Our friend Diego was released from the hospital this afternoon! He'll be resting at home until he starts chemo next week. If you want to stay updated on his cancer journey, you can read the website created for him here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/diegohernandez
Please keep Diego and his family in your prayers as they begin this difficult treatment process.
Also, if you have any great ideas about how to tangibly support Diego and his family during this time, please share them in your comments below. Thanks! :)
Showing posts with label hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospital. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Praying for Diego
My friend Diego is 6 years old. I met him when he was two. I've seen him learn and grow into a sensitive, caring, sweet, kind, silly, generous boy. He's supposed to be starting first grade next week. However, on Thursday. he and his family got some horrible news: They discovered that Diego has cancer.
Today he will have an operation to remove the cancer, as well as one of his kidneys. But this is just the beginning of Diego's journey. He will have a long, hard road ahead of him. Diego needs all the prayers that he can get. I'd love it if you would pray for him, too. If you see a little boy with a silly grin, please think of Diego and say a prayer for him. I'd love for he and his family to feel the love, peace, and comfort of God during this difficult time.
Today he will have an operation to remove the cancer, as well as one of his kidneys. But this is just the beginning of Diego's journey. He will have a long, hard road ahead of him. Diego needs all the prayers that he can get. I'd love it if you would pray for him, too. If you see a little boy with a silly grin, please think of Diego and say a prayer for him. I'd love for he and his family to feel the love, peace, and comfort of God during this difficult time.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
My Day: 8 hours, 4 kids, and 4 medical offices
Summary of my day: Spent eight hours with four children going back and forth between 3 medical offices (one being the dentist) and the local hospital. From 9:30am-5:30pm we were out allllll day long trying to figure out why Noah is always sick and not gaining weight.
At this point I am suspecting either gluten intolerance (could be as severe as celiac disease, not sure) or a digestive issue, something wrong with his GI tract. We'll have the lab results back in about 3 business days (maybe Monday). I am dreading getting the medical bills.... oh my goodness how I hate medical bills. But that's out of my hands.
All day long I kept telling myself that God is in control. He is always with me, even when I'm barely holding it together.... I really clung to that promise today. And I -felt- Him there with me, in the waiting rooms, in the moments when I was about to snap at the older kids, when they were getting too loud and jumping around, just trying to have fun despite the circumstances... And when I had to hold Noah down on a gurney and watch him get pricked so many times that I lost count - that isn't easy for a mommy. But I did it, because I had to. By the grace of God, I did. And the poor little guy is such a trooper. He didn't cry or flinch at all while they were poking and prodding. He only whined once, when they pricked two of his fingers for the very last blood test.
On the way out of the hospital, I stopped to show the kids the chapel room. First I peeked in to make sure no one else was in their praying or something. I told the girls and D that they could go in, look around, then come back out in one minute, but emphasized that they had to be -very quiet- in the chapel. Aliah asked why? My first thought was "because that's what you always do" but I thought about it for a second, and that's not the right answer. You should be quiet not only because it is respectful, but more importantly, because a place of prayer and worship should be a special, hallowed place that is entered with sincerity and reverence. So I tried to convey that to my preschool daughter. On the way home they sang "My God's Not Dead, He's Surely Alive!" at the top of their lungs.
Thank you God, for these children, who are such blessings to me.
At this point I am suspecting either gluten intolerance (could be as severe as celiac disease, not sure) or a digestive issue, something wrong with his GI tract. We'll have the lab results back in about 3 business days (maybe Monday). I am dreading getting the medical bills.... oh my goodness how I hate medical bills. But that's out of my hands.
All day long I kept telling myself that God is in control. He is always with me, even when I'm barely holding it together.... I really clung to that promise today. And I -felt- Him there with me, in the waiting rooms, in the moments when I was about to snap at the older kids, when they were getting too loud and jumping around, just trying to have fun despite the circumstances... And when I had to hold Noah down on a gurney and watch him get pricked so many times that I lost count - that isn't easy for a mommy. But I did it, because I had to. By the grace of God, I did. And the poor little guy is such a trooper. He didn't cry or flinch at all while they were poking and prodding. He only whined once, when they pricked two of his fingers for the very last blood test.
