Harder Day

So I learned a very valuable lesson today...always make sure my phone is on. Last night my phone shut off due to a dead battery and I forgot to turn it back on. This morning while getting ready for church, Jeff called to check on Melanie. Nurse Jane informed us that one of the Dr.s left a message for us on my cell phone...and that Melanie was being put on a Jet Ventilator!!! So, our plans for the day quickly changed. We brought the girls to my parents and headed up to the hospital. By the time we got there she was starting to settle down from being intubated (sp?). Jeff had a whole new set of machines, tubes, and numbers to learn about. The respiratory staff did a great job of explaining everything to us and answering our questions. Thank you Mark. So the question everyone may be asking is why? Right? Well, that was our struggle the whole way up to the hospital. Why did she have this set back? Well, it seems that the pneumatocells (SP???????) in her left lung were slightly larger and also causing more stress on her good lung. We do not want these to grow. They think they could be growing because of the pressure from the CPAP. So they put her on the jet vent which is much more gentler on her lungs. The problem with the this vent is that they have to intubate her which can have many side-effects. However, in this situation it was the best choice for her.

The good side...we get to see her precious little face again. We can see her dark, fine, hair. We can see her nose how it should be, not covered with a seal from the CPAP. We can see her eyes as they are supposed to be, not squished up and swollen from the seal on her nose. We can see her chin without a chin strap holding her mouth closed! We are able to see her as Melanie...the little Melanie God created her to be.

The bad side...she is back on a vent. Something we don't want her to be on. They said she will probably be going back and forth from this vent to the CPAP. This vent makes her breathe 360 times per minute. On the CPAP she was breathing an average of 60 times a minute. Jeff did some math, that's 20 breaths a second!! When you put your hand over her little chest (or legs, or hold her hand) you can feel her body vibrating. If you watch closely you can even see her little chest vibrating with your own eyes. For those detailed people reading this; Jeff will post later about how the air actually works (never thought I would say that Jeff would give the details). Another thing that wasn't as encouraging is the fact that these pneumatocells are more rare. They only see a couple cases of them a year (2 out of 2600ish preemies). Which means they don't have as much experience in treating them. It appears Melanie will help out with that situation a little.

Melanie's primary Dr. will back tomorrow (he's been at a conference this past week) and we are very anxious to hear his take on things. We are also wondering if he will decide to do the heart surgery now that she's on the jet vent.?? We'll have to wait on the Lord and see what the next couple of days will bring. For now, we are so thankful that we have a "feisty" little girl! We are thankful that she is not sicker then what she is....for there are many other far worse things she could be battling right now. We are thankful for the staff in the NICU, they are AMAZING!! We are thankful for the strength God has given Melanie to this point. She is a fighter! We are thankful for the emotional (and physical) strength God has given us to this point. We are thankful for the grace to make it through each day. We know it is only through the grace of God we have come to the close of this day and look onto tomorrow. And we are so very thankful for all of our friends and family that are helping us out in so many different ways. There is not a day that goes by without an act of kindness or an encouraging message, and we know there are countless prayers being said. You are amazing people and we thank God for all of the blessings he is giving us through you! Pictures tomorrow...promise!!