Ella had a GREAT day.

Nurse Marla was scheduled to be in NICU 3 and traded places so she could take care of Ella. That was so sweet!

This was especially important because Ella was going to get her CT scan today. We were nervous about it simply because we could not be there with her and she would definitely not do as well being transported for a test with someone that she didn’t know.

The CT scan went fine. Here again, a great thing that Marla was taking care of her. They went to wheel her down to radiology and Ella wasn’t excited about hanging out in her crib and being wheeled (she started to fuss). So, Marla picked her up, placed her on her shoulder in one of Ella’s favorite positions, and walked her down to radiology while they wheeled the crib and oxygen. Ella was fascinated by the surroundings. That was a first for her. Anytime she has left either NICU, it has been laying flat in her bed. I am sure the view from a shoulder is much more interesting.

In the radiology room on the table, they have an airbag that they inflate around Ella’s body to keep her in place. Apparently, this is a new piece of equipment to help her remain comfortable and still. Ella sucked on her binky throughout the procedure and behaved well. She started to fuss at one point, but by the time they called Marla to the rescue, she was happily sucking on her binky again.

We don’t know the official results of the CT scan. The nurse practitioner or a doctor has to be present to discuss the findings and the only person we communicated with today was Nurse Marla. She gave us as much information as she could about how Ella did during the procedure and how her day went. She did mention that the radiology technician was having a tough time flushing the CVL (central line) with contrast fluid to test it. Then, he loosened the tension at the CVL site, and apparently the flushing became easier.

When we visited late tonight, Dr. Saxonhouse was in the NICU and mentioned some concern over her CVL in passing, based on the test results. So although we do not have details, we are not expecting good news about the line. This probably means that the functionality of the CVL might be ending soon. Since Ella is reliant on her diuretics via IV, this poses a problem! We are anxious to get a full update, hopefully tomorrow.

When we arrived tonight, Ella was sleeping. She had been taking a solid nap since 4pm. She looked great – – her heart rate was finally down to 135-140 with her saturations pegged at 100 (that is normal for her when she is sleeping and feeling good).

Finally at 8:30pm, we woke her up and assisted Nurse Traci with the hands on. She weighed in at 10 lbs, 3.7 ounces. Her weight is definitely up, even from yesterday. We are not sure if all of it is true weight gain or there is some that might be due to fluid retention. Either way, I feel confident that she is around 10 lbs. That is great weight gain for the Bun!

Once Ella woke up, she was all smiles. Even though she had never met Nurse Traci, she was enamored. All she could do was smile and look around. We have not seen her this happy or pleasant in a long time. Some days she might have small moments where she would break out a smile, but this was like 30-45 minutes straight of smiles and grins. Plus, Marla stated that she was this way during the day too. This is such a good sign – – it just means that she is feeling really good. Her stats show it and you can feel it just by looking at her.

She is back to where she was at the week before Christmas…hopefully even a little bit stronger now. Tomorrow should bring more information on the next steps for Ella. We are not sure if Dr. Kays will want to tackle the food challenge or the diuretics. Either way, we are pretty sure that we will probably be having some discussion regarding the central line.

We thank the Lord for our beautiful baby girl. We praise Him for His wonderful creation of Ella. We can’t believe we are her parents!

We submit in reverence to Him and His plans for our life and hope that we can listen and obey regarding what He wants us to do.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.