Happy Valentine's Day!

Home Sweet Home

We're home! Lexi got discharged from the hospital today. Although her oxygen levels weren't great, her Pediatrician said that her lungs are a lot clearer. Plus, when she checked her oxygen, she hit 100 while screaming. In Dr. P's words, if she can hit 100 while screaming, she's probably going to be okay. The ultimate decision was that Lexi should go home to get the last 10% of healing she needs, so she doesn't get RSV or something else from the other kiddos on the peds floor. So, we got to head home to hopefully spend a really relaxing weekend with no major issues. We hope Lexi has that same idea, as we know more than ever that she is the boss here.

We also finalized her surgery date for Feb. 25th. Well, as finalized as it can be, knowing illness or other issues can throw a wrench into the plans at the 11th hour. So, until then, we are keeping her completely away from everyone. We have no clue how she got this sickness, but we aren't doing this again!

A Little Whiff

The requirement to get Lexi out of the hospital is for her to go an entire night without oxygen while keeping her oxygen numbers above 93. Today, our favorite respiratory specialist, Stephanie from the NICU, happened to be working the Peds floor and was taking care of Lexi. So, Stephanie was determined to get her off the oxygen so we could go home. She turned her oxygen off for 4 hours this afternoon and tried to use every trick in the book to get her off oxgen. When she left, she informed us that Lexi likes her whiff a little too much. She's only on an 1/8 of a liter of support, which is practically nothing, but she won't do it on her own. So, we're here tonight and probably will be here at least one more night....at least the per night rate in the hospital is going down.

We also have been entertained by NICU friends stopping by to see us throughout the day...well, really stopping by to see Lexi. Two of her primaries, Jen and Toika, stopped in to see her, as did another one of our top nurses, Joan. So, it's been fun to see them and catch up. It's been especially nice to hear they think she looks big, too, after all our struggles with her eating. Toika even brought Lexi some gifts, including this ball, which is perfect for her to grasp. Plus, it's a new toy that entertains her more in the hospital!

Stayin' Another Night

Apparently Lexi loves the hospital so much that she wants to stay at least another night. After tests for RSV and Influenza proved negative, her pediatrician was open to the idea of sending her home after just a brief one night stay on the Pediatric floor of St John's Mercy. However, after giving Lexi the opportunity a couple different times to show she could keep her oxygen saturation up and stat monitors where they need to be, ultimately she couldn't quite get the job done. Thus, she is still on oxygen and will be in the hospital to be monitored closely overnight for at least one more night.

The likely diagnosis is Bronchiolitis, a respiratory infection typically caused by a virus and often leading to hospitalization. She is undergoing breathing treatments every four hours to try to loosen the congestion in her lungs, and she is on oral antibiotics in case her issues are bacterial instead of viral. Fortunately, although this diagnose does not sound particularly good, Lexi appears to be doing fairly well and appeared to be feeling pretty decent overall today. Although her illness and postponement of surgery is disappointing, we're hoping we just need to weather another little storm before gearing up for surgery for real. Tentatively, it has been rescheduled for two weeks from today, but we'll keep you posted on Lexi's progress and whether or not those expectations are realistic.

Premature Hospital Visit

We're at the hospital, but unfortunately not for Lexi's surgery. We went to the pediatrician today, since Lexi has had a nasty cough for a few days now, to make certain that she was up for surgery. The doctor ran some tests, which determined she does not have RSV, but a chest x-ray showed a tiny bit of fluid in her right lung. Her oxygen count was also running in the low nineties. Our pediatrician decided t0 admit her to be on the safe side and to make certain she gets over whatever it is that she is fighting so we can get this surgery out of the way. So, surgery is postponed until probably a week from tomorrow. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she will get better and we can get that surgery out of the way. In the meantime, we are excited that the nurses and doctors comment on how cute she is and how good she looks. That gives us the feeling that this is precautionary and not of huge concern. They keep turning down her oxygen, as she seems to be doing fine on her own. Plus, she looks really cute in her little hospital gown!

Lexi also saw her eating specialist today. She said that Lexi looks great and is amazed that she is right on path with her growth curve. She reinforced that although feedings are not fun for the two of us, we are keeping her growing and the fighting is being rewarded. That said, she did actually diagnose Lexi with an eating disorder, noting that there is no physical reason she should consistently refuse bottles at this point. That's not something we thought we would have to battle until at least junior high! Basically, the hatred of the bottle is no longer a physical issue, but probably a stubbornness in not wanting to take a bottle from her previously bad experiences. She says that we have good odds of being done with issues by time she is one, which seems to be the theme...Lexi fully fixed by one. As we prepare for another sleepless night on hospital couches and morning of test results, we're compelled to say that day can't come soon enough!

Sitting Up

Lexi has started sitting. She hasn't exactly mastered it, but she has figured out how to support herself for a minute or two at a time. Mom and Dad can't go very far, as she tends to still topple over frequently, but at least she has figured out how to use her muscles to hold herself up. On one hand, we're incredibly excited that she's learning to do this, as it means she is starting to get on track for her physical development. On the other hand, it makes us a little sad, as we know that in 3 days she will go into surgery and come out in a full body cast that will prevent her from sitting up. We just hope her muscles don't get too weak during the roughly 6 weeks she'll be in her body cast. She also has graduated to her 6-12 month clothes, so it's nice to know she has grown recently and has increased strength for her upcoming surgery on Wednesday.