Ellody Hope, Update II

Greetings,

We are coveting your prayers and are blessed by all of the offers to help. Thank you everyone.

I wish I could give you better news, but things remain pretty much the same with Ellody. She is still on the oxygen, although they are going to try to start the weaning process tomorrow. They did try once today, and it did not go well at all.

She is also still being suctioned, although they are coming in to do that less frequently. They suction her every 3-4 hours now and she is responding well to that.

We did have to be moved to a different floor this afternoon. When we were admitted, we were put on a BRAND NEW "short stay unit" which was nothing less than beautiful and fabulous. The room was gorgeous and there were just 15 beds on the floor, so the staff was readily available at any given moment. This unit is only open Monday-Saturday at 3pm at which point they close and move any patients that need a longer stay to other floors.

So, we have been moved to a much older floor. All of the rooms are shared, so Ellody and I have roommates. There is also a shared bathroom that joins us with the room next door. The "parent shower" is down the hall. Needless to say, a far cry from the life of luxury I've been living the past few days.

God is certainly dealing with me through this ordeal. Upon being moved to our new digs, I found myself crying like a baby. I'm sure part of it was the emotional and physical exhaustion kicking in, but another part was my ridiculous ego. I was upset about the new location. Mad that I was no longer in the best part of the hospital.

SERIOUSLY MELISSA? There are parents here with dying children and you're upset because of the accommodations? How pathetic.

I went for a walk and spent some time in prayer. I am not the patient here and my comfort is not their concern. Ellody is still at the best place possible and we have the best scenario with me being here and Joe able to be at home with the girls.

SO, add my ego to your prayer list!

Upon entering our new room and after Ellody was assessed, they informed us that we will NOT be coming home tomorrow. I've learned to just get that question out of the way with in the beginning of each new shift. It just gives me the right mindset. Right now, it's just a waiting game. Waiting for her to be off oxygen for 24 hours.

While home is most certainly our goal, home with a restored baby is what we need. As hard as it is for me to be here away from Joe, Addison, and Emerson, it is much more difficult to imagine taking Ellody home in her condition.

Pray for her lungs to be cleared of the mucus and for her to be breathing on her own. It is also important that she continues to nurse well without aspirating any of the meal back up.

Thank you everyone and I will update again soon,

Melissa

PS-If anyone is interested in visiting, that would be great. The visit would really be more for me, as contact with the baby would not be encouraged. But, I sure am up for company!