July 15th ~ Gabrielle Update

About 18 hours ago we had to take Gabrielle to BC Children's Hospital as the level of care we were able to provide at home just wasn't enough. We were admitted to a low-urgency ward of the hospital, and the doctors began an aggressive med regiment to nip this in the bud. Thank God they know her so well here.

Gabby's status is definitely not worthy of being sent to the ICU, so that's awesome. She is, however, struggling to breath when the mucus builds up and the coughing attacks hit. It's definitely some form of bronchiolitis. In my opinion, she just needs some straight, deep sleep. It's 5:00AM now and she's maybe had 90 minutes the whole night – then she wakes up and we have to suction the mucus plugs out that are preventing her from breathing... and sleeping. Argh.

Taking away some positives: Gabby had her first bath (since March 2011) without a central line yesterday. It was a nice break from the hospital bed and just wonderful to see her eyes light up whenever she splashed the water.  Amazing how much children – especially I-cell children – can teach us about living in the moment.

Gabby Sick ~ Teetering on Hospital

Just when we thought Gabby was in the clear for summer, her big brother Michael came down with bronchitis and an ear ache, and she caught it a few days later.  Yesterday and today her oxygen requirements have declined significantly... to the point that we will be going to the hospital if we need to crank the O2 tanks up one more notch (i.e. they won't go any higher). Amy has been tending to her tirelessly (an amazing mom and woman).

The coughing fits are tough to watch – our feisty little girl gasping for breath.

I-Cell sucks.

We will do our best to keep everyone posted. Let's hope Gabrielle sails through this like she did the surgery.

Reframing the Uszh

I think I've talked about reframing here and here in a serious sort of way, but sometimes it's good to reframe the very normal (e.g. morning med/kid routine) and turn it into something fun, like an front deck reggae party! (pity you can't hear Marley in the background)

Super Trooper Surgery Star

We went into this surgery a bit leery, but not worried, and Gabrielle proved our intuition right yesterday by sailing through the procedure, waking up fine from the anesthetic, and remaining just fine on her oxygen levels.

A challenging part of any surgery with infants and tots is the 12 hour fast before the procedure. While Gabrielle was cranky, she was also hilariously feisty when her curiosity was captured. It was too funny.

A couple hours later she woke up right on time. We had pretty legit concerns about the anesthetic with I-Cell, but she put those to rest immediately.

And here she is the next morning, chalk-full of enthusiasm and excitement for the new day.

While sipping her morning coffee, and both of us thinking about what a year can bring, Amy said, "It's amazing how much these little children teach you."

Gabrielle at 21 months, the Day Before Surgery, and Getting So Social

It's amazing how much Gabrielle has grown up in her own little way. She cries when she can't see her brothers or when Mommy walks into the room and doesn't pick her up. She kicks her feet and screams when Daddy stops wrestling with her. She gets shy around new people sometimes.

Tomorrow Gabrielle gets her central line removed and a VAD button put in (as well as tubes in her ears so she can hear better). This is huge for us. It means, with her hour-long periods of zero oxygen, we'll be able to carry her around like a normal 21 month old (well, not quite a normal 21 month old, ha ha), and I can take her down to the beach and let her roll around in the sand without worrying about line infections (and a host of other things) and then come home and get in trouble for letting her get so dirty.

Here's Gabrielle playing around with me the other day. If you read this in time, wish her luck tomorrow. I can honestly say that I never thought she would be with us this long or be this strong. Gabrielle, you are the best!