This will just be a quick one since it is way too late on Sunday nite and I have to be up way too early tomorrow morning!
It was very surreal to not be with Kendall for this long while she’s in the hospital. I left the hospital very soon after her surgery on Friday afternoon to remove the broviac, and will not be heading back up until tomorrow afternoon, after the worlds funnest trip to the Arboretum. It is hard to not be there to ask the nurses the questions myself, to gauge her pain levels for my own mommy radar, to see her labs with my own eyes. It is equally as hard to walk into her bedroom without her being there. To hear the sound of her alarms without them actually sounding. Usually you can tell its been a rough nite by the amount of “paraphernalia” that is strewn about her room. This sickness was no exception. The thermometers, the pulse ox probes, the blankets, the syringes that once had tylenol in them – all over the room when i walked in. It is weird to be “partially” a family – knowing that 1/6th of us is in a bed in a room in a hospital in another state 3 hours away from where we are.
Tonite we are together as that partial family. Thanks to my wonderful family for stepping up to help us out in not leaving Kendall alone in that room. I cannot thank my wonderful amazing Aunt Margie enough for dropping her own plans today and going to the hospital so that Ben was able to come home and have dinner with us together as a family. She had to endure the eventual blowing of one of Kendall’s IV’s and the subsequent torture of the transport team having to place another one in her foot without the benefit of sedation! That is torturous even to my soul that has had to deal with a LOT of torturous procedures on my baby – I imagine that its even harder when you’re not used to it! And then to my daddy who is so willing to go sleep on the wooden boxes and take a day off of work so that I can go to Kealey’s fieldtrip, and be with the girls just that much longer.
I cannot thank you enough for your sacrifices – and to everyone else who was/is involved in this crazy shifting of schedules that happens when Kendall throws our world upside down. I cannot even hardly speculate when we will be home from this visit. Most of that is simply because I haven’t been there to gauge how she is doing against the doctors’ thoughts as they try to interpret her labs and her “level of sickness” and our ability to handle her care at home again.
So that’s what I know tonite. Not much in the way of details – but that overall she is doing well. she is still playful and interactive (as long as you aren’t acting like you might be even THINKING about touching or looking at or saying the word “IV”), Ben did a great job of working with her O2 to be able to wean her down and then off of it completely this afternoon before he left, and her feeds are still going mostly well. There is really no other explanation for how well she is doing than all of your prayers.
They (docs) say there is still a long road to go, but at least we are making good forward progress. I miss her. It has been SO great to be with the big girls, and I think they were definitely in need of some “stress-free mommy” time. We were able to just pick up and go so many times over the past few days, something that never happens with kendall. I have loved soaking up time with each of them. I will miss them as I head back up to milwaukee for an indeterminate amount of time.
Thank you so much for your prayers, and love, and support. We could not travel this road without each and every one of you who is such a big part of our story. I pray that you are all loved and held tonite, whatever your circumstances are.
More from crazyland tomorrow….
terra