Happy Birthday Victoria Faith!!

February 10, 2011...Victoria's first birthday!  Hooray!  We praise God for her precious life.

 All the tests said she would not, she could not live.  But God......had other plans for her.  We are so grateful for each day we have been given with her.  She has blessed us, she has blessed others and she has also taught us many things.  I thank God for the lessons in trust and faith he has taught me through this year...also for the peace and comfort He has given during times when we didn't know what was coming next.

Right now Victoria is in the PICU here at Gillette.  The main reason, I was told that she is in PICU, though she is not considered critical, is for having an isolation room...something that was not available up in the regular children's hospital rooms up on the 7th floor.  She had a busy day yesterday.  They took blood for testing, did a chest x-ray, as well as a shunt series (also x-ray), they did a CT scan, and also an EKG.  The shunt series and scan were to monitor the shunt and see if it was working properly.
The blood work showed an unusually high white blood count, and platelet count.  The high white blood count indicates that she is still fighting an infection after 2 weeks of oral antibiotics and 2 injections of antibiotics they gave her in Roseau on Tuesday...so that is a concern.  At the moment, she is on an IV, getting fluids and antibiotics.  She also has an ng tube which was to relieve her stomach, as it had a lot of air in it.  From the scans they think that the shunt is working, but may have been slowed down by the pressure in her stomach...some of which may have been caused by the oral antibiotic she was on.
They did adjust the shunt yesterday to 1.5.  (It was on the high side of 2.0...but the last time it had been adjusted, it was at 1.75...so it had changed a bit.)  At 1.5, the shunt will flow more quickly, so they will be keeping an eye on that.     So there is a lot of info...but not necessarily a definite answer to exactly what is up with Victoria right now.   She is stable and resting comfortably at the moment.  Her soft spot is not quite as tight as it was yesterday.  Right now, I guess we have to be patient, as we watch how she responds to what they are doing presently...and then assess if there are other things which will need to be done.  So we appreciate your prayers for Victoria, and for us that we will have wisdom, peace and grateful hearts.  We serve a God who knows, loves, cares...and holds the future.  He has a perfect plan...and we rest in Him.