Walk

Madeline took her second walk since being here. She went up a huge staircase and had a lot of fun. It is always good to see her moving around.

Not much to report

Madeline is about the same since this morning. She is not in much pain, but still a little discomfort. She has taken sips of water and licks of a popsicle.

Good Spirits

Madeline has had a good morning. She woke up with little pain so far and is in good spirits. Now we are going to try eating clear liquids today and see how she does. We are also going to add more bicarb in her fluids. Here she is this morning.

Good Morning!

Madeline slept well last night. We are planning to take her off her morphine drip today. I think that will help her to get moving around a little more. Her bicarb was up one point to a 16 from 15 yesterday. I wanted it to be a little higher, but at least we are not going down. One great thing is her blood count has stayed up. Usually this is an issue by now. I will update again after she wakes up. Have a great morning!

Great nurses and doctors

Due to having great nurses and doctors today...Madeline is on her new fluids that hopefully will keep her bicarb up. I always appreciate it when they take me serious. Kudos to the staff that took care of Maddie today!

On another note...I got to eat dinner with Ryder. Trey and I switched for dinner and Ryder and I went to Chili's and enjoyed good food and chocolate cake! I enjoyed spending time with him this evening.

Bi Carb Update

We are planning to add some Bi Carb to her fluids tonight which should help to bring that level up. Hopefully...

Bi Carb Level

Well, I discovered why Madeline is so tired...her Bicarb level dropped from an 18 to a 15. This is not the best news. Normal level for her is 18-21. I expressed (as nicely as I could) the importance of correcting this before it gets worse. If this continues to drop, she will become acidontic and we will then be back at square one. So here I go following these nurses around driving them crazy. I will update soon once we make a decision on what we are going to do. I am guessing change her fluids and put some bicarbs in them. We will see.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

It is 1:00 in the afternoon. Madeline is still a little uncomfortable, but doing okay. She seems tired today. Maybe after a long nap she will feel better like yesterday.

The clowns came in and made us laugh! Here is a picture of them!

Music Therapy

Keith the music man came by and we rocked the house. We sang Twinkle Twinkle and Lion King songs. We played drums, guitar, bells, and other instruments. Thanks Keith!

11:00 Update

Madeline woke up a little bit ago with some pain. She usually has more in the mornings for some reason. I bathed her and washed her hair. She is now watching cartoons in clean clothes and new pig tails. I am sure this makes her feel a little better. She pushed her pain button once after her bath. She seems to be making progress, but at a very slow pace.

We have a student nurse here today that is going to play and paint with Madeline in a little while. I am sure that will perk Madeline up. Now all we need is a massage therapist to perk the parents up...or a bartender.

Rise and Shine...well...

I am up and of course...Madeline is still snoozing. She slept good last night even though the nurses came in every other hour. : ( She seems a little more comfortable than the last few days, but I will know more once she wakes up.

Good Evening!

Madeline slept most of the day today....but....it seems as though a nap is what she needed. She isn't needing her pain medicine button at all today, and we reduced her morphine drip to half what she was getting before. She is still asking for a hot pack for her tummy though. She is coming around to her old self...even demanding that I remove my food from the room because she couldn't stand the smell of it. It was only chicken and potatoes!!!??? So I pulled out the peanut butter to make a sandwich and she complained about that smell also. I am fully convinced she has some extra powers in her nostrils that I cannot explain. (She once smelled gummy bears on my sister that she had eaten a few hours earlier). Anyways, back on subject...Madeline is doing better than yesterday. Not 100% yet, but progress I think. Here is a picture of her this evening watching Charlotte's Web.

Great nurses

Madeline and her nurse Kendel this morning.

Good Morning

Good Morning Madeline! We are trying to wake up after going to sleep at 1 a.m. Maddie has her days and nights a little backwards. The doctors started coming in at 6 a.m. The pain is still here, but it is not as bad as the first few days. She threw up after receiving pain meds...I am trying to figure out if her getting sick is the result of the meds of just her pancreatitis. Madeline said she dreamed of Christmas last night. Hoping for a better day today!

Thanks Pappy and Grandmommy for the awesome balloons and the adorable writing tray!

Mommy here!

Maddie is soooooo excited, Mommy is here and ready to party!

Sunday Update

Madeline's pain was a little more manageable yesterday and she only needed her 'hit's of morphine 3 or 4 times. She was up more and talking, coloring, drawing pictures and taking care of her stuffed animals (which is always a good sign). She was able to sleep through the night without waking up with pain, although when she woke up she was in some pretty intense pain. She got a 'hit' of morphine and has calmed down and is watching movies with her legs pulled up and heating packs on her tummy. She has also thrown up a few times yesterday and once this morning which we are thinking is due to the morphine. They want to back her off the morphine drip but want to wait for the pain to back down. Thought we were making progress yesterday, but now I'm not so sure. Seem to be just as bad as Thurs or Fri. To be determined as day goes on.

Still a waiting game.

Madeline Petting Dogs

Here's a pic of Maddie getting to pet dogs that they sometimes bring by to cheer up the kids. It's amazing the effect it has on them to be able to pet, feed, brush, and interact with these wonderful pets. Maddie's favorite was the full size poodle that would shake and wave. As far as a dog's life goes, these dogs have it made!

Maddie's First Lost Tooth

Well, it's official! Maddie is a big girl now! A toothless one, but a big girl. She lost her first tooth on Friday, Sept 25th. She said, "Daddy, look at my tooth." I went over and saw it was hanging by a thread and told her, "Pull it out!". She reached in a gave it a tug and Viola! The look on her face was priceless. She immediately had to look in the mirror, call Mommy, and call in all the nurses. Johanna, one of the great Child Life Specialists here, brought in a personalized and decorated box, specially for the tooth. Maddie was proud to say the least!

Pancreatitis, Sept 2009

Madeline came into the hospital on Sunday, Sept 20th with severe abdominal pains. After an all-nighter in the ER, where they were flooded with Swine Flu cases, we were admitted early Monday morning with pancreatitis. Maddie had gotten Swine Flu on Monday the 14th and gotten over it in 48 hrs but the acid her body lets off while fighting a major illness insults the pancreas and she gets pancreatitis. Her Lipase and Amylase (pancreas enzymes) were elevated and pain was very bad. We basically judge the progress of getting over pancreatitis by her pain decreasing and appetite coming back and tolerating feeding. It is usually a 8-12 day ordeal.

This case has been unusually bad for Maddie because the pain is very intense and is lasting longer than usual. All of her bloodwork looks good, but her tummy is in very bad pain and unfortunately it is just a waiting game while trying to manage the pain with a morphine drip and an increased 'hit' of morphine when needed. We have also had several dramas of moving rooms twice, her port not working, getting/losing IVs, pump/tubing malfunctions, monitor malfunctions, etc. that only add to the discomfort.