Never a Dull Moment

Abbie had a much more comfortable night last night, but it didn't mean things were boring. I was dozing in the chair next to her bed, when at 4:30am a nurse gently awoke me and said, "I don't mean to alarm you, but it looks like we are going to have to evacuate, because there is a fire."

My response was "Am I dreaming or are you joking? Either way I'm not laughing."

She told me to go look out the window in the break room. OK..no joke, and I was now fully awake, so not a dream either. Orange flames and black smoke emanated from the church preschool situated 20 feet from the back wall of the hospital. I called Ray and said one of the less smart things to say at that hour, "Are you awake?" But, just as I was telling him he may want to come down, not as Abbie's dad but with his CEO hat, the nurses told me we were going to stay.

Daylight showed how much damage the preschool sustained, and how fortunate we were to have not been more affected.




The PICU is on the top floor just behind that tree. The windows you can see on the top floor are the NICU. Obviously, it was a stressful night for the staff!! This picture doesn't show the extent of damage to the preschool, but it sure does show how close it was!

The rest of the morning brought news that changed our plans somewhat. Abbie's left lung is still pretty filled with mucous. It is better than it was yesterday, but the effects of laying flat on her back during that long surgery mean that we will not be going home tomorrow or Friday as we had hoped. In fact, the PICU doc said that we will be staying in the unit until at least Sunday, with some more days after that down on the pediatric floor. Rats. But, the important thing is that Abbie is doing great and looking awesome.

Genevieve is coming up to stay with Abbie in the afternoons so that I can come home and get some rest. I'm always fading into incoherence around noon, so by the time she gets there at 1, I am really looking forward to my bed. This afternoon I went to the van, turned the key and heard "click, click, click." Noooooooo! Ray was in meetings, so I thought I'd go back inside, eat some lunch and keep wait for school to get out so Chase could come get me.

Turns out, I didn't have to wait since I had a "Holy Taxi":) on the way. I ate lunch then went into the hallway where I ran into my pastor, who had just seen Abbie. He was kind enough to give me a ride and make my day by telling me that Abbie woke up while he was talking to her, and was trying to communicate with him with her eyes, her mouth and her voice!

I think her epidural will be turned off, and perhaps even removed by the time I get back tonight. She will be getting Tylenol with codeine through her Gtube instead. I am hoping it will keep her comfortable, but realize it may sedate her a lot more as well.

We continue to be so blessed by your prayers and visits! Please keep praying for pain abatement, and for those lungs to clear. I am realizing I probably need to explain a little better what was done, but I've got to get back.

Here are our purple ballerina legs...beautiful, yes?