We stayed in the hospital overnight. Cataleya slept pretty much the whole time. We're home now and waiting for a call from the person who will schedule the Glenn Shunt.
It was a good day.
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| Pre-Op |
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| Post-Op |
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| Feeling Good! |
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Good Day
Cataleya had her surgery yesterday, and it went very well!! The Dr does not think she will need the extra surgery to re-do the Pulmonary Artery Bands that were placed in January. He does think we'll need to move up her next surgery from August to June. That surgery is called a Bidirectional Glenn Shunt and it is very complicated and terrifying. However, if none of the awful possibilities that I'm reading about online happen, it will take pressure off her heart and lungs long enough for her to grow and get ready fort he final surgery.
We stayed in the hospital overnight. Cataleya slept pretty much the whole time. We're home now and waiting for a call from the person who will schedule the Glenn Shunt.
It was a good day.
We stayed in the hospital overnight. Cataleya slept pretty much the whole time. We're home now and waiting for a call from the person who will schedule the Glenn Shunt.
It was a good day.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday Stroll through the Emergency Department
We're prepping for Cataleya's heart cath on Tuesday. I have been praying for a miracle- that the test will show that her PA bands are tight enough and she can make it to August without the extra surgery. At this point, I feel bad asking for another miracle. The Lord has been pouring blessings over our family. I am so thankful for our beautiful daughter and the little bit of quiet we've had in the past week to enjoy her before we get started on the scary heart stuff.
"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:20
This morning when I cleaned Cataleya's G-tube, she seemed like she was in pain and her skin looked a little pink. I gave her Tylenol and didn't think too much of it because she's been on antibiotics for the past 9 days anyway after some bloodwork showed a high white count. By the time we got out of church 3 hrs later, her tube site was draining and obviously infected. After a call to the pediatrician, we headed to emergency. It was the fastest emergency visit we ever had- in and out in over and hour. We left with a topical antibiotic and they did some fancy stitch/balloon tricks with the Gtube to keep it in place. While it's never fantastic to have your baby be infected with anything, this is probably not a big deal EXCEPT when it comes to the surgery in two days. They may cancel it if she is immune compromised.
I have lots of feelings about this. I'm nervous abut the heart cath and it's findings. Canceling the procedure would certainly give me some time to relax this week. on the other hand, I need to know what's going on in her heart and what we're going to have to do about it. If she needs the artery bands redone, we want her to get it sooner rather than later. I think the final verdict is that I want to have the heart cath done on Tuesday, and I want the results to determine that she doesn't need another heart surgery until August.
They took cultures from her Gtube site and sent them away today. When the results come in tomorrow, the cardiologist will decide if we can move on as planned for Tuesday. Right now, I'm standing on His promises:
"The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8.
And it doesn't hurt to have such a cute little motivator to keep myself together:
Monday, April 2, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Birth Announcement
With thankful hearts we anncounce the adoption of:
Cataleya Carina
Into the world: January 2, 2012 ~ 4lbs 8oz ~ 18.5 inches
Into our world: March 3,2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Scary Heart Stuff
Cataleya had her 1st cardiology appt today since being home.
Right before we left California, Cataleya had an echo cardiogram to look at her heart and see how the 1st surgery was working. The Dr said her artery bands were tight and doing exactly what they should be.
We went to the cardiologist today expecting to hear more of the same- she's doing good now, and we'll start planning for her next surgery this summer. We went in and they did an EKG, echo cardiogram, and a chest Xray.
After everything was done, I got Cataleya dressed and the Dr came back in the room. She said they need to do a heart cath very soon to get a better picture of Cataleya's heart. In 2 weeks, they'll run a catheter from my baby's thigh all the way up to her heart and pour dye through it to see which areas need to fixed and they'll prioritize those needs based on what they see. She'll need to go under general anesthesia and stay in the hospital overnight.
If the heart cath shows the Dr what they expect to see, they'll want to re-do the banding surgery that Cataleya had done in January. This means she'll be having an open heart surgery in late April/ early May, then another in August. The echo showed that her heart is still dumping too much blood into her lungs and it's making her little body work too hard to simply stay alive. The bands should be limiting that bloodflow, but they look too loose.
