Victoria had kind of a hard night last night.  She had remained stable, and was improving slowly, as they were slowly increasing her sodium...so they decided to speed it up a bit yesterday.  Around 5 in the evening, they moved us upstairs to the regular children's hospital area.  When Bruce came in to visit in the early evening, he noticed that her stomach was more distended than it had been...and her heart rate and resperations were going up...she was showing signs of discomfort.  Then we looked at her feet...they had been swollen...but this was worse than the ankles of a lady who is nine and a half months pregnant.   We called in the nurse, who in turn called in the 'on call' doctor...they decided that she was not able to handle the quicker flow of the fluids, and so turned them down.  She didn't really settle down until after midnight...I was able to hold her...wires and all and help get her settled down and more comfortable.  When her breathing slowed down and she started to doze...it was SO peaceful!  I was so VERY thankful.  I had them tuck pillows around my back where support was needed, (I wasn't going to mess up the spot that was giving her perfect comfort)...and cuddled her until about 2:30....when they had to do something which required her to be back in her crib.  When they were done, she remained at rest...so I pulled out my lovely "pull out" bed/chair...and got a very peaceful rest for most of the rest of the night.  Victoria slept peacefully most of the rest of the night, as well.

The doctor was in this morning, and said that she is definitely having trouble processing sodium properly.  He is hoping when we get it a little more normal, that her body will be able to go back to processing it as it should, but of course we don't know.  In order to help her today, he is turning down her IV to 2/3 hydration, and not allowing bottle feeding...I had already fed her once this morning, but that will be it until tomorrow.
He is hoping that this will help her to deal with some of the retained water, which is diluting the sodium concentrations in her body.  He does not feel that she has any respiratory infections which are bothering her right now...and his main concern is this sodium problem.  Her fontanelle is still harder than it had leveled off at, but though I do not notice a decrease in size right now, at the same time, I do not notice an increase in pressure, either.  This also is not one of their concerns at the moment.

Well...there is Victoria's update...may you all have a truly blessed and restful Sunday. 

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth forever."
Ps 136:1-3

Friday Update

Last night Victoria drank an ounce from a bottle...the first since she was admitted.  Today she has taken a little more.  Once she spit most of it up, but the last time when Bruce fed her, she did well, and kept it all down.  Victoria's sodium was low, so they have been trying to slowly get it back where it needs to be.  She has not been having fever and her breathing has been getting more normal, as well.
I was able to hold her for awhile this afternoon.  The nurse unhooked the IV and all of her monitors except the oximeter and we had a good cuddle...it was so nice to actually have her in my arms, instead of kissing her over the side of her crib!  So she seems to be improving...there is still a need for more improvement, but we are thankful to see progress!

 Thank-you so much for your prayers...we are very aware of the need for strength and wisdom far beyond our own!  Thanks too for the comments...they make you seem closer, somehow!

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.

New Challenges for Victoria

It looks as though we may now be fighting a shunt infection.  This is an issue for Gillette, so Victoria has an appointment there at 2:00 pm on the 9th...that's tomorrow.  We sure do appreciate your prayers...and will try to update when we know more. 


"Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice"  Ps 63:7

Victoria -- Update

How is Victoria doing?  We are glad to report that she is improving.  She has been eating well since Sunday, and has been regaining weight that she lost last week.  We are so thankful to see her eating well.  She is having somewhat of a hard time with the antibiotics she is taking.  She has been very restless, and also has gotten a rash which is making her uncomfortable.  Apparently it is very common to have an upset stomach, diarrhea and restlessness with the antibiotic she is taking.  We are giving her yogurt each time we feed her, to help with her discomfort, and are counting down the days she still needs to be taking them.  She is on day 9 -- 5 days left.  We appreciate each one of you and thank you for your continued prayers for little Victoria!

