Step By Step

On Wednesday the doctors fianlly realized that Mallory can only tolerate one change at a time, something her Daddy and I have been saying all along. :) They decided to take it easy on her and start the process of thaking the Nitris off. By 1pm it was off and she was holding steady. By 4:30 pm her oxygen saturation levels had dropped, and by 5:30 pm she was back on just a "wiff" of nitris. The doctors told us this was not a step backwards, and a lot of transplants need that, and she is continuing to make progress. She is retaining a lot of fluid. Dr. Canter was calling her Rocky because her eyes were so swollen, so they have given her extra doses of medicine to make her pee. Pee away Mallory, pee away!!

I just think Mallory is sick and tired of having her picture taken. When Radiology came in this morning to get her chest x-ray, she vomited. We got her bathed and sheets changed, Radiology came back for one more picture and sure enough, she puked again. After one more bath, this time with a hair wash, her nurse and I decided the rule for the next few hours was going to be "NO TOUCHY DA BABY". This all happened around 4am so she had a few hours before the doctors all came to see her during rounds at 7am.

One area of concern for Mallory right now is if there is fluid built up in, or around her lungs. Thus the extra x-ray. As of this writing we do not know what the result of the x-ray is. If the fluid is between the chest wall and the lungs they will have to insert a chest tube to drain everything off. We will just have to wait and see.

Mallory's heart boyfriend, Avrey, is going home today!! Hooray for Avrey!! He had his first biopsy on Tuesday and results came back showing no rejection of his new heart. He will continue to be monitored in the clinic at SLCH. They will be back next Thursday for the clinic appointment so we will see him then. We continue to pray for Avrey and his parents and wish them nothing but the best. If you would like to get to know Avrey, his web site is: http://groups.msn.com/AvreysBrokenHeart/ Check them out and see what an outstanding family they are!

Today we are hoping to get the rest of the extra fluid off of Mallory that needs to go, and to start going down on her vent settings in hope of getting that tube out in the next few days. When she is awake she is very aware of what is going on and who is in the room. It breaks my heart when she tries to talk but can't because of the vent tube, or when she cries and no sound come out but there is a tear and she contracts her face and body. Yesterday we put her favorite DVD in, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. When she heard Mickey say "Hi, I'm Mickey Mouse" her eyes lit up and she moved her head to find the TV screen. :) Baby steps, baby steps.

Thank you again to everyone for the comments and words of love and support you post on this site. Scott and I love reading them! Thanks also for the little snipits into Logan and Madison's day. I can't tell you how much Scott and I are missing them. They are missing us too. As Logan has said on occasion, right now it's all about Mallory but it doesn't make it any easier on the other kids. Thank you to everyone who is helping Logan and Madison get through this very difficult time as well. Much love to you all!!