Post Op: Strong Day 5

6th day in the hospital, 5th day post op, feels like we've been here for a month. All in all it was quite a positive, strong day. Kellyn had a decent night and awoke rather happy. She greeted the staff with smiles and a few laughs. She is the type of gal whose eyes smile first so when you see that coming you know you are in good shape - and I see that coming.

The assessment for today found all of her vital signs in really good shape. So much so they took her off of the IV drip as well as the oxymeter (the key indicator of how much oxygen her body is receiving). The key remaining piece is the chest tube. Levels still have a ways to come down until she's discharged, though with IVs out it seems to be trending in that direction. The sense is that she likely has some chyle draining out, though the feeling is to have her continue breastfeeding and see how she responds. She seemed to respond positively. Now lets keep reducing that level!

Chest xrays look pretty positive and clear. I brought her down with her nurse for the xray this morning which is always enjoyable. To get a good chest xray on babies they place them in this unit which looks like a torture device. It has a small bike seat and plexiglass that surrounds their body and holds their arms above their body. Evie went in this thing at 5 weeks and it crushed me how rough it was to see her crying. Kellyn cried pretty good in it in pre-op, though today she just sat in it hanging out - the techs were floored - rarely ever see that type of reaction.

Got a chance to roll outside the room with her today as she had even fewer lines rigged up to her - we took her out in a stroller along the floor checking out the scene.

As I sit and write this Kell is settling into sleep in her crib. Her Cuban tech tonight just gave her a bath. I was all for it, though half way into it I realized this style of bath was not the type of soothing one I envisioned. Little bit more agrresive. It almost sent Ruth and I down to the first floor ER.

Things are trending upward - just awaiting Kellyn's body to finish adapting to all its been through this last week. I remain committed to waiting and doing whatever she needs, though man alive are we beat!



Where in the world is Evie? - My sweet big girl has been back in Ithaca starting Pre-K at our local elementary school thanks to assistance from recently retired super Grandma Doyle. Thank you so much Mom - it has been fantastic to have you there. She rolled up to Rochester this weekend and we got brief visits with her. She got to spend more time with her cousins, Aunts and Nona which sounded outstanding. Thanks so much for keeping her engaged. She is sorely missing in our small family meetings in the hospital.