Lucy - TM Custom Portraits

Lucy - TM Custom Portraits

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Wed., Feb. 9th

Lucy pooped!!! But that was at the end of the day.

Because she had done so well with the bottle last evening and night and was upset when it was gone her Dr. jumped up the amount at each of her feedings. They wanted to get the IV nutrition out which they did today as well.

This morning Dr. Huffman, the neurologist came by and did some physical tests with her. She said she believes she is speaking for every physician who has seen or worked with Lucy when she says how amazed they are at her recovery, they never expected this type of an outcome with where she started her life. She also said that this is one of those humbling experiences in medicine where you know that there has been another hand helping her. I know this is true and I feel like God has given the mercy I have begged for since last Thurs.

Dr. Huffman was the one who ordered her first EEG with the 24 hr. video monitoring. After that test she reported that the brain waves were very low and suppressed. I am not sure if I put that in the post for that day because I have not been able to really think about any negative prospect for more than a second before I just have to kick it out of my mind. So Dr. Huffman had not been able to reconcile that result from the first EEG with the physical tests that she was giving Lucy. According to the EEG she should not be showing the physical reactions and reflexes that she was. Over the past few days as her fluid has continued to drain and her swelling has continued to go down she realized that the reason it may have been such a low voltage was probably because the probes were not only having to go through the normal skin, muscle and skull but all of that fluid that was all around her head creating another barrier for reading the small brain waves. She is getting her other EEG actually tomorrow and Dr. H is expecting that it should be a much more accurate test.

A bit later the physical therapists came by and worked with her. She was half asleep through all of this. Then a few hrs. after that the pediatric neurodevelopment specialist came by and did all of her physical testing and assessment. She explained the plan for the first 18 months for checking in on Lucy's development and watching for signs of muscle rigidity and therapy that we can learn to help keep her muscles soft and supple so that she is not inhibited in developing her motor skills.

Lucy nursed today a couple of times. She is so tired. Besides the normal new born tiredness the Dr. said it is like she has been through major surgery. She is doing part of her feedings by bottle or nursing bottle combo and then the balance of her amount is going through the feeding tube. Aside from the time that she is actually sucking.......she is sleeping. She loves being swaddled very tight. She did some actual crying today. Very cute.

The cardiologist came by and reported that he found a slightly enlarged portion of her heart on the echo but not anything that calls a lot of attention. He started her on a medication that is for the SVT"s (heart rate spikes) that she was having. She has not had another one of those since yesterday morning. I think the medication helped my heart as well. He said he wanted to follow up on that in two weeks and then possibly take her off of it and see how she does. That idea had an adverse reaction on my heart. He said he would send me home with a scope. I already told Grant to decide which 4 hrs. of the night he wanted to sleep because the other 4 he gets to take a turn monitoring Lucy. So I can imagine if he takes her off the medicine I am going to have a hard time communicating with anyone else in the family because I will constantly have a stethoscope in my ears listening to Lucy's heart.

Colby, the paramedic that was in charge of the scene right after she was born called the hospital yesterday and tracked us down. They wanted to know how Lucy was doing. He said they rarely see something like this and have been worried about her. He has small children of his own and said that he had not been able to get her off of his mind. He is stationed at the fire station that is a couple blocks from our house right by the dog park and he is actually the instructor for pediatric resuscitation in the area and just last month they had done a big training on the subject. He said that day they had 8 medics on Lucy at the house and for the transport. He invited us when we are able to come down to the station so they could meet Lucy. I have a feeling Gabe and Grant will get the most enjoyment out of that. I am so thankful that the right people were in the right place that day to do the work they did for Lucy and our family.

Thank you for everyone's continued prayers and support.

Love,
Grant and Gretchen

5 comments:

  1. keep the updates coming and we promise to keep the prayers going north. Love you guys, Jill

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  2. I love the first sentence of this post. Who knew poop could make you so happy! We are thrilled for Lucy. Still in our prayers.

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  3. I am so happy for you. This blog has been so helpful. Thanks for sharing i've been whatching since day one, I check every morning and after school. love you tell me if you need anything I would be happy to help.
    love you guys,Hailey<3

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  4. What a miracle Lucy is! She has touched and brought faith back to so many people. We continue to pray for your family. The kids love to look at your Blog and have asked more than once, "is Baby Lucy better yet?" Can't wait for the day your come walking into Sacrament Meeting with her!

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  5. Lucy is so beautiful and an absolute miracle. Thank you for sharing on this blog. We have been (and will continue) sending our love and prayers.
    The Martells (Laura, Casey, Alden & Ayla)

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