On the way out of the hospital, I stopped to show the kids the chapel room. First I peeked in to make sure no one else was in their praying or something. I told the girls and D that they could go in, look around, then come back out in one minute, but emphasized that they had to be -very quiet- in the chapel. Aliah asked why? My first thought was "because that's what you always do" but I thought about it for a second, and that's not the right answer. You should be quiet not only because it is respectful, but more importantly, because a place of prayer and worship should be a special, hallowed place that is entered with sincerity and reverence. So I tried to convey that to my preschool daughter. On the way home they sang "My God's Not Dead, He's Surely Alive!" at the top of their lungs.
Thank you God, for these children, who are such blessings to me.
Monday, February 1, 2010
A year ago...
One year ago, on February 1 2009, I was sitting in an intensive care unit, sick with fear and worry. It was a parent's worst nightmare, and it was real to us: my month-old baby had stopped breathing. She had a severe case of RSV (presumably passed to her by her big sister) and spent seven very long days and nights on a respirator. I spent that time crying and pleading with God, isolated from the rest of the world, and most importantly, the rest of my family (oh, how I missed them!).
It was a whole different world in there. We had to wear sterile yellow hospital scrubs, pink latex-free gloves, and itchy blue surgical masks just to be within breathing distance of her ICU room. I pumped "liquid gold" breastmilk for ten days, and hated every minute of it. It was all so cold and clinical and impersonal. The PICU was a place where young children died. Mike couldn't stand to be there for too long at a time - he sees so much trauma and death in his job as a paramedic, and this hit him far, far too close to home.
Many, many prayers were heard and answered that week. And miraculously, she lived through it, by the grace of God (how appropriate, that her middle name is Grace). Finally, ten days after her heart and breathing stopped in the ER triage room, she was released to come home.
Now, our little miracle baby is 13 months old and could not be healthier.
I am so thankful that God has given us two precious daughters to care for and love.
It was a whole different world in there. We had to wear sterile yellow hospital scrubs, pink latex-free gloves, and itchy blue surgical masks just to be within breathing distance of her ICU room. I pumped "liquid gold" breastmilk for ten days, and hated every minute of it. It was all so cold and clinical and impersonal. The PICU was a place where young children died. Mike couldn't stand to be there for too long at a time - he sees so much trauma and death in his job as a paramedic, and this hit him far, far too close to home.
Many, many prayers were heard and answered that week. And miraculously, she lived through it, by the grace of God (how appropriate, that her middle name is Grace). Finally, ten days after her heart and breathing stopped in the ER triage room, she was released to come home.
Now, our little miracle baby is 13 months old and could not be healthier.
I am so thankful that God has given us two precious daughters to care for and love.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Day Ten - Last One!
We are getting released today!!!
WE'RE GOING HOME THIS AFTERNOON! :)
Doctors are filling out our discharge orders and finishing up paperwork.
I cant wait for the four of us to be all together again at home!!!
WE'RE GOING HOME THIS AFTERNOON! :)
Doctors are filling out our discharge orders and finishing up paperwork.
I cant wait for the four of us to be all together again at home!!!
Monday, February 9, 2009
GREAT NEWS!
At 1:30 this afternoon, they turned off the oxygen support. Aliah's o2 levels have consistently stayed at 96-98%, even when she falls asleep!
If I'd wanted to push for it, we could have probably gone home tonight - but Mike & I decided it would be safer for Aliah to stay here in the hospital overnight for observation, to be absolutely sure that all is well.
I am so relieved that this is our last night here, and I cant wait to get out and go home tomorrow!!!
God has been so faithful to us this week.
A friend of mne was talking about "grace" tonight, which happens to be Aliah's middle name. It also reminded me of the meaning of "Aliah": ascending, going up to God.
Aliah is our miracle baby, in that we struggled for a year and a half in order to have a healthy pregnancy - but now she is even more of a precious miracle, because of all we've gone through lately.
