Back to Normal

Hannah is doing great! She is off of some of the medication and she seems to be feeling much better. She is back to a normal sleep schedule, she is eating more and more everyday, and she is "talking" and playing with us more and more! We introduced her to applesauce yesterday and she loved it!! She is a great spoon eater.
We went to the pediatrician for a check up and she is healthy...as far as the UTI goes. We are having to travel to Jackson to the pediatrician. As many of you know...there is one pediatrician in Savannah and we do not like her at all...she did not even pick up that Hannah had tetralogy when she listened to her heart...I can listen to her heart and tell that it is not a normal beat. Anyway, I called around and no other pediatrician around here was capable of caring for a baby that just had open heart surgery...funny huh? So we are traveling an hour and a half (one way) to the doctor. We like our new doctor...she is very thorough and seems very intelligent about tetralogy. We are thankful that we found her!
I got Hannah's surgery book finished last night! I made her a book titles "Hannah's Special Heart." It is my journal entries and photos of her surgery and her stay in the hospital. I am very proud of it, because I am not a creative person at all! I am sure she will want to look back one day and see what she went through as a baby. This is a big part of who she is and I want her to embrace that and understand what a special person she is!
We have had one heck of a week! I started throwing up Sunday night and threw up all night. I went to the doctor Monday morning and was given an antibiotic for a bladder infection. My mom (who is visiting us from east tn) started throwing up Tuesday night and threw up all night. She never went to the doctor. The Wednesday night Jeff started throwing up! I have never seem him this sick since I have known him. Poor thing was miserable. He even went to the doctor Thursday morning and got an antibiotic shot for some sort of bacterial infection. I am so ready for everyone in this family to be healthy!
We are settled back in, all family has gone home, we are all healthy, and we are back to our regular schedule. Thank goodness! I am so happy to be back to normal!

Our First Anniversary with Hannah

Yesterday was our 4 year wedding anniversary. It was wonderful to look back to our wedding day, but it is hard to remember life without Hannah. We went out to eat as a family and I had to take Hannah outside 4 times! She is never like that. I just didn't plan ahead and give Hannah her pain medication early. I will know better next time! She has every right to be upset. She has been through more in the past three weeks than most people experience in a lifetime. We learned on Wednesday when we were discharged from the hospital that the hospital messed up and gave her 3 times the amount of Ativan that she is taking! It is still an appropriate dose for her to have, but we are trying to wean her off of it and that just set us back a little. I feel like she will not be my Hannah completely until she is off of all of this stupid medicine! Hannah weighed 13 lbs and 1 ounce on Tuesday and was 23 1/4 inches long! I can't believe how big she is already! She is almost 4 months old! My baby girl is growing up way too fast. We do not go back to the cardiologist until July 14!
She is becoming more and more like Hannah everyday. She is awake more and more everyday, she is eating more and more everyday, and most importantly, she is smiling at us more and more everyday! I think that her smiles are more beautiful than ever!
We have had an awesome week with Jonathan, Ashly and Dave! It has been great to have them all here to celebrate Dave's 60th birthday and Hannah coming home from the hospital. Although I am sure they are here just to see Hannah! Jonathan and Ashly are leaving in the morning and my parents are headed this way from east Tennessee.
Thanks, again for all of the prayers! Keep them coming!

Home again

The best anniversary present ever...we were discharged from Vanderbilt at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday. We are so excited to be home, not only are we more comfortable at home, but Jonathan and Ashly are in from Oklahoma to meet Hannah for the first time and granddaddy Dave is in from Maryville so we can celebrate his 60th birthday! We are so glad to be surrounded with family.
Ashly gave us the best anniversary gift ever...she got up with Hannah last night and let me and Jeff sleep. It was great! Thanks Ashly!
They did a ultrasound of Hannah's bladder and kidneys to check for any physical abnormalities...everything looked great! Hannah will have a VCUG test performed on July 14 when we go back for another cardiology check-up. The VCUG is a test where they put a dye through a catheter into Hannah's bladder and then watch her pee in out to make sure that there is no fluid going back up into her ureters. Let's pray that this test is normal!
Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers! We truly appreciate each and every one. We are so glad to be home! Keep up for updates on Hannah and any big news. Hopefully, she will stay healthy!

We're Back

Hannah has been improving daily on eating and keeping formula down. She had a check up today at Vanderbilt and had not lost any weight. She weighed the same today as she did last Thursday when she was discharged. We were so excited to find out she would not need the feeding tube! The doctor said she looked great and was healing well. Then the bad news. Hannah has a urinary tract infection...probably from having the catheter during surgery. She was running a fever and she was admitted back to the 6th floor here at Vanderbilt. We will probably be here until Thursday or Friday. Children's Hospital is becoming a second home for the three of us. Although we would much rather be at our home in Hardin County, this hospital stay is by far less stressful than our previous stays here. This is Hannah's fourth time to be admitted at Children's. Let's pray it is the last!!!

