Saturday, July 22, 2006

Trach Update

Yesterday Emma headed over to Big CHOC for a bronch to see how her airway has progressed since getting a trach last November. She had an appointment at 1:00, but we were supposed to be there at 1:00. She also had to fast from 8:00 on. When we arrived, CHOC had no record of the appointment. Alissa walked over to Dr. Nickerson's office and he remembered booking the appointment as well. He pulled together a team and made the bronch happen after all. It was just another example of how great of care we receive from the CHOC family. After trying to give Emma a couple IVs and failing, they gave her some versed through her nose and she relaxed greatly. Her bronch procedure consisted of sending a tiny camera through her nose down her throat. They checked to see if the airway had become stronger, larger, and if any granuloma tissue had formed. Dr. Nickerson was surprised how far she had come. When they removed the trach during the procedure, her oxygen level and breathing remained good and her airway remained open and pink. He expects that by next Spring she should be able to remove the trach without any further surgeries. She just needs to gain about 50% more weight and she will be good to go. We look forward to that day because we will have a lot less medical equipment in the house.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

I'm One!

On Sunday, Emma turned One! It was a very special day. We celebrated at Grandma Julie and Grandpa Jack's house with a small group of family, friends, and our extended family (Emma's amazing nurses). It was so much fun to celebrate how far she has come in a year. She went from 2 pounds 1 ounce and 13 inches long to 10 pounds 10 ounces and 24 inches long. She has been home for more than 4 weeks this time around and is doing so well. She enjoys spending time with Mommy playing. She loves to bounce, swing, and play with her toys on the floor. She also loves to watch Playhouse Disney, although Mommy and Daddy can only take so much of The Wiggles and The Doodlebops. On Friday Emma goes in for a bronch to see if she still needs her trach. In all likelihood she will still need it for another year, but it will be good to see how far she has progressed. Another bit of exciting news is that we will probably be getting home nursing from 11 pm to 7 am, Monday through Friday in the next couple of weeks. We cannot wait!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Doing Well




Emma has been home again for about 2 weeks now. She turns one on the 16th. Since returning home from the hospital, Emma has been doing fairly well. When they sent her home she was still throwing up a little bit. As a result, we decided to switch to straight breast milk instead of fortifying the milk. Since then, Emma has not been throwing up. We want her to get the extra calories that the formula gives, but if she can't keep it down it is not doing any good. Emma has learned to roll from her back to her stomach, but cannot get back over. She is finding her voice a little bit as well. You can hear her squeak a little bit more often. A few of her teeth are getting close to breaking through. On June 22, Emma got to meet some of her relatives that she had never met at her Auntie Karen's wedding rehearsal. We were supposed to go to Dee's house today for the 4th of July, but I have been sick for the past few days. I had a 103 fever on Sunday and had to stay away from Emma and Alissa for 2 days. It was a bummer to have time off and not get to spend it with them. I will have another update in a week or so unless something major comes up beforehand.