Talitha made it home. Just barely. Audrey is exhausted from a day of ups and downs:
Up: white blood cell count is up to 500 (Tali gets to go home!)
Down: Tali's central line broke.
Up: They were able to repair the line.
Down: before they repaired it, they had to insert a new IV line in Talitha's arm for the antibiotics.
Up: They needed the separate IV line anyway for the follow-up kidney test.
Down: The repaired central lines both clogged (Tali has to stay at the hospital.)
Up: After 4 hours of painstaking effort, they unclogged the central line (Tali got to come home!)
Down: Tali cried for a good chunk of the way home and since Audrey was alone with her and driving, she couldn't do anything about it...except enthusiastically sing and recite the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears all while pretending she wasn't completely annoyed by the rush-hour traffic that helped ensure the trip would stretch out even longer.
Up: Talitha's home!
Down: She only eats a little and won't drink
Up: She's home!
Down: The home-help nurse came really late tonight and we had to keep Talitha up so the nurse could teach us how to inject the on-going antibiotics and how to feed Talitha through her nose-to-stomach tube.
Up: Talitha is home and sleeping in her own bed!
It's tough to maintain credibility and trust with someone so small when you are constantly hyping her up to be brave "one more time" and then there's one more unexpected thing after another. And when the central line is broken or clogged they have to do painful pokes for the standard blood draws...just one more thing we aren't well equiped to explain to our 17 month old.
So the question is, do you just assume the worst or do you keep hoping for the best amidst the piling on of unplanned hospital days and not knowing what's coming next?
Maybe the answer is to just "... keep your arms and legs inside at all times and enjoy the ride!"
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I am so happy for you guys to finally have her home again!! Your family has been so strong through so many trials in the last few months!! I have enjoyed reading the insights that you have had during this difficult time and have learned so much from your example of courage. Enjoy this time with her home!!
ReplyDeleteJust hang on a little longer, then hang on a little longer again. Keep doing your best at taking it a little bit at a time. Keep informing us as to how we can help you. We love you all so much and are always praying for you!!!
ReplyDeleteLove, The Risenmays
After too many "unenjoyable" twists and turns, we had to start appreciating the fact that we're still ON this ride and no one's booted us off yet.
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Jeff & Amber