Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first? That's what Lon always asks me. I'm not sure how you guys prefer it, but I always choose the bad first so we can end on a good note. The bad news, Lon just left on a plane heading back to North Dakota. I know, I know - time away from your husband is bad news?! Yes ladies, I'm here to say that sometimes we need them more than anything. Eventually they are missed. Their smile, their laugh, their hug, even their (gasp) snoring! I won't go as far as to say I'm going to watch ESPN before bed tonight, but you get the idea. He just left and I want him back already. I guess technically this isn't bad news for everyone. Just me and Kambry. All joking aside, for 4 weeks I've had Lon by my side for every up and down in this journey. Shared every tear and every milestone met. We picked each other up when we were down. And we'll still do that every day but it's definitely going to get a lot harder when he's 900 miles away. We know we can do this and we'll be stronger for it in the end. It's just time to dig really deep and get that 4th quarter mentality. Only our 4th quarter might be rather long. With an overtime. Or two. The postive of this is that Asher gets his daddy back. It'll be good for Asher to get some normalcy back in his life. And they plan to fly back every 2-3 weeks. But we would definitely appreciate prayers during this time when we have to be separated. It was so hard for Lon to leave his girls and hard for me to see my best friend go.
Now the good news. Kambry had a great day today!. They were able to lower her vent settings (she's on a conventional vent now and not the oscillator). They also stopped one of her blood pressure meds and weaned some of her sedation. Her nurse last night gave her a bath and had her all dolled up this morning. She was alert and even managed to open both eyes despite the edema. She looked beautiful! The surgeon stopped by and said he really felt she had turned a corner. This was all Kambry's way of giving her daddy the thumbs up that he was ok to go home. Another piece of the puzzle that God made sure fell into place. Reiterating the fact that we need to place our trust in Him always.
Today marked 1 month since Kambry was born, and I have to say it has gone fairly fast. It helps that we have such great people taking care of Kambry. Lon and I would always say that sometimes we felt as though Kambry was the only baby in the NICU. The fact that she's probably the sickest (a title we're ready to give up) might contribute to that but it's amazing how much the staff truly cares. I can't tell you how many times we've had a nurse tell us that another nurse or doctor texted them to ask how Kambry was. Or one of the main CDH doctors come in on their day off to see how she's doing or offer input on something that was going wrong. Almost the whole ECMO team has stopped by at some point to see how she's doing. The nurses make Kambry signs for her room and make her as girly as they can with all that she has going on. They listen to every single question we have and give us answers in a way that we can actually understand. Two days ago a volunteer came into Kambry's room to play her lullabies on her harp. It was amazing. I can't stress enough how blessed we feel to be able to treat our baby at this institution. And how thankful we are for the great people that work on Kambry every day. And as always, for each and every one of you.
Heidi