We're Home!

The girls are tucked in bed, and Elizabeth's only a few ounces lighter than when she last slept at home. We're back on continuous feeds, but she tolerated her full-strength formula today, so we're hopeful that we'll move to boluses within the next week. Grandma and Grandpa Harms arrive late tomorrow night, so she'll be in for a super surprise when she wakes on Friday. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging emails. We read every one and they really lift our spirits! Thanks also for those who brought yummy meals. We're so happy to all be sleeping under the same roof again. God is so good. Sweet dreams everyone!

Discharge on the horizon??

Maybe today...She's mostly held down 3/4 strength formula, so that's promising. We'll keep you posted!

Hanging in there in the hospital

Elizabeth is doing okay today. She hasn't had a fever in 18 hours, so
that means hopefully the antibiotic is finally making some headway.
We've switched to a "safer" one and if she improves, we can change to
an oral version for going home. The glitch is, she's been unable to
tolerate ANY food since Saturday. She's getting pedialyte through her
g-tube around the clock, but has to be able to take nutrition before
we can go home. Please pray that she'll start to keep down some food
soon! Daddy's doing an amazing job. He hasn't left the hospital since
Saturday. Ruby and I have been able to spend the afternoon and early
evening there for the past two days and we'll go again today. There's
nowhere else I want to be than with BOTH my girls and Matt. Grandma
and Grandpa Harms arrive for a pre-planned trip on Thursday night.
We're so excited to see them and are praying we'll be home from the
hostpial by then...

Three Months and counting...

Ruby turned 3 months old yesterday. She's growing like a weed...or
should I say, a pillsbury dough baby...we LOVE it. She's talking quite
a bit. Lots of coos and gurgles. She's starting to sit up a bit in her
Bumbo chair (thanks Jenny!) and still loves matching with her sister.
:) She's given me a few nights of 8 hour stretches, and we're hoping
this is a trend! We are so thankful for her sweet little spirit. She
is truly a delight.

Elizabeth Update

I was hoping to have some difinitive news for you, but as it often goes, we haven't made much progress. We do know that she has Ecoli in her urine (thus the UTI), but it's not responding to one of the antibiotics she's on, and the other is one that is so heavy duty (and can cause hearing loss) it's not healthy to be on it for extended periods of time. As a result, they're still working to find an antibiotic that ecoli will respond to. In the mean time, she's throwing up most of what we're feeding her through her tube, and continues to spike fevers, so we know we don't have a good handle on her treatment yet. She got an ultrasound of her kidney this morning, but we haven't heard back yet.

 

The good news is, Matt is super-dad.  He's been totally available to stay with her at the hospital and is still managing her care beautifully, while running on only a few hours of sleep and few breaks. His constant presence there has made it much easier for me to be away with Ruby. We'll head up there in an hour so so, and spend the afternoon as a family. Ruby's been quite flexible and we're so grateful for the friends who've offered to watch her, and brought us groceries, and meals. We're frustrated that Elizabeth is in the hosptial and eager to get her well, but in the mean time, God is giving us supernatural grace to juggle this crazy life of ours.

 

Thanks for your continued prayers and support! Love, Sara

Bump in the road

Last night Elizabeth spiked a fever here at home and after waiting to see what developed, Matt took her to the pediatrician this morning. Our suspicions were confirmed when he sent us to the ER and she tested positive for a Urinary Tract Infection. Generally though, UTI's don't give a person a temperature of 104, so they're concerned that the infection has gotten into her kidneys or her blood. Since she only has one (horseshoe) kidney, we've got to be good to it! They've started her on IV antibiotics and are admitting her. We're hoping that this will just be a straightforward UTI and her blood cultures and ultrasound will come back clean. In that case, we could be home on Monday. BUT as we've experienced in the past...we never know. SO....I'm writing to ask you to pray for our family.

~Quick healing for Elizabeth & protection from the psychological stress of another hospitalization. Unfortunately, the hospital is practically full, so instead of our usual admission to 8 West, we're going to the 10th floor, and there we'll have new nurses & new staff, so we'd appreciate prayers for favor in our "new" digs.
~Grace and strength for Matt who will be doing this solo whenever I'm home with Ruby; for me (Sara) as I'm not able to be in two places at once; for Ruby, to be flexible as we haul her back and forth and require her to adjust her normal routine.
~A straightforward diagnosis and easy treatment so she can come home soon
~REST for all of us.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jesus loves ME...and YOU!

Ruby Chats with Cookie Monster

Not to be outdone by her sister's vivacious personality, Ruby's got a few things to say too! I have a feeling I'm not going to get a word in edgewise pretty soon...

Dancing and Jumping

Watch out...Dancing With The Stars may be next!