The Dr was so good at explaining what they want to do and why. She was really empathic to our nerves concerning general anesthesia and having Cataleya put on a ventilator for surgery. In the end, though, I believe this is the best course of treatment for her. I'm just hoping these are the only extra surprise surgeries we have. I don't want to be doing these in between "do-overs" and fancy leg tests after the other 2 planned surgeries. It's hard to trust someone else with your baby, and I thought I had a few months to prepare myself for it.
Now we wait for the hospital to call us with the date for the heart cath. The Dr said about 2 weeks, but sooner rather than later. I'm trying to remember to breathe in the meantime.
Right before we left California, Cataleya had an echo cardiogram to look at her heart and see how the 1st surgery was working. The Dr said her artery bands were tight and doing exactly what they should be.
We went to the cardiologist today expecting to hear more of the same- she's doing good now, and we'll start planning for her next surgery this summer. We went in and they did an EKG, echo cardiogram, and a chest Xray.
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| She was so good for all her tests! |
After everything was done, I got Cataleya dressed and the Dr came back in the room. She said they need to do a heart cath very soon to get a better picture of Cataleya's heart. In 2 weeks, they'll run a catheter from my baby's thigh all the way up to her heart and pour dye through it to see which areas need to fixed and they'll prioritize those needs based on what they see. She'll need to go under general anesthesia and stay in the hospital overnight.
If the heart cath shows the Dr what they expect to see, they'll want to re-do the banding surgery that Cataleya had done in January. This means she'll be having an open heart surgery in late April/ early May, then another in August. The echo showed that her heart is still dumping too much blood into her lungs and it's making her little body work too hard to simply stay alive. The bands should be limiting that bloodflow, but they look too loose.
The Dr was so good at explaining what they want to do and why. She was really empathic to our nerves concerning general anesthesia and having Cataleya put on a ventilator for surgery. In the end, though, I believe this is the best course of treatment for her. I'm just hoping these are the only extra surprise surgeries we have. I don't want to be doing these in between "do-overs" and fancy leg tests after the other 2 planned surgeries. It's hard to trust someone else with your baby, and I thought I had a few months to prepare myself for it.
Now we wait for the hospital to call us with the date for the heart cath. The Dr said about 2 weeks, but sooner rather than later. I'm trying to remember to breathe in the meantime.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wait For It...
I've been struggling to write our adoption story. I have ideas, notes, and pictures for how I will present this incredible experience, yet something stops me every time I sit at my computer to type. There is a thin line separating my story from my daughter's. While I'm an open book (public blog) with my life, I want to preserve Cataleya's right to process and share her life on her own terms.
I hope my daughter grows up considering her adoption as positive and special as I view it, but the truth is that she may not feel that way all the time. She may grow up yearning for a biological connection that I can not give her. She may feel cheated of some parts of the human experience because of her adoption. If that's the case, I don't want her to feel obligated to fulfill some sort of "dream come true" offspring fantasy that I create in the early euphoria of her placement. I adopted Cataleya because I wanted to commit my whole self to her- not because I expect anything in return.
So it's taking me some time to make sure I share only parts of the story that are mine to tell and that I do so in a way that doesn't place undue pressure on our family to be perfectly put together all (or even most) of the time.
But it's coming. I promise.
I hope my daughter grows up considering her adoption as positive and special as I view it, but the truth is that she may not feel that way all the time. She may grow up yearning for a biological connection that I can not give her. She may feel cheated of some parts of the human experience because of her adoption. If that's the case, I don't want her to feel obligated to fulfill some sort of "dream come true" offspring fantasy that I create in the early euphoria of her placement. I adopted Cataleya because I wanted to commit my whole self to her- not because I expect anything in return.
So it's taking me some time to make sure I share only parts of the story that are mine to tell and that I do so in a way that doesn't place undue pressure on our family to be perfectly put together all (or even most) of the time.
But it's coming. I promise.
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| Cataleya's 1st restaurant dinner |
Monday, March 5, 2012
Not Enough Words
I'm a girl with a lot of words, but even I can't tell you how beautiful the past 2 days have been.
I'll certainly try later, but for now I'm just checking in to let you know: We're here. Cataleya is perfect. We sign ICPC papers today. Gtube surgery is probably tomorrow. I really hope we get to meet her Mother, but I don't know if that will happen. We are so in love!
