We created this blog to help us document the story of Malia starting at 29 weeks in utero. There have been and continue to be struggles for Malia and for us. It is evident to us, as you will see, that the power of prayer is mighty and God does love us and hear our prayers. We welcome and invite you to follow along with us. Though lengthy, start from the bottom to get the entire story so far.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Best news yet!

Today started off with a phone call to the hospital to see how Malia fared through the night and if she tolerated her chest tubes being clamped off. We got word that 2 of them tolerated the clamps but one of them created more air to fill up around her lung (pneumothorax). Harley was a bit discouraged but I was thinking 2 out 3 isn't bad. When we arrived at the hospital later that afternoon she looked even better than she had the day before. Her swelling continues to go down and it finally looks like she is at her normal birth weight. We got word that they were able take out 2 of her chest tubes that day and now only 1 is remaining. Before leaving we were able to talk to the Dr. a bit about the remaining chest tube and other machines that she is currently on. He was very confident that the pneomothorax would heal in 48 hrs and they would be able to take the last remaining chest tube out as well as taking her off the ventilator Tues/Wed. She has been taken off both blood pressure medicines, dobutamin and dopamine, and her blood pressure has remained stable. We asked the Dr. how common chest tubes in babies were thinking this stuff happens all the time and he said he hasn't seen one in over a year. The nurse on duty said she's worked at Memorial for 3 yrs and has never seen a baby with a chest tube. Malia so far has had at least 5 or six put in over a week period b/c of wrong or shifting of placement. Hydrops is also not a common diagnosis they see and the Dr's only seen 2 other cases in his 3 yrs at Memorial. All this to say, we are extremenly thankful that Malia has survived the week and is doing so well! The Dr. told us the words today that we weren't expecting to hear for weeks. He said "she's a survivor, she's going to make" "we'll be taking her home in 5/6 weeks and she's going to be ok". I know we both couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth as he spoke them so causually but I have to tell you, they felt so good! No one has told us yet that our baby was going to survive and we were both elated. She still has a long road ahead of her in the NICU so we continue to pray for strength, healing and growth in her little body but PRAISE GOD! He has a special plan for this little fighter.