Happy 4th of July!




We had a low-key 4th of July, which is exactly what we had hoped for- the kids came for a cookout and then we decided not to disrupt Gianna's sleep schedule to see the fireworks, as we have worked really hard on getting her into a wonderful routine. She is exhausted by 8 PM, and goes down beautifully, sleeps through the night and wakes up chattering- We are truly blessed!



We broke down and replaced the Slip-n-Slide with a small pool, and the girls had a blast playing in the water. We decided to start both the girls in swimming lessons. We start this Saturday, and the purpose of the class is to teach them to survive a fall into the water, or a near-drowning incident. Gianna will(supposedly) be able to swim back to the wall from 5 feet away, and Aria will be able to learn the skills to survive a fall in the pool. I am a little skeptical, but have friends who swear by this group. They are based out of Florida and only come here for the months of June and July. I hope Aria does well. It really helped that while we were in VA, she saw her cousin take his lessons. He was a brave trouper, so hopefully she can follow his lead!



We just found out that Grandma and Grandpa get to come for a few days, so we are excited for them to see all the kids!




As far as Gianna's medical condition- things are going well. We had the MRI last week, blood work, and a kidney scan. In utero when the spine is forming, the heart and kidneys are as well, so the Dr.'s were looking for anomolies in these organs. Happily, the ribs are only cosmetic and will not need repair(if at all) until she is 11 yrs old. The heart, kidneys, and blood work are all perfect! Praise the Lord! We will get the final review on her scoliosis when we meet with the Ortho this week, but from what we have been told, they will just monitor her to see if the curvature continues or stabilizes( and it could do either).




One thing that I have learned from my sweet baby girl is that God gives us the grace to endure the trials that come into our life. Throughout the whole testing process, she has been calm, peaceful and even curious about the tools used to perform the various tests. I learned a HUGE lesson in watching her through this.... God enables us with the grace during trials, and I need to emulate sweet Gianna in her child-like faith and trust in us, that we have her best in mind. Far more, God has a plan for each of us, and He has our eternal best. I can trust Him with that same simplicity that she trusts us.



I hope everyone had a relaxing and wonderful 4th!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Can It BE??

Image
It's been almost a year since I've posted and for some strange reason, I found a few extra minutes in my day( crazy, huh?) and thought I would catch-up the TWO WHOLE people who might still be checking in now and then. On May 11, 2014 our world was changed in the sweetest way with the birth of our granddaughter. And GUESS WHAT?!? All those stupid , ahem , quippy things said by grandparents everywhere, are, in fact, TRUE! She is the sweetest, smartest little treasure EVER and I would definitely have been a grandma first if I knew how amazing this is. (Sorry, kids.) And we have the privilege of having her 1-2 days per week, which makes this MiMi blissfully happy but also a tad busy. She is now 10 months old, and can tell you what an elephant and a lion says. She is determined to grow up as quickly as she possibly can, and plans to start walking yesterday. She is a GO-GETTER and is on the move. Having her weekly is such a precious gift. I love it that my grown kiddo...
Read more

The Blessinngs of the Lord make rich...

Image
 Matching PJs and ready for bed. Aren't they adorable?  My and ALL FOUR of my daughters. My cup really runs over!!  Gianna and Celia. I am glad that we prepared ourselves for CP. She is only hypontic in her neck, but she is spastic in her arms, so she is resourseful and uses her feet to grab toys you hold up for her. She is happy, smiley, and sweet as sugar. I am not upset so understand I am saying this as more matter of fact, but she is like a 6 month old in every way. I pray for her sake that some good therapy and nutrition will help her tremendously. She is definitely on the more severe end of CP. We are not shocked, in fact I really expected this end of the spectrum. Please don't feel "sorry" for us or her. She is a blessing and we are privileged to be called to such a child.  Right after we got back to  the hotel room. Sofia only wants ME or Aria. Or she is crying pretty hysterically. We don't mind- at least I have some one to take turns with if I need ...
Read more

Oh what a difference 24 hours makes.

This morning, the PICU nurse announced that we would be moving to the floor today.  I argued with her. I begged. I offered lunch and dinner for the whole PICU staff if they would keep us just one more night.  You see,I spent last night pressing her morphine button every 30 minutes all night long. The nurse came in every hour. She had to check her THREE IVs. Her chest tube that was draining a tremendous amount of blood. Her pain was hard to manage. Her heart rate elevating was our biggest clue, because she never complained. She had a high level of oxygen needed to keep her stats up.  I liked the comfort of knowing that we had one nurse, right outside the door, whose only job all night long was to monitor Gianna and fix every problem as it arose. The nurse laughed and said, "Don't worry she'll be ready. Oh, and she needs to get up and walk today..." What?!??!? It has been LESS than 24 hours since she had major surgery. And then the flurry started. Xrays were taken. Thre...
Read more