Page 25 - Journey of Hope by Raymond Moldenhauer

DAY30

WEIGHT LOSS SETBACK

Kathie spent the night with Heidi at the Ronald McDonald House
and the day with Heidi and Alyssa at the NICU. The night report
was good, but upon their arrival this morning, they were
shocked to hear that Alyssa had lost 90 grams (3 ounces) since
the day before. Doesn’t sound like much, but for Alyssa, it was
huge (she is under 2 pounds again). The Doctor was not overly
alarmed and they attributed the loss to several things: she was
no longer getting IV fluids (the PICC had been removed the day
earlier); she had received Lasix that night (which causes
dehydration); and potentially some error in the previous
weighing.

Heidi was able to hold Alyssa today for a little over an hour –
this time while she was getting fed through the tube. Heidi
watched as Alyssa instinctively began to suck and to attempt to
wiggle her way to Heidi’s breasts.

During Alyssa’s care time, the nurses had to replace the brace
(taped from cheek to cheek) that holds the trache tube in place.
In order to accomplish this, one of the nurses has to place her
finger in Alyssa’s mouth to make sure that the tube doesn’t
dislodge or move lower. As Alyssa began to grimace, Heidi held
her hands. Alyssa grabbed on to one of Heidi’s fingers with each
hand and gripped them tighter than Heidi had ever
experienced. During the procedure, Alyssa maintained her
oxygen levels and heart rate. She must have known that she
had her mom right there with her.