Dori and Charlotte are now happily establish in the Sara Ward, just down the hall from the NICU. I guess I've never been in an equivalent place in an American hospital, but I can't imagine how it could compare to the level of care provided by the midwives and nurses on the ward at Addenbrooke's. Their knowledge, professionalism, and real interest in Charlotte's progress are awe-inspiring -- I feel like everybody is walking around with halos above their heads. There is also something comforting about the British attitude toward adversity and trouble--bad things are a simply a 'bit' or a 'spot' of trouble, and if anything goes well, it is always 'quite lovely.'
Charlotte has been slowly gaining strength today - she definitely knows how to feed, she's just slowly building up the stamina to give it a long enough effort to get some good nutrition. In the meantime we are 'topping her up' with a little milk through the feeding tube, as required. I told her that she can keep the tube in as long as she likes (though I think she'll want it out before the prom, at any rate).
Cultures for meningitis and other illnesses are negative at the 48 hour point -- a good indication (along with her recovery) that her body is beating back whatever infection might have been there. With infants, however, blood cultures are unreliable (if you took enough blood to get a really good culture, it might defeat the whole purpose!) so we might never have a really solid answer about what illness was initially there. At any rate, we're happy to hear negative results so far.
Charlotte was able to greet some visitors this afternoon -- thank you to April, Julie, and Janell for stopping by (and to Emily for making it possible). It was very nice to be able to sit and chat.
After spending the morning in day care, where he showed off his pictures of Charlotte and mommy, Oliver was able to stop by and see his sister. He was proud that he was able to give her a kiss and make her feel better when she was crying. He did his best to behave on the ward, but the giant red 'emergency' button was irresistible. Fortunately for us it was a 'pull' instead of a 'push!'
Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers. We're excited to be able to greet Grandma tomorrow!
Here are some photos.
love,
tim
2 comments:
What a blessing this little girl is! She is so precious. We continue to pray for you guys. We ask God to give you strength and patience as you deal with everything (and I've also asked him to let you sleep well at night...so important to be well rested when having to deal with stuff like this). Miss you guys and wish I could come meet Charlotte in person!
She is so pretty. You guys all look great together and how lucky Charlotte is to have Ollie as a big brother! We are so happy things are going well.
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