We are just so thankful that this ordeal is almost over.
If I'd wanted to push for it, we could have probably gone home tonight - but Mike & I decided it would be safer for Aliah to stay here in the hospital overnight for observation, to be absolutely sure that all is well.
I am so relieved that this is our last night here, and I cant wait to get out and go home tomorrow!!!
God has been so faithful to us this week.
A friend of mne was talking about "grace" tonight, which happens to be Aliah's middle name. It also reminded me of the meaning of "Aliah": ascending, going up to God.
Aliah is our miracle baby, in that we struggled for a year and a half in order to have a healthy pregnancy - but now she is even more of a precious miracle, because of all we've gone through lately.
We are just so thankful that this ordeal is almost over.
Day 9 - Almost Home!!!
Right now, Aliah is on the lowest possible oxygen setting. The lead doctor said she'd love to see her be completely breathing on her own by tonight, or maybe tomorrow, at the latest. As soon as Aliah can successfully do that (the most difficult part is when she's sleeping), for at least 6-8 hours, without any setbacks, then we'll get discharged!!!
Im really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed later this week. My other favorite thing will be helping with Hannah's bedtime routine, reading her stories and tucking her in. I miss her so much, and I feel terrible that Ive missed the last week and a half of her life! Plus I know it will take a little extra work to undo the amount of spoiling that my mother got away with, while she was helping us here. Last time I went home to take a shower, our living room floor was literally covered in toys. My mom was a gigantic, indispensable help with laundry, washing dishes, and especially good at entertaining Hannah - she just didnt do a good job of setting any kind of boundaries. Its ok to have fun, but when you live in our house, you should still follow our rules. But, enough of that. Mom is home in Maryland now, back at work today.
Aliah is learning to self-sooth by sucking on her fist. Shes kind of funny - she hates pacifiers, and cant get ahold of her thumb, so I guess thats the next best thing? Sometimes she tries to stick her entire fist, all five fingers, right down into her mouth! At least it helps her settle down and go to sleep.
Ahh, Sleep - another commodity that I really need to catch up on as soon as possible. Last night I got two seperate 2-hour naps. She was awake from 2-5am, and I wanted to rip my hair out! But in a way, that is healthy, because its almost like her typical routine at home.
Please pray that our little girl stays strong and healthy, so that she can breath on her own, with no problems, very soon!
Im really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed later this week. My other favorite thing will be helping with Hannah's bedtime routine, reading her stories and tucking her in. I miss her so much, and I feel terrible that Ive missed the last week and a half of her life! Plus I know it will take a little extra work to undo the amount of spoiling that my mother got away with, while she was helping us here. Last time I went home to take a shower, our living room floor was literally covered in toys. My mom was a gigantic, indispensable help with laundry, washing dishes, and especially good at entertaining Hannah - she just didnt do a good job of setting any kind of boundaries. Its ok to have fun, but when you live in our house, you should still follow our rules. But, enough of that. Mom is home in Maryland now, back at work today.
Aliah is learning to self-sooth by sucking on her fist. Shes kind of funny - she hates pacifiers, and cant get ahold of her thumb, so I guess thats the next best thing? Sometimes she tries to stick her entire fist, all five fingers, right down into her mouth! At least it helps her settle down and go to sleep.
Ahh, Sleep - another commodity that I really need to catch up on as soon as possible. Last night I got two seperate 2-hour naps. She was awake from 2-5am, and I wanted to rip my hair out! But in a way, that is healthy, because its almost like her typical routine at home.
Please pray that our little girl stays strong and healthy, so that she can breath on her own, with no problems, very soon!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Day 8 in the hospital
Hi all. I would have loved to update earlier, but with everything that happened yesterday, I didnt have computer access. Sorry!
So, yesterday afternoon, we were released from the PICU!
THANK YOU GOD! Goodbye, intensive care!
Our room here on the children's recovery floor is much more private, has its own bathroom, and I get to sleep in one of those pull-out couch beds, instead of a rocking chair. I'd say that is a big improvement over last week.
