Saturday January 12, 2013
The baby had a good night last night into this morning, however this morning she had an elevated heart rate and her blood saturation, the amount of oxygen in her blood, was lower than normal. As a result of the discomfort she started to have some anxiety. The doctors administered some medication to help her reduce her anxiety and I got a chance to pray over her. Throughout the day she managed to rest a bit and this evening she has been bright eyed and even gave me a couple of smiles to let me know that she was doing much better. I got a chance to bathe her along with her nurse and she fell asleep about 30 minutes ago. She is resting very comfortably in her new clothes with her new bow. She also received a visit from her BFF Faith.
New outfit
Ariella slept most of the day, but tonight mom and the nursing team were able to dress my lil momma up a bit. She's so precious.
Friday January 11, 2013
Ella had a tough night and the nurses did quite a bit of aggressive suctioning this morning. She is resting peaceably now and we are hopeful today that we will receive a new device that will help with her respiratory treatments it's called a Bipap. This device will continue to force air into her lungs so that the mucus breaks up and the bronchioles in her lungs can fill with air.
Thursday January 10, 2013
Ariella had a rough night last night the medication that the doctors have been giving her has been drying her up but she's so dry that she has very thick mucus this morning that is chocking her. The nursing staff is doing a great job of suctioning her to keep her clear and make her as comfortable as possible. She was getting her breast milk overnight but they have stopped feeding her milk and will increase her IV fluids to help balance out the amount of fluid she has flowing through her body and lungs, this will help her heart rate and hopefully loosen up mucus.
PICU (pediatric intensive care unit)
Peace and Blessings Friends and Family,
Her x-rays this morning showed that the upper portion of her right lung and lower portion of her left lung still have clogged air sacks. They are trying a new medication to loosing the mucous as well as increasing the frequency of her respitory treatments, which include PT or physical therapy. This is when the respitory therapist using a small recussion cup taps the baby's chest to loosen the mucous. It sounds worse than it acutally is, she loves it.
Rachel and I wanted to share the latest happenings concerning our dear Ella. I am sorry that we are not able to respond to every phone call and text message, we hope this way helps everyone feel included. We are so grateful for your interest, support and most of all prayers to God for our special little lady.
To bring you up to speed, Ella was born with very low muscle tone and as a result was never able to successfully feed through her mouth. Her body also develops more mucous and secretions than she is able to manage through swallowing. Over the last several months she has made some improvements in her development, she holds her heads up a bit, she can push herself up from a sqaut and she can even grab toys and move them back and forth between her left and right hands.
Ella is so strong and so determined. Through all of her developmental improvements we have contiued to search for answers. Last Friday Ella had a scheduled surgery where she was going to receive a Mic-key button,(an easier to manage feeding tube) we also scheduled her to receive a muscle biopsy that would hopefully gives us some answers. The surgery went well and she seemed to recover after a couple of hours of observation. I will say more about the amazing care she has received from the staff at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in a later posting - let me just say these folks are amazing blessings in their own right. We brought our baby back home Friday evening, however she did not sleep very well Friday night and never really settled down Saturday during the day. After several attempts to help our baby manage her new increase in mucous and secretions we took her to the CCMC emergency room.
The emergency department triaged Ella very quickly and had us placed in trama room 1 where we received treatment right away, it was there that Ella was diagnosed as being in respitory distress. They started her on oxygen right away and shortly thereafter started a respitory treatment called CPEP, which is meant to force air and pressure into her lungs, thereby inflating them which would hopefully clear up the mucous secretions that currently blocking the air sacks in her lungs.
From the emergency department we were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, or PICU where Ella has remained since Saturday. She continues to receive respitory treatments as well as medication to dry up the extra mucous, she is also suctioned almost hourly. Suctioning is when a respitory therapist uses a small vacuum tube to forceably remove mucuous from her lungs and throat by inserting a small tube down her nose and throat, mom and I have our own suction machine and have done this on Ella many times in the past.
Her x-rays this morning showed that the upper portion of her right lung and lower portion of her left lung still have clogged air sacks. They are trying a new medication to loosing the mucous as well as increasing the frequency of her respitory treatments, which include PT or physical therapy. This is when the respitory therapist using a small recussion cup taps the baby's chest to loosen the mucous. It sounds worse than it acutally is, she loves it.
Continue to check the blog often for new information and stories of encouragement and inspiration. Through Christ Jesus Ariella is more than a conqueror and so are you.
