Holding Steady

Addison is holding steady as they wean her oxygen and oscillator to prepare for surgery. We were told that the surgery is scheduled for this Thursday if everything remains the same.

I was able to help change her diaper, take her temperature and hold her hand yesterday. It is so amazing getting to touch her. I can honestly say that I have never been so excited to change a dirty diaper. I guess that I will never take even the smallest thing for granted with her.

Also, I completely forgot to mention that Jason and i have moved into the Family House (1234 10th Street, San Francisco, CA 94122) and will be here until Addison is released. This is the most amazing place. We are so happy to have somewhere to call home!

Update

It seems like the days and night have just run together. Jason and I have been spending so much time with her and fall in love more everyday!

Addison had a good day yesterday which means that I do not have a lot to say other than she is holding steady while they slowly wean her oxygen and oscillator. She amazes me at how someone so small can be such a fighter with a strong heart.

She has gotten really swollen since birth, so they gave her Lasic to help with the fluid retention. I am hoping today we can get pictures of her where she does not look so puffy.

We actually got a few pictures of her yesterday. I can really see Jason in her. She is like a little mini-daddy. I guess it is a good thing that my husband is handsome.

Also, I wanted to thank our church , RUMC, for the beautiful prayer quilt. I cannot wait until I can wrap Addison in all of your love and prayers.

Update

Addison is doing pretty well. for the past few days, she is holding steady. At times, they are able to wean hr oxygen down to the 70's and the oscillating vent down to 28, but then she will have an episode and end up back where we started. I feel like it is three steps forward and then four steps back. I know that it is just part of the roller coaster and I am thankful for any and every bit of movement in the right direction. We just really want to get her dependency on the machines weaned a little bit since when she has some of her episodes, they have to use all the support available with the oscillating vent to get her stabilized and if she were not to respond, the next step is ECMO.

They say that she is not stable enough for surgery right now since even changing her diaper can put her into an episode and cause her stats to drop.

I actually got to hold her hand last night. She had a really good day and her stats had been stable for a while, so they told me that it was OK to touch her. When I held her hand, I swear my heart grew three times bigger. She is so strong and has been through so much and I love her so much for that.

Day Three

Today has been pretty uneventful. Her oxygen saturation has remained in the 90's and her CO2 has remained between 40-60%. Her stats still drop when they suction her and change her diaper, but not dropping as far or remaining low for long. They have been able to wean her oxygen to 75% and the oscillating vent down with her stats remaining strong.

One time when Jason and I were visiting Addison, she opened her eyes for one second. She has the most beautiful blue eyes.

Day Two

Addison was pretty unstable yesterday. They performed a chest X-ray, suctioned her, and gave her a breathing treatment and her stats dropped dramatically. She was completely unresponsive to the oscillating vent and oxygen for about two hours. We were given the talk about ECMO and the doctors were in the process of completing the paperwork and preparing the team to put her on ECMO when she just recovered on her own. They told us that if her oxygen saturation stayed higher than 85% through the night that we would avoid ECMO for now.

Jason and I prayed a lot and God answered our prayers.... Her stats went up to the mid to high 90s and remained there all through out the night, so Addison fought off ECMO for now!!!

Pictures of the Princess

Jason and I went to go and see Addison this afternoon and decorate her home. We took pictures of Mommy, Daddy, and her brothers (Bear and Bailey) as well as Ali the alligator to keep her company when we were not there. We were also able to snap a few pictures.

Addison is here

I noticed a leak in my AF on Monday, February 16th ao we went to UCSF and they induced that afternoon at 4:00 pm. Addison finally arrived via c-section at 10:45 pm on February 17th after being in labor for about 20 hours.

Addison is doing pretty well. She is on the occilating vent and her oxygen levels are staying in the 80s. When we get some pictures, I will post them to the blog.