Welcome to Day 8. Aliah is doing well. They are continuing to lower her oxygen level. Right now it is varying between .4 and .2 Ls. She needs more oxygen support when she sleeps. Doctors said that as soon as she's breathing on her own, then we'll get to go HOME for good! I would guess that might happen on Weds, at the earliest. We'll see. The most important thing is that she is continuing to get better, and grow stronger. Im trying to convince her to eat more often, because she still isnt eating as mocu as she used to, and is having some trouble latching on correctly.
My mom left today, shes driving back to Maryland right now. We'll all miss her, Hannah most of all.
Mike & Hannah were visiting us this afternoon. It was the first time that Hannah got
to hold her baby sister in the last eight days! She was so excited, and so proud. We were really proud of her too, for wearing the gloves, gown and face mask without omplaining! (Yes, we still have to get all suited up to be in the same room as Aliah. It's a small price to pay for her health.)
I walked out to the car with them, while Aliah was sleeping soundly in her bed (but I felt guilty for leaving her in the hospital while I stepped outside for 10 mins!). Then I felt incredibly sad because Hannah had a huge meltdown and screamed "Dont leave, Mommy! NOOOO! Dont leave me! Come home with me!" in the middle of the parking garage. It was so sad!!! I was in tears as I walked back into the building.
I am really torn between here and home. This ordeal has been hard on all of us.
I want to go home soon. I want to sleep in my own bed.
I know there is an end in sight. and Im so so happy that she's getting better - it's just hard to go through this.
I just realied that Im supposed to have my 6-week postparden check-up in the morning - but Im going to have to rescheulde it - there's just no way that I can leave Aliah here for 3 hours by herself tomorrow. Compound that with the fact that my car is not here at the hospital, and its just not happening.
I'll let you know if anything changes tomorrow.
Goodnight.
So, yesterday afternoon, we were released from the PICU!
THANK YOU GOD! Goodbye, intensive care!
Our room here on the children's recovery floor is much more private, has its own bathroom, and I get to sleep in one of those pull-out couch beds, instead of a rocking chair. I'd say that is a big improvement over last week.
Welcome to Day 8. Aliah is doing well. They are continuing to lower her oxygen level. Right now it is varying between .4 and .2 Ls. She needs more oxygen support when she sleeps. Doctors said that as soon as she's breathing on her own, then we'll get to go HOME for good! I would guess that might happen on Weds, at the earliest. We'll see. The most important thing is that she is continuing to get better, and grow stronger. Im trying to convince her to eat more often, because she still isnt eating as mocu as she used to, and is having some trouble latching on correctly.
My mom left today, shes driving back to Maryland right now. We'll all miss her, Hannah most of all.
Mike & Hannah were visiting us this afternoon. It was the first time that Hannah got
to hold her baby sister in the last eight days! She was so excited, and so proud. We were really proud of her too, for wearing the gloves, gown and face mask without omplaining! (Yes, we still have to get all suited up to be in the same room as Aliah. It's a small price to pay for her health.)I walked out to the car with them, while Aliah was sleeping soundly in her bed (but I felt guilty for leaving her in the hospital while I stepped outside for 10 mins!). Then I felt incredibly sad because Hannah had a huge meltdown and screamed "Dont leave, Mommy! NOOOO! Dont leave me! Come home with me!" in the middle of the parking garage. It was so sad!!! I was in tears as I walked back into the building.
I am really torn between here and home. This ordeal has been hard on all of us.
I want to go home soon. I want to sleep in my own bed.
I know there is an end in sight. and Im so so happy that she's getting better - it's just hard to go through this.
I just realied that Im supposed to have my 6-week postparden check-up in the morning - but Im going to have to rescheulde it - there's just no way that I can leave Aliah here for 3 hours by herself tomorrow. Compound that with the fact that my car is not here at the hospital, and its just not happening.
I'll let you know if anything changes tomorrow.
Goodnight.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Goodbye breathing tube.