Update on little Victoria

Thank-you all for praying.  Victoria has had quite the struggles this week, and we have been so very grateful for your prayers!!  Right now, Victoria is resting peacefully, after downing 3 1/2 ounces of milk.
She had lost some weight, but has regained about 4 ounces.  She is still fighting, as her fever begins to go up a bit if I stretch out the fever meds too much, but is making progress.  She has eaten well all day today...which is the first day this week she has been this consistent in eating well and wanting to eat. 

This is Victoria last Sunday afternoon...she had a fever already.

Victoria today...doing better...still a long way to go.

Please Keep praying.

Victoria is struggling...please keep praying.   Thanks!

Quick Update on Victoria

We headed down to the clinic yesterday.  The doctor there looked at the info from our visit the day before, and thought maybe they should check for influenza and RSV.  As Victoria was not doing well getting fluid with the eye dropper, she also thought it might be a good idea to put her on an IV for hydration as well as for some extra antibiotics. They did the tests, which came back negative, did a nebulizer treatment, and were not able to get in an IV.


We headed home, knowing that if Victoria did not begin to take in more fluid, she would be in trouble.  Gillette Children's Hospital, where we have been with Victoria was an option, but it is 7 hours away...and a hard trip in the winter for little Victoria.

We were still trying to decide about the long trip when we got home from the hospital.  I sat down and took Victoria in my arms.  I was going to give her some more fluid with a dropper, when Bruce suggested that I try with a bottle again.  I didn't know how she would do...she was getting so weak, but decided to try.  I had to force it between her gums...and there it sat.  A little dripped in her mouth and then a little dripped out.  Then it seemed like she swallowed.  I kept watching and she sucked a bit.  I kept watching for her to swallow...and all of the sudden, she did.  Reuben was standing there and I asked him to watch with me.  Pretty soon it was obvious she was actually swallowing.  Somehow, my eyes leaked...I was so thankful.   It was like it turned around right there.  Bruce had been praying specifically that she would turn the corner in her eating, and his prayer was answered in front of our eyes.  She has been doing much better...more wet diapers, the way she looks today compared to yesterday is a big change.   She is still weak of course, and is eating slowly, but she is eating.  Sometimes more slowly and sometimes a little more or less.  But I am keeping track, and we are feeding her frequently.  Sometimes it takes her 45 min to get 1 oz...sometimes she will get 2 1/2 oz in an hour.  After she eats and I check her temp,   she is having an hour or and hour and a half rest, then we begin again.  She is getting her antibiotics and we have been using fever meds, as well.  Her fever has stayed under 100 F for over 24 hours now...most of that time it has been normal...but it does creep up a bit now and then.   Her breathing mostly is not labored.  Her pulse has come down and her breathing has also slowed down.  I would not say that she is 'out of the woods' at this point, but we are so thankful to see the encouraging change in her.

We are so thankful for your prayers!  May God's blessing be on you all today!

Prayer

Hello fellow bloggers. Linda thought I should throw a quick post on here. Victoria has come down with pneumonia , and they called last night from the hospital that her blood work showed that she has some kind of bacteria in her blood. So this morning we are heading back to the hospital  in Roseau. Her fever had been really high, but last night was good. She has no interest in eating, so we are feeding her with a dropper.  Not really sure if we will end up going to Gillette Children's hospital in Minneapolis, but we will see. One thing we do know, Jesus has traveled down the road we will travel down today. So, would appreciate your prayers...also for Linda, as she is not feeling the best. Blessings on your day. Bruce

"The LORD is righteous in ALL His ways, and holy (holy, or merciful or bountiful) in all His works." Psalm 145:17

Ready for a walk with daddy.

Victoria

All dressed up for a winter Sunday.

Victoria is 11 months!!!  God has been so very gracious!  We are so grateful for her overall good health and for the blessing she is.

What a great place to be!  I sure love my daddy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Victoria with Princess Esther's crown.

 

 

 

 

 

 Now for the  the youngest three of Victoria's older sisters:

Marie, Joanna and Esther...glad to be sisters!

JoAnna cuddling little Victoria.

Esther enjoying feeding her new dolly.