Page 9 - Journey of Hope by Raymond Moldenhauer

DAY4

THE ROLLER COASTER BEGINS

Sunday was the start of the "roller coaster ride" we were all told
about. Alyssa had a very restful Saturday night and was
breathing so strong on Sunday morning and the vital signs were
all looking so good, that the Doctor determined that they would
take her off the ventilator already (very early for a preemie at
that stage - super positive!). The Care Team came in late
morning to take out the tube to her lungs. Before removing it,
they checked her heart one more time - only to discover a slight
murmur for the very first time. Since this was a sign that a hole
may be developing in her heart (a very common occurrence in a
baby of this age) they postponed the removal. The ECHO test
confirmed she had PDA (a small hole in her heart developing).
So, she will now be given medicine every 24 hours for 3 days to
see if the hole will close up. They will wait a week and if not
closed, they will give her the medication for another 3 days. If
that does not work, they will transport her to Dupont Hospital
for surgery.

Today, they will also be doing an ultrasound on her brain to
determine if there was any bleeding (also a common
occurrence). They do not expect that, however, given the
c-section. And Heidi was allowed to change the diapers on
Alyssa and become part of the caring process and not just a
witness.

While Heidi and Kathie were away for a short time, Jim and I
were with Alyssa when the Doctor determined that the one IV
needed to be removed and inserted into Alyssa's other aorta.
Your mercy, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, The worst part of that experience was watching the removal of
all the tape from this small infant - pulling at her very frail skin.
Your faithfulness to the skies. But 10 minutes later, Alyssa was wrapped in her cloth womb,

Psalm 5:3 resting peacefully, and showing very good monitor indicators
once again.