Aliah is off the vent! They took out her breathing tube early this morning and she's doing excellent! She's still getting a tiny bit of oxygen through her nose, but they will be slowly decreasing that throughout the day. We should be able to pick her up and hold her really soon, amybe later this afternoon? If all goes well tonight, we might even get out of the ICU tomorrow! If not tomorrow, then we should be in a regular recovery room by the end of the weekend.
Right now Im at home, about to take a shower, wash my clothes, and spend some time with Hannah!
Tonight will be difficult because Aliah isnt allowed to eat anythign by mouth until she's been successfully breathing on her own for 24 hours. That means we cant feed her again until 9am tomorrow morning! Its going to be a really long night.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
Mike and Nicole
Right now Im at home, about to take a shower, wash my clothes, and spend some time with Hannah!
Tonight will be difficult because Aliah isnt allowed to eat anythign by mouth until she's been successfully breathing on her own for 24 hours. That means we cant feed her again until 9am tomorrow morning! Its going to be a really long night.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
Mike and Nicole
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thanks for your prayers
Good news from ICU: Two other tiny infant RSV babies got their breathing tubes out today. Another patient staying in the room next to us was released into a regular recovery room today. Maybe we'll be next!
The nurses got my hopes up this morning, saying that she might get off the ventilator today. But after more careful review of Aliah's chest x-rays, they found out that the left lung is slightly weaker and still more congested than the right one. So they decided to wait one more day and try again. We will reassess things again in the morning, but hopefully Aliah will get her breathing tube out (and the fedding tube, too!) early tomorrow afternoon.
Please pray that she does well breathing on her own!
Nevertheless, Aliah has been incredibly alert and awake all day. And she entertained the staff by having lots of dirty diapers too.
Mike came to visit us for most of the afternoon.
Topday we had a male nurse. He was funny and it made things just a little more interesting.
I am missing Hannah a lot right now.
Pumping is getting really frustrating.
That's all the news I have right now.
The nurses got my hopes up this morning, saying that she might get off the ventilator today. But after more careful review of Aliah's chest x-rays, they found out that the left lung is slightly weaker and still more congested than the right one. So they decided to wait one more day and try again. We will reassess things again in the morning, but hopefully Aliah will get her breathing tube out (and the fedding tube, too!) early tomorrow afternoon.
Please pray that she does well breathing on her own!
Nevertheless, Aliah has been incredibly alert and awake all day. And she entertained the staff by having lots of dirty diapers too.
Mike came to visit us for most of the afternoon.
Topday we had a male nurse. He was funny and it made things just a little more interesting.
I am missing Hannah a lot right now.
Pumping is getting really frustrating.
That's all the news I have right now.
update
Yesterday, Mike spent the afternoon in ICU while I went home to spend time with Hannah. For my birthday, my mom took Hannah and I to get new haircuts. It was a cute girly thing to do and it got us all out of the house for a little while. Even better, I got to take a shower for the first time in four days!
Aliah was awake for about three hours in the afternoon. It was so nice to see her bright blue eyes open and looking around. Mike is such a good father! He sat by her side for eight hours and barely left the room!
Now Im eating a midnight snack, and Aliah is AWAKE! This is especially exciting because normally at home she would be awake at this time, between 1-2 am.
The attneding dr said that the RSV virus should be running its course and ebbing away within the next couple days, and that we should start to see more recovery very soon. Her iron levels are still dropping. We have decided to supplement with vitamins first, to see if that helps, and wont worry about doing a blood transfusion quite yet. (Alisha, you are totally right about the hemoglobin levels! She is five weeks old and just barely beginning to produce it on her own. They explained it to me, I didnt know that.) Im sure im forgetting something, but these are the main things.
I was excuse from jury duty this week :) And my aunts/uncles left me a really really sweet birthday message a few hours ago that made me cry! In spite of all this, Feb 4th turned out to be a positive day after all. We are feeling much more optimistic right now about her recovery. I'll update more as we know more.
Aliah was awake for about three hours in the afternoon. It was so nice to see her bright blue eyes open and looking around. Mike is such a good father! He sat by her side for eight hours and barely left the room!
