Good News

Esther is responding well to the Lysix!  She's lost 6 oz in 24 hours - that is a lot  to loose, but she gained most of that just since Friday morning.  Her face is even looking different - we thought she was just losing that newborn look when her face started to look more round last Thursday, but in reality, she was retaining fluids in her face!


My "room" - I prefer to call it my "cave", but it's great as it feels like night anytime of day!

(I took some pictures this morning on my way to the cafeteria, and I'll share them here and there in this post so you can see what a nice trip I have 3 times a day!)


The restrooms upstairs all have showers and lotion dispensers.

So now she's resting so peacefully this morning - now she's not struggling to breath, her respiratory rate is down to around 70 breaths per minute (as compared to 90 - 120 yesterday morning),  she's nice and pink again (she was very pale yesterday), and when she's sleeping she looks like she's having beautiful dreams!


There's also a laundry room, and the soap is provided as well! I made use of this today - it's so nice to have clean clothes!

The "plan" now is to work her down from 100% oxygen blown in at 1/4 liter per minute, which she was at all day yesterday, to a level where she can be transfered to the cardiac floor (that is where I'll have a bed right next to her and can be by her side 24/7 and we can have more visitors at once, anytime between 10 am and 8 pm!).  She's currently getting 30% oxygen at 1 liter per minute, and this is good enough, but they want to see her maintain this and test her blood gases to make sure she's handling this well, then possibly reduce it further, but actually she can go to the "floor" at this rate!



Outside and inside the Train elevator.

This morning at the conference with the doctors, I heard the magic words "WHEN SHE GOES HOME"!  I asked him to repeat that - and he did - I just had to make sure I had heard those wonderful words from a doctor!  From here it looks like she'll be staying here until she is discharged - she won't be going back to Bellingham, but from here she's GOING HOME!  You have no idea how this blesses my heart - we are getting close!
Here's the walk to the cafeteria - a long corridor with trains and pastoral scenes up on the wall:

(when Daryl brought Dayton and Elizabeth for a visit yesterday, they loved this part of the hospital!



Today we are looking into the possibility of setting things up for my family to stay in the Ronald McDonald House next weekend (if she's still here), as we have not been together as a family in over 3 weeks now.  I think it would be a great way to get us together and it sounds like it's a great place for kids - play rooms, lots of other kids to play with, great accommodations - and all so near to me and a Esther!  There is a waiting list, so we can't be sure that this will work out - and who knows, maybe Esther will be discharged before then!
Here's the scenes once we get out of the Train wing and into the Whale Wing - this is the outpatient area and cafeteria:




And here's my view from "my table" where I eat my meals - my little glimpse of the outside world 3 times a day: