Grandma West left us this morning to travel to Salt Lake City and see her other grandchildren, Sophia and Lucy. But she had a pleasant time in Gainesville visiting her newest grandchild.

Ella had a great night. She was awake for a short time this morning as shift change approached and the nurse read some fairy tales. She noted that Ella listened and was calmly looking around her room.

Her success in adjusting to CPAP was evident in her blood gas this morning. The respiratory therapist, Marla, was beside herself when she had to note the numbers on the flowsheet, ph=7.33, cO2=44, pO2=77. At this stage, these are excellent numbers for Ella.

If you remember, yesterday they were a bit concerned that she was breathing too hard and had too much carbon dioxide in her system. Part of it was likely because she was agitated, so they even gave her a small dose of versed to help calm her down and settle her into CPAP.

Apparently, that did the trick. She has not required any more sedative and has adjusted to the air blowing through her nose through the cannulas. She is at a rate of 6 on the CPAP machine (pressure for the lungs) and at 55% oxygen. They will look to ween these numbers over the coming days.

They did 5 blood gases in the past 24 hours to see how she adjusted to CPAP. Each time, Ella’s body took baby steps in the right direction. It is hard to believe that her lungs are properly exchanging gases with such little assistance. She is really working hard!

Because her blood gas this morning was so good, they have decided to remove the UAC line from her belly. This one monitored her blood pressure and gave them another line to draw blood and administer meds. Typically, UAC lines are in for a max of 1-2 weeks. One of the nurses admitted that she has never witnessed a UAC line staying in for so long. In Ella’s case, they needed it. But it is another area that can place her at risk for infection, so they want to remove it.

This means less blood gases to report. They will simply base their decisions on how she is behaving clinically (watching her saturations on the monitor, listening to her chest and breaths, watching her behavior, etc.). Also, this means there is one less cord attached to Ella. Slowly but surely, she is getting rid of all of them.

After dropping off Grandma at the airport early this morning, we stopped to peek in on Ella. Nurse Angie is taking care of her. As always, it was nice to see a familiar face.

Ella looked peaceful as she slept on her belly. Nurse Angie explained that wanted to let Ella have some belly time before they remove her UAC line. Once they remove it later today, Ella will need to stay on her back and sides so they can monitor the area.

The Lord is so good to Josh and me. As each day passes, we are amazed at how He has worked in all of our lives over the past weeks.

He continues to be faithful and let us know that He is there all the time, overseeing every detail of Ella’s care.

And each time an obstacle arrives along the path, we hear Him whispering to “trust Him”. Trust Him in everything, in every moment.

Psalm 28:7-8
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one