major surgery!! Once she's off the IV she should be able to leave the NICU, though not the hospital. They'll move her to her own room on the Neuro floor and we will, at that point, be able to hold her semi-normally, help her get the hang of nursing so that we can get rid of the NG, and continue observing her for signs of hydro.
Of course, if the hydro presents itself, and it is certainly more likely than not that it will, then she will have more surgery and we will be back in the NICU for a few days more. You know how this goes, rinse and repeat as necessary...
Before our gal is discharged there will also be other tests (primarily with urology) and specialty consults (think orthopedics) so that we have as full a picture as we can have this early of what is to come. That, in turn, will help us set up our next steps for her care over the first six months or so.
Even with all of that in play, we have a reasonable hope that we will be able to carry out the front door in our arms in about 10 days or so. We shall see.
Even as I type that, and very much look forward to that, I want to take a minute to say how ubeliveably fantastic the staff, particularly the nurses, in both hospitals have been. I hope you never, ever, need such specialized care. But man! If you do, this is a phenomenal place!!!
To those of you who have asked, I'm doing very well. They are taking excellent care of me also. I've had my own share of fantastic nurses and am healing quckly. Not all the way there, but certainly on my way.
That is about the size of it. Lots and lots of you have asked for photos. I'll post one or two as we go along, but please understand that this mama is a little paranoid about posting photos of her babies faces on the World Wide Web, where just anyone could see them and use them for any purpose they choose. I'm a bit old fashioned in that regard, I know. I know it and am content to be so. If you really need more, and have my email, email me. I'm happy to share with the folks who we know and love, just not every stranger with an internet connection.
For now, have a peek a storytime with daddy.
Oh.my.goodness. Look at that precious face! She is beautiful.
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