Baby.....I'm coming home...

Gracie girl is coming home tomorrow!!! She is doing great. No oxygen, she is eating by mouth. It will take her 2-months to be back to more normal as in being able to pick her up under her arms, but....she is good. It will take another 6-months for her breast bone to heal completely. More surgery is expected before she turns 1, but the extent won't be known for some time. For now we just hope for the best and will help her fight to be as strong as she can. I hope the pain she endures now smooths the path for the rest of her life!! She is entitled to the world....ohh little precious one.

Grace's progress

Grace has been doing ok given the situation. Yesterday she had a fever and they had stopped her ng tube feeds, but the fever was gone today and they resumed her feedings. It appears to be a slow progress toward recovery, but Grace appears to be doing well. She is beautiful and such a wonderful little one. I just continue to pray that we keep doing as well as we are.

Pre-op appointment

Today was Grace's pre-op appointment. Blood was drawn and the procedure was explained to the best of their ability. It appears the extent of work is not going to be truely known until her chest is opened. It is all very scarey to me. I guess she is going to be hooked up to a heart and lung machine which will function as part of her heart during surgery. It appears this surgery is also not the end all be all, but yet another stepping stone. I guess we will know more after the surgery.

Surgery this Thursday

Grace will be undergoing open heart surgery this Thursday the 18th. They are replacing her pulmunary valve with and artificial valve and enlarging the pulmonary artery with gortex. She will also have a shunt put in between the aorta and pulmonary artery. Her saturation levels just have not improved and it is time for more help for her little heart.

This week will be very busy for us with Grace and her surgery. I was not expecting this to be so soon. The last time I spoke with the cardiologists this was not to take place for another couple of weeks, but they moved it up....way up. I will try to update more frequently during this time to keep everyone in the loop. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...Grace really needs it and so do I:)

More Surgery in the Horizon

The verdict from the cardiac conference was that Grace will be undergoing more surgery within the next month. They are going to try to open up her pulmonary artery with a procedure and if her saturation levels do not improve we will be going for the shunt surgery. I have accepted that this is the next step that is needed. This has not been easy to accept, because there are always risks involved, but I do know it is for the best. Today we have NO appointments and yes, I have actually been able to clean the house for the first time in weeks. Keith has stayed on top of the vacuuming, but the rest was on hold until today:) I already feel better sitting in a clean house with no appointments or people stopping by to prod and poke at little Grace (medical people). I always welcome other visiters because they are here to enjoy Grace not do yet another check up. I do not mean to complain about all of the help she gets, but I also just want her to have a couple days where she just gets to be a baby and not a patient.

Gavin has learned to walk!! He was cruising around the furniture and taking a couple of steps, but now he is dead set on walking. When he falls down he crawls over to something and gets back up on his feet and continues to walk. It is so cute:) He looks so happy and proud of himself. I do believe he is pleased with his work. He also can reach all of the door nobs now, so it is officially time to safety proof the whole house. He is truely amazing!!