Happy Half-Birthday, Skyler!

Skyler stayed pretty stable all day yesterday. Her nurse stays in the room with her and watches her like a hawk. It’s very relieving to have someone so attentive to her to make sure all her vitals stay in control so she can heal. They have kept her asleep this whole time, but now and then she stirs and pries her eyes open for a peak at the world. She’ll kick up her legs or stretch them out long, and she’ll grip our finger if we put it in her hand, but mostly, she’s really zonked!

The PICU doctor just came to assess her and said they will start turning down her sleepy medicine so she can start to wake up. As long as her blood pressure stays good, they will continue to let her wake up. When she starts to come to, they will also begin turning down the ventilator so she can start breathing on her own as well. It will be a gradual process as they measure her comfort level and blood pressure so everything stays controlled. They don’t want to push her too fast, but they also want her breathing on her own. They said if all goes well with that and they can get her off her heart medicine, we can move to a regular room. We are really hoping for that because the visitation policy is much less strict, and the rooms should be more comfortable. Plus, Skyler got a “roommate” this morning, so we don’t have the full run of the room. We don’t have our bed anymore since it’s on the other patient’s side, so we just have an arm chair and a basic chair. Not too comfy!

We did spend the night last night in one of the Ronald McDonald rooms for the first time. Skyler was stable and the nurse stayed all night with her, so we decided it was the right time for us to try and get some good rest. Can you believe they have Sleep Number beds in those rooms? It was only a twin and I let Ronnie sleep on it since he’d been letting me sleep on the bed in Skyler’s room. But hopefully that means tonight it will be my turn! While it wasn’t the best sleep, it was far better than what we’ve been getting. I still feel really tired this morning despite a latte with breakfast, so I may have to get a second one to wake up. This could be a big day for Skyler as she starts to come to, and I want to be alert to be by her side.

It’s also March 11, which is Skyler’s half birthday. She is six months old today! Being here isn’t exactly the ideal celebration, but at least we know her heart will be healthy as ever for her first birthday in another six months!