Now Im eating a midnight snack, and Aliah is AWAKE! This is especially exciting because normally at home she would be awake at this time, between 1-2 am.
The attneding dr said that the RSV virus should be running its course and ebbing away within the next couple days, and that we should start to see more recovery very soon. Her iron levels are still dropping. We have decided to supplement with vitamins first, to see if that helps, and wont worry about doing a blood transfusion quite yet. (Alisha, you are totally right about the hemoglobin levels! She is five weeks old and just barely beginning to produce it on her own. They explained it to me, I didnt know that.) Im sure im forgetting something, but these are the main things.
I was excuse from jury duty this week :) And my aunts/uncles left me a really really sweet birthday message a few hours ago that made me cry! In spite of all this, Feb 4th turned out to be a positive day after all. We are feeling much more optimistic right now about her recovery. I'll update more as we know more.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Poor baby
It's my birthday today. Not such a happy one.
Aliah is having some issues this morning.
Her core temp. went down to 95 degrees and stayed there for a few hours, so she is now under a big warming lamp. Her bp has been kind of erractic, and she didnt pee at all while I was sleeping from 1-5am.
They are also concerned that her iron levels are low and continuing to drop. (This is mostly my fault, since I'm an anemic vegetarian.) They said the usual course of action to fix it is... a blood transfusion. This seems a bit extreme to me, as a first course of action, but then again, what do I know?
My main concern right now is pumping enough milk to feed this kid. I am worried that I might not have enough supply for her. Right now she is getting about 3 oz every three hours. At home, I had no problem pumping out this much, but as it is, I am struggling. Maybe the stress is getting to me?
One good thing: she's still gaining weight! When we were admitted she was 4.78 kgs and now she is just over 5 kgs (sorry, I dont do metric conversions in my head).
Aliah is having some issues this morning.
Her core temp. went down to 95 degrees and stayed there for a few hours, so she is now under a big warming lamp. Her bp has been kind of erractic, and she didnt pee at all while I was sleeping from 1-5am.
They are also concerned that her iron levels are low and continuing to drop. (This is mostly my fault, since I'm an anemic vegetarian.) They said the usual course of action to fix it is... a blood transfusion. This seems a bit extreme to me, as a first course of action, but then again, what do I know?
My main concern right now is pumping enough milk to feed this kid. I am worried that I might not have enough supply for her. Right now she is getting about 3 oz every three hours. At home, I had no problem pumping out this much, but as it is, I am struggling. Maybe the stress is getting to me?
One good thing: she's still gaining weight! When we were admitted she was 4.78 kgs and now she is just over 5 kgs (sorry, I dont do metric conversions in my head).
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Pray for Aliah!
For those that dont know, Aliah is in intensive care. She stopped breathing on Sunday. It was a parents worst nightmare.
She has been diagnosed with RSV. Right now she is stable.
It has been the worst 48 hours of our lives.
Update for today: Mike is at home with strep throat! This means he cannot come to the hospital until he has been on antibiotics for at least 48 hours.
This morning, Aliah's chest x-rays were the same, not any better than yesterday. Last night around midnight she was very alert. But then she got a little too feisty and pulled out her breathing tube. Her feeding tube came out with it! It was a scary moment. I was right there holding her head while the nurse fixed her airway. We got her stabilized again, but because of that, she will continue to be sedated for the rest of the day. She still is not strong enough to breath on her own.
Poor baby.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
She has been diagnosed with RSV. Right now she is stable.
It has been the worst 48 hours of our lives.
Update for today: Mike is at home with strep throat! This means he cannot come to the hospital until he has been on antibiotics for at least 48 hours.
This morning, Aliah's chest x-rays were the same, not any better than yesterday. Last night around midnight she was very alert. But then she got a little too feisty and pulled out her breathing tube. Her feeding tube came out with it! It was a scary moment. I was right there holding her head while the nurse fixed her airway. We got her stabilized again, but because of that, she will continue to be sedated for the rest of the day. She still is not strong enough to breath on her own.
Poor baby.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
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