We were woken up this morning at 5:30 a.m. for an early morning x-ray. Little Miss Presley was less than thrilled with this idea! Although her feistiness made the process a little more difficult, to us it was a sign of the real her. We got through it and then waited to hear the results. Dr. Marx came in early to check on us, and the first thing he said was, "She needs to move to the floor! She will be so much happier!" Of course, we completely agreed! Happiness can be the best medicine! He said her x-ray looked good, and she did so well last night breathing on her own. He is the kindest man, and we truly felt like he was Presley's biggest fan. However, the final decision to move out of the ICU rests in the hands of the team of doctors that preside over the unit.
Dr. Emani also came in to see us, and he thought everything is looking really good too. We asked him what was still keeping us from moving out of the ICU, and he looked right at us and said, "There just isn't a bed available." Well, if that was the only reason, we were okay with it! Presley's lungs are looking good, all of her vitals are stable, and her heart function is great. As soon as a bed opens up, she will be ready to go. Her left chest tube still needs to stay in for one more day to watch her fluid output, but that is fine. The doctor in charge of the ICU came in to check on Presley, and she agreed that everything looked good. Within a matter of minutes, our nurse for the day announced the most wonderful news . . . a bed had opened up, and we would be moving to the floor out of the CICU! Praise the Lord! What a huge relief! We were all so excited! This is a major milestone, because this means we are so much closer to going home!
When we told Presley that we would be moving to a new room where she would be able to go to the playroom, she said, "You're kidding me!" She could hardly believe it, and we're not sure if she meant it like "no way, you're pulling a fast one" or like "this is amazing!" Either way, it was just so funny, and our Presley is continuing to show her true colors!
We also got the go ahead to order Presley some solid food to give that a try. She was tentative but ate a few bites of scrambled eggs and did fine. She also had some sips of water, and as long as she sits up straight, she was able to swallow without coughing. We are hopeful that in the next few days, she will just continue to improve. It really doesn't seem like there is any kind of a problem, but she just needs to go slowly. After being on a ventilator for almost five days, it just takes time to return to eating and drinking normally. Once we got settled in our new room, we ordered her request of noodles with red sauce, jello, and chocolate milk. She did great, and we think she is starting to remember how it feels to eat and drink and how yummy food is! She will start to feel better and stronger the more she can get nourishment into her body. She will probably still sleep with the feeding tube, but we hope that can be removed soon.
After lunch we headed to the much anticipated playroom! She practically ran when she saw it! It was the cutest thing! She played to her hearts content, and she was just so happy! Her energy level has a ways to go until she reaches her full potential, so we had to remind her to sit down and play instead of standing the whole time.
It was so good to see her playing and having fun! And it was so good for all of us to be out of that ICU room and to get a change of environment! However, while there we met some of the most incredible people who took care of our girl, and we will be forever grateful! We have had many opportunities to tell our story, and we pray that God will use it for His glory! And now we will continue to take this healing process one day at a time. For today we are thanking God that we are one giant step closer to home!