I'll certainly try later, but for now I'm just checking in to let you know: We're here. Cataleya is perfect. We sign ICPC papers today. Gtube surgery is probably tomorrow. I really hope we get to meet her Mother, but I don't know if that will happen. We are so in love!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Tomorrow
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| Organized adoption paperwork |
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| New shoes |
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| Teeth whitened (I don't know, it seemed important) |
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| Bags packed |
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| Tickets Purchased |
Tomorrow at 1:30, we leave to meet Cataleya!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Stuck In My Head
All Of Me by Matt Hammitt:
Afraid to love, something that could break
Could I move on if you were torn away?
And I'm so close to what I can't control
I can't give you half my heart and pray He makes you whole.
You're gonna have all of me
You're gonna have all of me
'Cause you're worth every fallen tear
You're worth facing every fear
You're gonna know all my love
Even if it's not enough
Enough to mend our broken hearts
But giving you all of me is where I'll start
Sunday, February 26, 2012
She's a Diva Already
I just talked to the nurse taking care of Cataleya in the hospital. Our girl has been breathing on her own since Friday with no episodes!! Now that her breathing is under control, feeding is our last hurdle before she can come home.
Right now she's taking her feeds through a Nasal Gastric tube in her nose. She's getting 16mL per hour continuously. She's been able to take 6-10mL from a bottle in the past week, but she's been spitting up a little so they gave her a break from bottle feeding this weekend. Yesterday they tried consolidating her feeds into 3hr cycles- 24mL hour one, 24mL hour two, and 0mL hour three- then repeat. She did fine during the day, but she barfed everywhere when they tried to feed her at night. They started the continuous feeds again after that.
The nurse said Cataleya got a "spa treatment" last night since she was covered in throw up. While they were washing and lotioning her up, the nurse rolled her over on her tummy- something she couldn't do before with the breathing machine and healing incision. Cataleya was so happy! She was kicking her legs and looking all around. She was very upset when they got her dressed and flipped her over on her back.
The nurse said Cataleya is very "talkative". She lets them know when her diaper is even a little bit wet or dirty. She is very vocal about her preference to be held rather than put in the bassinet, and she likes sleeping on an incline- not on a flat mattress. I love hearing that. She's got spunk.
I am so thankful that the nurses have taken such great care of Cataleya these past 2 months. They are all she's had. You can tell by talking to them, that these nurses have really taken a personal interest in her. They make sure she's in real clothes and not just white hospital Tshirts. They put bows in her hair, and they're calling her Cataleya even though technically her name is Baby Girl *Legal Last Name*. Every time I've called the hospital, there has been a volunteer "cuddler" in her room holding her.
It's awful for me to be so far away from my baby and not have any control of when I can see her. I feel indebted to these people who care for her now when I can't.
Right now she's taking her feeds through a Nasal Gastric tube in her nose. She's getting 16mL per hour continuously. She's been able to take 6-10mL from a bottle in the past week, but she's been spitting up a little so they gave her a break from bottle feeding this weekend. Yesterday they tried consolidating her feeds into 3hr cycles- 24mL hour one, 24mL hour two, and 0mL hour three- then repeat. She did fine during the day, but she barfed everywhere when they tried to feed her at night. They started the continuous feeds again after that.
The nurse said Cataleya got a "spa treatment" last night since she was covered in throw up. While they were washing and lotioning her up, the nurse rolled her over on her tummy- something she couldn't do before with the breathing machine and healing incision. Cataleya was so happy! She was kicking her legs and looking all around. She was very upset when they got her dressed and flipped her over on her back.
The nurse said Cataleya is very "talkative". She lets them know when her diaper is even a little bit wet or dirty. She is very vocal about her preference to be held rather than put in the bassinet, and she likes sleeping on an incline- not on a flat mattress. I love hearing that. She's got spunk.
I am so thankful that the nurses have taken such great care of Cataleya these past 2 months. They are all she's had. You can tell by talking to them, that these nurses have really taken a personal interest in her. They make sure she's in real clothes and not just white hospital Tshirts. They put bows in her hair, and they're calling her Cataleya even though technically her name is Baby Girl *Legal Last Name*. Every time I've called the hospital, there has been a volunteer "cuddler" in her room holding her.
It's awful for me to be so far away from my baby and not have any control of when I can see her. I feel indebted to these people who care for her now when I can't.
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