Monday, September 15, 2008

An Update...Finally!

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted an update. It has been a long week and it's getting late, so this will be brief. Suzie had a pretty rough recovery the first few days after her surgery. It took her little body a while to get the anesthesia completely out of her system and her breathing suffered for it. She was in a lot of pain up until this weekend, but she seems to be doing much better now. On Friday they were able to extubate her as she started to get significantly better. By today she has shown tremendous signs of improvement and is now on less oxygen than she was before her surgery. Praise God! She is back on her full feeds and they are going to try bottle feeding again all week. Today she was moved out of the critical nursery back into the step down nursery. And she is big enough to be in a crib rather than an incubator!

We cannot even begin to express how grateful to God we are. He has brought our little girl through so much and has sustained us by His grace the whole time. It has been a rough week, but God has comforted us every moment. We are so blessed to be called His children and for the precious gift He has given us in Little Suzie.

Here are a few pictures to recap the past week.

Here is Suzie weighing in at 4 lbs 15.7 ounces as of this evening!
And this is Suzie's big girl crib.
After being extubated, she has a very hoarse cry with her swollen vocal chords.
Here are a couple of pictures of the shunt. It is a thick ridge on the back of her head.

What a cutie!

11 comments:

Debra said...

I'm so glad to hear she's been improving, and that she is in the crib. I love those pictures...she looks absolutely adorable; I especially love the pink outfit and headband! :) I love my niece and hope to see her and you guys soon. Love
Aunt Debra :)

Suzanne DeShong said...

Thank you so much for keeping us all updated so we can continue to pray and praise God for what He is doing. She is SO big! I honestly can't believe how much she has grown, and I praise God for it! Thanks for your encouraging testimony and keep plugging along! See you soon!

Nelly said...

We're praising the Lord with you guys! The kids and I just finished praying for Little Suzie and decided to check your blog to see if there was an update. We were all so excited to hear how well that little lady is doing. She's so cute in her big girl crib! Also...Obie really liked the dragon in the box under your profile picture!

Kimmy said...

She is getting so big! I am glad to hear she is doing better. She looks all dolled up in her pink nightgown. We continue to keep her in our prayers.

Unknown said...

Wow! She's really grown. Those pictures are too cute. Thanks for the update. We're so glad she is doing so well.

Susan M. Nelson said...

What a beautiful baby! Stephanie's mom asked us about the pillow we used for Whitney. Our plastic surgeon told us to get a piece of foam and cut a divot in it to hold Whitney's head upright (face up) so that her head would round out. We got some foam and cut it ourselves. You could also try to cut foam in the shape of a doughnut, but we found that Whitney turned her head out of that too easily. We'd be happy to send ours to you. You'll want to check with your neurosurgeon though--Whitney's shunt is on the side of her head, not the back.

We hope that God is blessing your marriage as you deal with the challenges of having your baby at the hospital.

In Christ,
Matt (Susan's husband)

Megan @ SimplyThrifty said...

Suzie is so beautiful. Thank you for the update. We'll continue to pray for your precious girl.

Jen said...

Thanks for the update, Suzie looks so cute in her little headband! Praise God that he continues to sustain her life and deepen your faith in him.

Drollingers said...

She is just beautiful! Praise the Lord for the good surgery and her continual growth! You guys are such a testimony to us. You are daily in our prayers.

Love, The Drollingers

Unknown said...

I cannot believe how big she has grown...she's so beautiful! Thank you for keeping us updated...we think of you guys daily. Your walk has been an inspiration! Love y'all!

Matthew said...

So beautiful! I love seeing all of her pretty little clothes and can't believe how big she's getting. We continue to pray for you three. Thank you for your testimony to us.
Love,
Matt and Ashley