THREE POINT TURN

sorry , I typed up a blog THREE times the day before yesterday because I kept losing our internet connection...I think this is also in line with my title...

Wednesday was a huge turning point...I think doctors were surprised to see her turn that corner. It's now Friday and she is in a transitional ward which is still a part of ICU but now that she require less intensive care they still want to keep an eye on her before giving her the all clear to enter the Cardiac Children's ward.

The first miracle is that she is now off the ventilator. This machine was doing all her breathing for her. I hated that tube. It was absolutely necessary for her to live but it was also the cause of all her throat difficulties. The second miracle is that when Dr Kozak removed the tube and looked down her throat he was, "delighted" with what he saw. He did not have to do any surgical procedure to remove any scar or swollen tissue.

Our third miracle is that we heard good news from the GI (Gastro-Intestinal) team. They said that her liver is shrinking. Because her liver is enlarged it was sitting lower in her abdomen than normal. They measure it by seeing how many fingers below the ribline the liver is sitting at. From birth it was about 6 fingers below the ribline. On Wednesday GI reported that it was now 4 fingers below the ribline. We are so happy to hear this because her enlarged liver and spleen made her abdomen look really swollen. It also means that the damage to her liver wasn't so great that it was irreversible. Praise God!

Now that the tube is out, Kaitlyn has a high flow oxygen prong in her nose which helps to keep her lungs from completely collapsing. This is because she doesn't quite have the energy reserve to breath completely unassisted. They will gradually wean the oxygen flow as she gets stronger. She can not go to the ward with the high flow prong as this is ICU equipment. She also needs to gain weight. They are now supplementing her feeds with a bit of high calorie formula. The doctors anticipate that she will graduate to the ward early next week!

Thank you to all for your prayers!