We thought the worrying was over

We are so happy to be home...but it was comforting having the supervision of the doctors and nurses. If we had questions or concerns they were just a "nurse call" push away. Now that I am filled with concerns...I find myself not wanting to ask, because I fear they will want us to bring Hannah back to the hospital. Hannah has vomited up everything that she has eaten today. The weird thing is that she does not do it immediately. It is always about one hour after she eats. I am worried and confused because she was not doing this in the hospital. She also had a low-grade fever this morning...Tylenol took care of it, but if it comes back tonight then we are for sure headed back to Nashville. We are so frustrated because our baby is still sick when she has been put through so much to get better. We also know what going back to the hospital means...a minimum of 48 hours for observation, an IV and IV fluids, a feeding tube, and sleepless nights...we know, because have been there and done that...twice. I can not put into words the hurt that I feel when I am having to hold my baby girl down so they can put an IV in or draw blood. I am so over it that I want to scream!!! I guess that is all part in being a parent.
Well, now that I have used this as my own personal therapy session...Hannah is waking up so I am going to go and give her a bath. Please pray for her to get better and to keep some food down. No more owiee's for Hannah!

The Big Day

WE ARE HOME!

Hannah did well enough yesterday and last night that he doctors felt good releasing her. We are still having a few issues with feeding. She doesn't want to take the volume she used to, and sometimes doesn't care to eat at all. We did get her to eat enough through out last night to get the OK for release without having a feeding tube. We're not sure her lack of appetite is due to the medications she is on or the fact that she didn't have any food in her stomach for 12 days straight- it was all IV and tube fed while in ICU. The three of us spent a total of 15 days/ 14 nights at Vanderbilt Children's. We are relieved the hard part is over. Hannah is continuing her recovery at home. We brought several medications home with us and many instructions on caring for Hannah until she is fully recovered. As part of her recovery she can't be in crowded places for several weeks. We can't risk her getting sick. We can't pick her up under her arms for a few weeks either. She's just going to have to be a homebody for a while. We return to Vandy next Tuesday for a follow up visit. Please pray Hannah's eating will continue to improve. If she has lost any weight by our Dr. visit next week they will have to send her home with the feeding tube. We really want to avoid the tube.

Visitors are welcome, just call and let us know you're stopping by. Thanks for all your prayers, cards, visits, and calls!

She is such a trooper!

This morning started like any other morning...a steady flow of doctors, nurses, x-ray technicians, and medical students trickling in to see Hannah. They start around 6:00 a.m. and it is constant. The x-ray technician lays a lead vest over us as we sleep. The doctors come in and want to talk. Hannah needs medicine. Hannah needs a diaper. Nurses come in and out as they change shifts. All of these things are enough to drive you crazy as you are trying to sleep. I am looking forward to sleeping for a few solid hours and not being disturbed by a stranger in the middle of the night.

Rounds was wonderful today! There was a new doctor that we had never met before that was in charge. He decided to pull out Hannah pace maker wires and her feeding tube! We were very happy to see both of these things go. Hannah did great during and after the removal of both of these. She is such a trooper! The doctors think that we may be able to go home on Thursday. It all depends on how well Hannah eats and how her vital signs look. Hannah's eating goal is 3 ounces every 4 hours, but we are not close to that at all. She is eating, but she seems to be satisfied with one or two ounces. We do not want them to put the feeding tube back in, but it is a possibility. Let's pray that all goes well and we can finally get back to a normal life.

A speech pathologist came to visit Hannah today to observe her eating skills. She was impressed with Hannah's skills! Hannah was also given a follow-up echo cardiogram. This is standard before discharge from the hospital.

Jeffrey and I got to touch-up our CPR skills. It is required that all parents of cardiology babies. We also received random quizzes throughout the day about infection symptoms and other problems to watch for when we go home. They want to know that we know our stuff!

We had many visitors today. Nana Linda and PaPa came all the way from Knoxville to see Hannah. Pam Carson and Gwen Luck from Hardin Valley Church of Christ came to visit. Chris Brosey came to visit with us for the second time and she brought us some tasty bagels from Panera Bread. Uncle Sam, Aunt Sara and Samuel were kind enough to bring us supper from Applebees! It was yummy! Thanks to everyone for your support and company!