Like a Champ

Farrah's day nurse, Margaret, (also one of her primaries) told me that Farrah handled today's lumbar puncture (LP) like a champ. The nurse practitioner who did the LP is very experienced and was able to access Farrah's spinal fluid on her first attempt. They gave Farrah some sedation meds beforehand, and Margaret said that Farrah stayed very calm throughout the entire procedure. We won't have all the results from the LP for a few days.

Farrah also had a head ultrasound today and we are waiting to see what those results show. Farrah is still doing well on the regular vent and her oxygen settings were as low as 28% over the course of the day. Room air is 21%, so she is getting closer and closer. We just keep praying that her lungs will get stronger and stronger each day. She has not needed as much sedation medication on the regular vent, and we are thankful for that. We believe that they will try to add a fortifier in the next day or two to the breast milk Farrah is getting. We pray that Farrah's tummy will accept the fortifier and that she will be able to start packing on the pounds and growing more cells, which is what she would be doing in utero during these finals weeks before her due date.

We are attemping to go to sleep earlier tonight. Ray needed to point out to me that I was reaching a point of exhaustion after only one week of going back to work. It is not possible to keep going the way I am for the entire time that Farrah will remain in the NICU. Something has got to give. At this point, my managers are not offering any flexibility, but we are hoping that they will allow me to work from home a few days a week. As much as I want to be super woman, I have to slow down and take care of myself so that I do not get sick. Our schedules coincided tonight, so Ray and I were able to go out for a sit-down dinner together for the first time in a long time.

There are a lot of unknowns about what will happen when Farrah gets out of the hospital. We pray for peace that everything will work out as it should, as both our jobs are a bit up in the air and I am counting on the fact that my company will give me some type of leave.