moving east

Just as I was getting to bed last night (at 8:30--I know, I know, but this has been my usual bedtime since Moriah's birth, which might explain why I haven't returned your phone calls if you're one of those people who's actually awake past 8:30 and have tried to call me in the last 2 months)...the nurse got a phone call. A new patient needed Moriah's bedspace. So suddenly, suddenly, Moriah was deemed ready to leave the Cardiac ICU and move to the Cardiac floor on 8 East. Her central line was taken out, her paperwork handled...and we were moving. By 10. By 11. By 12. At 12:30, I finally wheeled my suitcase in my pajamas and flip flops behind Moriah's crib (she has a crib now!) from 8 South to 8 East. I think I got some sleep in between those hours, but not much.

I unpacked and resettled Moriah in the dark, as I'm sharing a room with another family. Got my linens. Made my fold-out-chair-bed. Crawled under the blankets for a good, deep sleep...and the other baby in the room began wailing. He settled down. Moriah started fussing. I got up and fed her. I was wide awake and finished a book by headlamp. Went to sleep. Other baby moaning. Moriah hungry again. I think, total, I slept maybe 3 hours.

But the good news is that we moved to the East floor which can only mean one thing...we are making progress! Moriah has so few lines now...just 2 IVs, one in each foot, for getting her meds when she needs them (they stopped the continuous fluids last night to encourage her to eat again). She has pacemaker leads implanted in her chest, just in case she were to suddenly need them--these are some of the last lines to come out before we go home. She had leads for heartrate and oxygen, and an occassional blood pressure cuff. That's IT. I can't believe it.

I have no idea how long we'll be here...probably 5 more days, at least given what we had been originally told. Moriah's lungs need to clear fluid, as they are quite wet (common after surgery). So she's taking Lasix for that. She needs to eat, and show she's eating enough, and putting out what she should. So we're back to weighing diapers, weighing the baby, counting ounces of formula...all too familiar territory for us.

Moriah has eaten three times since 9 pm last night, when she began. But she wouldn't eat this morning at all...I'm not sure if she's worn out, or if she just didn't like the Potassium I had put into her milk. Please do pray she resumes eating today so that she doesn't need IV fluids and can continue to make progress on her own.

They've also taken Moriah off the little bit of oxygen she was getting by nose since they removed her breathing tube yesterday. She's holding her own at a 100 O2 saturation!

Thank you for your continued prayers for Moriah. I'm so glad Orilus and Jackson will make their first visit to see Moriah since her surgery this morning, as I miss them terribly. Tomorrow, we're going to celebrate Jackson's birthday together here in Boston (his birthday is Monday, and he'll be 12). I'm really looking forward to having some good family time this weekend, and hope I'm awake enough to participate. :)

Big hugs to all from Moriah and me!