Page 69 - Journey of Hope by Raymond Moldenhauer

DAY122

BABYSITTING

The first words to me this morning when Kathie awoke were:
“Can we go back to the hospital today, so I can hold Alyssa”?
Funny, but I was thinking the same thing. But we decided to give
Heidi and Jim most of the day to be alone and simply enjoy
holding Alyssa once again – since they could only helplessly
stand by and watch her recover for the past 8 days. So, Kathie
and I waited until close to dinnertime to pay them a visit.

Shortly after we got to the NICU, some friends of theirs came to
visit as well. Kathie quickly volunteered to baby sit for Alyssa
while Jim and Heidi joined their guests for dinner and would
have a nice break away from the hospital routine. From 6:50 to
9:40 PM, Kathie and I took turns babysitting – holding Alyssa and
helping with her care-time.

Alyssa’s heart rate and blood pressure were running high today
(most likely because of the cortisol booster she was given). She
was still running a high bilirubin level as well. Her morphine
dosage was further reduced, and the cortisol amount was cut in
half. Alyssa’s lungs were sounding better and she had good
digestive noises coming from both her stomach and her
intestines. She cried every so often today – a very
hoarse-sounding cry, as her vocal chords were dry and sore from
being on the respirator for so long. Her cries were most likely
from hunger – she is only getting 3 ml of Pedialyte every 3 hours
until the surgeons feel comfortable that she can tolerate more.
Hopefully her feedings will increase tomorrow.

Kathie and I received a special blessing from God today – a
beautiful granddaughter to care for.