A Detour in the Travel Plans
Luke 8 describe the encounter between Jesus a man, Matthew describes two men that were possessed of devils and were restricted to living in a cave where he/they was/were cutting himself and would break the chains the used to hold him. Jesus traveled to this location for the purpose of meeting up with this man so he could deliver him from being possessed of all those demons. After Jesus heals the man many people from the town, who have only known this
man to be brutally strong and terribly violent, came out to find him sitting at Jesus' feet at peace in his mind free from demonic influence and the people of Gaderene are so disturbed by the transformation that immediately they ask Jesus to leave. everyone will not celebrate your change in fact many people maybe so used to your former way of being that they don't know how to take the new you that has been changed by Jesus Christ don't live your life for them except healing and restoration that comes from Jesus, the Lord took this detour to come and heal this man to free him from the burden of being plagued by so many evil spirits for so long and we need completed his work and he'll demand he was asked to leave the man having been healed wanted to go with Jesus but instead Jesus charged him to stay behind and share his story with others maybe you have experienced a miracle maybe you find yourself amongst your friends and family coworkers that have known you for so long one-way and now they are getting to know the new you I challenge you to stay don't leave just yet but stay behind and tell them about your great God who has changed you who has saved you. Jesus returned to Capernaum to continue his work of healing in ministry but he made a detour to heal just one man. Maybe you are the one person in your family in your community on your job that has been healed by Jesus maybe you're the one reason why Jesus stopped by that area accept the gift of God's healing and share it with others you're the reason for the detour in Jesus's travel plans
The body is bigger than any one part
Most notably known as the other team in LA, the Los Angeles Clippers started the season off red hot, this team young stars and great talent had ended last season with a lot of the pieces in place to do something special this season. The team made headlines with their acquisition of all-star point guard Chris Paul from New Orleans, however the lynch pin that brought all this together undoubtedly for many experts was the signing of NBA veteran point guard Chauncy Billups. Billups has been in the league for more than a decade and during that time he has been a multiple time all-start and even won a championship. Chauncy brought the kind of sage wisdom and winning attitude to the Clipper's franchise that was sorely needed. He would mentor the younger players and provide a valuable defensive presence on the court, plus Chauncy brought something that could not be coached, heart. Billups was never afraid of the big spot, the pivotal moment, when everything is on the line, you want the ball in Billups hands, because whether he makes a crucial pass, take the last shot of the game, the majority of the time he is going to make the right decision.
As you can imagine with the additional Paul and Billups to an already talented roster the Clippers were on a tear the early part of the season, in fact they had beaten the "other" team in LA, the Lakers, once as well as taken down the team with the best record in all of the NBA the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers had one of the best records in the Western Conference and were soaring and then the team suffered a might blow, Chauncy Billups tore his left Achilles tendon, and was lost to the team for the rest of the season leaving many to wonder what will happen to the Clippers now.
One of the reason why I enjoy watching sports is because it is actual reality TV. Sports truly is a microcosm for life. And just like in life sometimes the team suffers an unexpected lose and must find a way to move one. There are times when we are moving along and every thing seems to have fallen into place, your marriage or other relationships are going well, you receive a promotion and are finally getting the respect you deserve on your job, your children are growing mature and healthy and than all of a sudden something is taken and seeming derails your momentum. You think for a moment that is something you cannot overcome, but just like the team is bigger than one player, the body is bigger than anyone member.
The body I am referring here is the body of Christ in the Bible, which is also called the church. Yes the church, according to 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the Body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it." When God looks at His church when it is functioning in proper order He sees the body of his Son Jesus. The Bible goes on to say in Romans 12:4-5 "Each of us has one body with many parts. And the parts do not all have the same purpose. So also we are many person. But in Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts." We are not alone and just as our own body has several parts each with its own purpose, we as individuals make up the body of Christ and in Him we serve a specific purpose.
We are more than Conquerors today because just as the team is bigger than one player, we are part of something larger than ourselves. When you belong to a local church you are not simply attending a service a couple times a week, you are committing yourself to belonging to something bigger than you in which you play an important role. Just as the eye cannot do what the finger does naturally, God has a specific function for you to perform in His church and only you can do it the way that God would have you to do it. If you do not belong to a local church pray that God lead you to the one He has for you and if you are part of a ministry pray that the Lord help you to function in the capacity for which he has called you into that ministry. The Clippers are still near the top of the Western Conference, they miss Chauncy, but they have moved on. When we suffer a set back, just remember you can still make it, you are a part of something bigger.
As you can imagine with the additional Paul and Billups to an already talented roster the Clippers were on a tear the early part of the season, in fact they had beaten the "other" team in LA, the Lakers, once as well as taken down the team with the best record in all of the NBA the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers had one of the best records in the Western Conference and were soaring and then the team suffered a might blow, Chauncy Billups tore his left Achilles tendon, and was lost to the team for the rest of the season leaving many to wonder what will happen to the Clippers now.
One of the reason why I enjoy watching sports is because it is actual reality TV. Sports truly is a microcosm for life. And just like in life sometimes the team suffers an unexpected lose and must find a way to move one. There are times when we are moving along and every thing seems to have fallen into place, your marriage or other relationships are going well, you receive a promotion and are finally getting the respect you deserve on your job, your children are growing mature and healthy and than all of a sudden something is taken and seeming derails your momentum. You think for a moment that is something you cannot overcome, but just like the team is bigger than one player, the body is bigger than anyone member.
The body I am referring here is the body of Christ in the Bible, which is also called the church. Yes the church, according to 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the Body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it." When God looks at His church when it is functioning in proper order He sees the body of his Son Jesus. The Bible goes on to say in Romans 12:4-5 "Each of us has one body with many parts. And the parts do not all have the same purpose. So also we are many person. But in Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts." We are not alone and just as our own body has several parts each with its own purpose, we as individuals make up the body of Christ and in Him we serve a specific purpose.
We are more than Conquerors today because just as the team is bigger than one player, we are part of something larger than ourselves. When you belong to a local church you are not simply attending a service a couple times a week, you are committing yourself to belonging to something bigger than you in which you play an important role. Just as the eye cannot do what the finger does naturally, God has a specific function for you to perform in His church and only you can do it the way that God would have you to do it. If you do not belong to a local church pray that God lead you to the one He has for you and if you are part of a ministry pray that the Lord help you to function in the capacity for which he has called you into that ministry. The Clippers are still near the top of the Western Conference, they miss Chauncy, but they have moved on. When we suffer a set back, just remember you can still make it, you are a part of something bigger.
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